nWave steps up to new heights in the cinema world with “The Wild Life” distributed by Lionsgate

Ben Stassen is interviewed by Judith Rubin

“It’s not just about making a long version and a short version. We serve two very different distribution markets, and each of those markets has subcategories. Success in one doesn’t automatically guarantee success in the other, but our track record is good.”

Based on the classic novel Robinson Crusoe, the new release from nWave Pictures in partnership with StudioCanal Group marks a new level of success for nWave with Lionsgate acquiring US distribution rights to the movie for the mainstream cinema market under the title, “The Wild Life” opening in theaters September 9.

Over the course of 20+ years, nWave founder Ben Stassen has built a reputation for innovation in the business of specialty cinema, producing and distributing content in a variety of formats for museums, visitor attractions, educational markets and most recently, mainstream cinema. The company has challenged traditional models and pioneered new ones, championed digital production to facilitate multi-platform distribution, helped establish a modern vocabulary of 3D cinema and set the bar of quality for 3D and animated moviemaking. nWave has distributed films to more than 12,500 theaters globally (including cineplexes), garnering attendance to its shows of more than 50 million – cineplex numbers alone being over 30 million).

The nWave tree today includes distinct company branches for production, distribution and marketing. InPark co-editor Judith Rubin interviewed Ben Stassen and also spoke to longtime company executives Janine Baker and Eric Dillens for this look at Robinson Crusoe, and the history and future of nWave.

How did the Robinson Crusoe story wash up on nWave’s shores?

I love castaway stories – and they provide good, family-oriented subject matter with good themes. Robinson Crusoe is a classic that lives in the public consciousness – a recognizable IP. Most people know at least the basics, even if they haven’t read the book by Daniel Defoe. It was ideal for our purposes, and this was such a new and original angle – seen from the point of view of the animals on the island where the hero is shipwrecked. It was a real find. Chris Hubble had written the original script on spec. He’s a retired Disney staff writer now in his 70s, and had worked with us before on the script of Sammy & Ray, part of nWave’s Turtle Vision series. I fell in love with it. We worked on it for about a year, reshaping and rewriting to make it our own and combine production of a feature with that of a theme park attraction.

Read the article here: http://www.inparkmagazine.com/the-house-that-ben-built-issue-61/