Angry Birds Movie News, release date confirmed

News out of Sony Pictures:

Rovio Entertainment announced today that it has chosen Sony Pictures Imageworks in Vancouver as its primary animation house for the production of the upcoming Angry Birds feature film, based on Rovio's globally beloved brand.

"'Angry Birds' is a worldwide phenomenon, and its creators want its movie adaptation done right," said Premier Christy Clark. "And to do it right, Rovio and Sony Pictures Imageworks have shown their faith in Vancouver and that will lead to more opportunities and more jobs."

 "The 'Angry Birds' movie will allow Sony Pictures Imageworks to employ more artists in Vancouver on a single film than we've had on any of our previous CG features," said Randy Lake, executive vice-president and general manager, Digital Production Services. "British Columbia is rich with animation and effects talent, and we look forward to further enhancing the production staff in our Vancouver facility."

"It was very important for Rovio to find the perfect partner � in style, talent and location to bring the 'Angry Birds' movie to life, and Sony Pictures Imageworks in Vancouver made that decision easy," said Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio Entertainment.

"After searching the world to find the best animation facility, we felt that the talent at Sony Pictures Imageworks was unparalleled," Cohen and Winder added.

Angry Birds is being produced by John Cohen and Catherine Winder and executive produced by Mikael Hed and David Maisel. The movie is being directed by Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis from a screenplay by Jon Vitti. It is slated for a July 1, 2016 release and will be distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures

Another video game coming to the big screen,- Ubisoft & Sony Pictures Bringing Rabbids to a theaters near you

Ubisoft and Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced that the studios are partnering to develop a full-length feature film based on the Rabbids, the irreverent, wacky characters from the popular TV series and video games.

Jean-Julien Baronnet, Executive Director, Ubisoft Motion Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for Columbia Pictures, commented on the deal:

"Sony Pictures has tremendous experience developing hybrid live-action-and-animated blockbusters for audiences around the world, which makes them a natural fit for what we want to achieve with a Rabbids film," said Baronnet. "This deal deepens our partnership with Sony Pictures and highlights our holistic approach to bringing Ubisoft's brands to new audiences while still maintaining the brands� creative integrity."

Minghella added, "There is an infectious quality to the Rabbids. Their simple joy and absurd, anarchic behavior inadvertently causes you to look at the world afresh. There's no end to the comedy and chaos they will cause when they invade our theaters."

Recently, the Rabbids took over the small screen, thanks to partnerships between Ubisoft Motion Pictures, Nickelodeon  The hit show, titled "Rabbids Invasion," has been seen more than 165 million times in five months; more than two million viewers on average tune into each episode in the U.S.