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Before he found himself standing in front of his friends' house yelling for his daughter's purple security blanket in the middle of the night, Evan Danielson (Eddie Murphy) was just your average financial wizard - focused, successful and driven. But when his daughter introduced him to the princesses and their queen living in her imaginary world, Evan followed her on a hilarious adventure that forced him to reexamine the value of their relationship and redefine his meaning of success.
In Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies' family comedy "Imagine That," Evan and his seven-year-old daughter Olivia (Yara Shahidi) find it impossible to connect. He's too distracted by his career demands to understand the value of quality father-daughter time and she has all but given up on her Daddy. When the promotion of a lifetime is suddenly within his reach, Evan finds himself torn between his parental responsibilities and staving off his company rival, the annoyingly pseudo-mystical Johnny Whitefeather (Thomas Haden Church). Evan has always been a man in complete control, but when he really starts to lose it, Olivia steps in with her own bit of advice - winning stock tips courtesy of the princesses and queen who she visits through her security blanket - her "Goo-Gaa."
With Olivia and her imaginary friends leading the way, Evan is suddenly plunged into a world of dragons and other magical creatures - most of whom prove to be much less dangerous than some of his co-workers. He finds himself singing and dancing in public, eating ketchup-and-mustard-covered pancakes, and laughing with Olivia well into the night - and prospering in his career at the same time. Evan's growing need to climb even higher on the corporate ladder leads him to do some insanely childish things. It also makes him lose track of what is most valuable in his life. In the end, he learns that true success cannot be found in a stock portfolio.
Karey Kirkpatrick directs the film from a screenplay written by Ed Solomon & Chris Matheson. The film is produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Ed Solomon
IMAGINING "IMAGINE THAT"
Evan Danielson's (Eddie Murphy) life, like that of so many parents today, can sometimes be all work and no play. He listens to his daughter without hearing her, is absent even when he's present. Without meaning to, he is neglecting his parental responsibilities as he chases career advancement. Never in his wildest dreams would it dawn on him that the secret to his success might spring from the imagination of his young daughter, Olivia (Yara Shahidi). This is the world conjured up in the inventive new family comedy from Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, "Imagine That."
Ed Solomon, a busy writer and producer, was taking his six-year-old son Evan to school. In true out-of-the-mouth-of-babes fashion, Evan said something it took weeks for Solomon to truly hear, but when he finally did, it proved to be the inspiration for "Imagine That."
"While driving with my son," recalls Solomon, "I had to do something I usually don't do -- make a phone call while he was in the car with me. Afterwards, I apologized and explained that I was in the middle of a business crisis that required immediate attention. The person on the other end was not being pleasant, and asking for things that were unfair. Evan simply said, 'Why don't you just kick him out?' I went on to explain in detail how that wasn't an option and why. I thought it was cute that he had such a straightforward, but clearly uninformed, answer. Three weeks later, with still no resolution to this problem, we actually had to fire the person. A few days later, he returned and apologized for being unfair and we proceeded to finish our work together. It turned out my son was exactly right. That's when I had the idea: What if a guy had a son who had better business sense than he did?"
As Solomon developed the idea, he adjusted it to create a fresh and different look at a particular family dynamic. "The father-son relationship immediately bored me because, first of all, it seemed really pedestrian and, secondly, there are so many movies about fathers and sons. But then I thought about my daughter, who is a formidable presence and whose powerful feminine spirit is sometimes a bit intimidating for me. I remembered her vibrant imaginary world and realized that a father-daughter story would show the story from a unique perspective and that if the source of her business insight was the characters from within her imaginary world, the entire film would be much more magical and, hopefully, more special."
Enter the "Goo-Gaa."
"My daughter has a purple blanket," continues Solomon. The security comforter was the inspiration for the Goo-Gaa that belongs to the main character's daughter Olivia and is the wellspring for her imaginary world. "I thought the comedic hook could be that only Olivia has access to these imaginary characters and only through this blanket," Solomon adds. "Now I had a story about a guy who resents the heck out of the fact that his daughter carries around a security blanket everywhere she goes and he does everything he can to separate her from it. When he finds out that it may actually have magic powers that will help him succeed in his career, his attitude suddenly changes."
Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Solomon have been friends for years. When the idea for the story came up during a vacation, there was an immediate connection. Both men have young children and had been looking to work together on a project for a long time. "Imagine That" seemed to be the right project at the right time.
"Ed and I were on a family whitewater rafting trip together," recalls di Bonaventura, "and he told me about the fantasy world his daughter had created. As we spoke, Ed began to shape the story."
Several months later, Solomon turned to another friend and fellow writer, Chris Matheson, to help him write the screenplay. Matheson previously co-wrote the hit comedies "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" with Solomon.
"Chris and I were working on an animated project for the internet and had been looking for a new film to write together," Solomon adds. "After I sold Lorenzo on the idea, I suggested we bring Chris in to write it with me."
With a solid script in hand, the journey of "Imagine That" continued to move toward the screen as di Bonaventura next sought out a director for the project, as well as the ideal actor to play Evan.
IMAGINE THAT PERFECT ENSEMBLE
The emotional core of "Imagine That" was the relationship between Evan and his daughter, Olivia, and the Goo-Gaa fantasy that ultimately brings them together. The role of Evan would require a balance of playing an ordinary parent who suddenly finds himself in extraordinary and comical circumstances. The actor would need to be someone with a flawless sense of comedy and a proven track record in family comedy, as well as his own magical ability to concoct original and memorable characters. Read more
HOW THE CAST WOULD "IMAGINE THAT"
Throughout filming, the actors and filmmakers focused on one of the central themes of "Imagine That," the presence of imagination in our lives. It's a gift we all possess as children, and the lucky few who are open to it continue to exercise imagination into adulthood. The best actors and filmmakers possess unfettered imaginations, and help us see the world through its prism. So for the cast and filmmakers of "Imagine That," the theme of unleashing one's own imagination at any age was one they immediately took to heart. The following is a peek under their "Goo-Gaas" of inspiration. Read more
IMAGINING "THAT" About The Design Team
Seeking to set "Imagine That" somewhere other than the obvious and overused Los Angeles and New York, the production searched for a believable and appropriately sized city. It would need to be a place that was sophisticated enough to be the home base for a major financial management company and still lend the film a different look. Read more
ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
KAREY KIRKPATRICK (Director) has made a name for himself as the go-to writer of fantastical and family-friendly films with his keen sense of storytelling and smart, witty dialogue.
Kirkpatrick's first foray into directing, DreamWorks Animation's "Over the Hedge," premiered as an Official Selection at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. The film followed a raccoon who cons a close-knit group of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating. The film, co-directed with Tim Johnson, was released in May 2006 and has grossed over $330 million worldwide.
Kirkpatrick's next project will be directing "The Best a Man Can Get" based on John O'Farrell's novel The Best a Man Can Get: A Novel of Fatherhood and Its Discontents published in 2002 by Broadway Books. O'Farrell and Kirkpatrick will share screenwriting duties. Kirkpatrick will also produce, along with Kathleen Kennedy. Set in London, the film revolves around a commitment-phobic musician who leads a double life. In one life, he shares a bachelor pad with three pals, but in the other, he is also a married man and father of two small children. Kirkpatrick is also set to direct "Captain Abdul's Pirate School" for Nickelodeon Movies. Both films will be produced under Kirkpatrick's Blue Shirt Productions shingle through Nickelodeon/MTV.
Previously, Kirkpatrick wrote "James and the Giant Peach," "Flakes," "The Little Vampire," "Chicken Run" (which was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2000), "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," "Charlotte's Web," "Over the Hedge" and "The Spiderwick Chronicles," which he also produced. He contributed as a writer or story consultant on "The Road to El Dorado," "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" and "Madagascar."
Originally from Louisiana, Kirkpatrick is an alum of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he won the Robert Riskin Screenwriting Award and the Jack Nicholson Screenwriting Award. After graduation, Kirkpatrick joined Disney Animation as a staff writer, where he began his career by co-writing the screenplay for "The Rescuers Down Under."
ED SOLOMON (Written By/Producer) has worked on numerous films, both as an original writer or contributing writer.
His solo screenplay credits include the blockbuster sci-fi action comedy "Men in Black" starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, "Leaving Normal," and the independent film "Levity," which he also directed. He has been a contributing writer (credited and uncredited) on such films as "X-Men", "Charlie's Angels" and "The In-Laws" starring Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks. Solomon shared writing credits with Chris Matheson on "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and its sequel "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey." Among his television writing credits are "It's Garry Shandling's Show." He is currently writing "Tokyo Suckerpunch" for Sony Pictures and director Gary Ross (to star Tobey Maguire), and "The Hardy Men" for 20th Century Fox (to star Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise).
CHRIS MATHESON (Written by) has partnered with Ed Solomon on several previous screenplays, including "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey." He served as both the director and screenwriter on "Evil Alien Conquerors" and "The Wise Ones." Additional credits as screenwriter include the feature films "Mr. Wrong" and "A Goofy Movie." Matheson currently lives in Oregon.
EDDIE MURPHY most recently scored with the comedy hit "Norbit," in which he played three characters, Norbit, Rasputia and Mr. Wong, as well as being a screenwriter and producer. Prior to that, Murphy was seen in DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures' "Dreamgirls," for which he has earned critical acclaim, the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and Broadcast Film Critics Awards and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of R&B singer James "Thunder" Early.
He was also recently heard as the voice of Donkey, whose non-stop talking nearly drove Shrek to distraction in the animated hit "Shrek the Third" and will again essay the character in the upcoming "Shrek Goes Fourth." Murphy won an Annie Award and earned BAFTA and MTV Movie Award nominations for his performance in the first award-winning "Shrek."
Murphy is the most commercially successful African-American actor in the history of the motion picture business, and is one of the industry's top-five box-office performers overall. Murphy is on the very short list of actors who have starred in multiple $100 million pictures of the past three decades, from "Beverly Hills Cop" to "Daddy Day Care."
Murphy began his career as a stand-up comedian 25 years ago. In 1980, he joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" at the age of 19, and has since gone on to establish a successful career on the big screen.
His films have been among the highest-grossing comedies in the industry, including "48 Hrs.," "Trading Places," "Dr. Dolittle," "Coming to America," and the "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise. Murphy garnered Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy for his performances in "Beverly Hills Cop," "Trading Places" and "48 Hrs."
In 1989, Murphy made his directorial debut with "Harlem Nights," a period comedy he also wrote and starred in, opposite Richard Pryor and Redd Foxx. In addition, Murphy starred in and produced the hit comedy "Life" co-starring Martin Lawrence, and starred opposite Steve Martin in the comedy hit "Bowfinger." He was also the voice of Mushu the Dragon in the successful animated epic "Mulan."
In 1996, Murphy portrayed seven different characters in the worldwide box office smash "The Nutty Professor," for which he received another Golden Globe Award nomination. He added a character to play a total of eight roles in the sequel "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps," co-starring Janet Jackson. His more recent hits include "Dr. Dolittle 2," "Daddy Day Care" and "The Haunted Mansion."
Murphy will next be seen in the comedy "A Thousand Words" and a remake of "The Incredible Shrinking Man."
THE ART OF ORIGINAL FILMMAKING
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