This fall, Feld Entertainment and Universal Brand Development bring DreamWorks Trolls The Experience, a 12,000-square-foot 90-minute immersive walkthrough adventure, to New York. The live location-based experience marks the first collaboration in a multi-property relationship that will develop and create other large-scale and mobile pop-up immersive experiences. DreamWorks Trolls will be supported through a continuous stream of new content on YouTube and an all-new Netflix original series. The multi-sensory experience takes visitors through Troll Village with augmented reality and 3D technology as well as designed sets.
New theatrical production Wild Kratts LIVE 2.0 – Activate Creature Power! is also launching this fall on the west coast; the show will tour in more than 135 cities across North America through 2019. The production stars Martin and Chris Kratt and is a mix of live-action and animation.
Several experiential projects are vying for top artistic marks: Frozen, Mean Girls, and SpongeBob SquarePants top nominations for the 72nd annual Tony Awards for best musical. Additionally, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two is also in the running for best play.
The Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) and its licensees bring a new state-of-the-art gardening education and community outreach resource to life in Surrey, U.K. Licensees included Gabriel Ash (greenhouse designer/manufacturer), Mr Fothergill’s Seeds Ltd. (seeds and seed gifting), and Burgon & Ball (garden and agricultural tools).
Tech Innovations
Kraft Heinz’s Oscar Mayer unveils Bacoin (BACN), “the first-ever cryptocurrency backed by the gold standard of Oscar Mayer Bacon.” The American meat producer is giving out a limited amount of Bacoin for those who register online; owners can drive up the cryptocurrency’s value by sharing and using #OscarmayerBacoin on social media. The currency can be cashed out by customers for real packs of bacon—as of press time, the value of a single Bacoin is worth 14 slices of the company’s bacon.
A new research project from Disney and researchers from MIT and Carnegie Mellon University has resulted in a wearable Force Jacket, designed to let someone experience physical sensations in conjunction with VR or AR experiences. Users can feel pinches, hugs, and punches through an array of 26 pneumatically-actuated airbags and force sensors that provide precisely directed force and high-frequency vibrations to the wearer’s upper body.
Films in Development
Aardman Animations is officially working on a sequel to Chicken Run alongside StudioCanal, a recent partner, and Pathe, which co-financed the original with DreamWorks Animation and distributed it in Europe. The Hollywood Reporter reports that many of the original players are attached: Sam Fell will direct, Paul Kewley will produce, Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell will pen the screenplay. Aardman co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton are executive producing.
Paramount Pictures is making headway on Star Trek 4, with Variety reporting that the prodco tapped S.J. Clarkson to direct, making her the franchise’s first female director. The movie stars Chris Hemsworth (James T. Kirk’s father in the first film), Chris Pine (James Kirk), and Zachary Quinto (Spock).
Separately, Quentin Tarantino and producer J.J. Abrams are working on an R-rated Star Trek film.