West is best for Norm of the North!
It may be Hollywood’s latest animation blockbuster – outgrossing a host of Oscar-nominated epics when it opened in close on 2,500 cinemas worldwide last weekend – but Norm of the North has Galway roots….because it was produced and mixed in Spiddal.
Starring the voices of Heather Graham, Rob Schneider, Colm Meaney, Bill Nighy and Michael McElhatton, the animated feature film was co-produced and co-financed by Telegael.
“Everything you see on the screen was created here in Telegael; all of the music is from here as well as some of the voice talent and direction. We managed all of the post production administration and the sound mix,” said Telegael CEO, Paul Cummins, this week.
Norm of the North tells the story of an Arctic polar bear Norm (Rob Schneider) who is displaced from his home after it starts melting. Norm, together with his three lemming friends, travels to New York to stop a developer from destroying their natural habitat by building luxury condominiums in the Arctic.
Paul described the making of the movie as a pan-global effort – a “three way co-production between the US, Ireland and India”.
The US division was responsible for overseeing overall production and creating the script, while Ireland was responsible for pre-production, design, sound, and post-production.
Irish actors Colm Meaney and Game of Thrones star Michael McElhatton recorded their parts in Telegael’s Spiddal studios; American actors put down their voices in the U.S.
The original score was created by award winning Irish composer Stephen McKeon and played by the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra. All of the music was produced and recorded by Telegael.
Box office figures reveal the movie grossed a healthy $9.325 million in its opening weekend, surpassing Oscar nominated movies Brooklyn ($1.66m), The Big Short ($5.3m), The Hateful Eight ($3.57m) , Joy ($2.925m), Carol ($1.458m), and Creed ($1.123m).
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.