Jan 23, 2014

"Paperman" director John Cars joins Paramount to direct "Shed"

John Kahrs, who left Disney abruptly after winning the Oscar for Paperman, has landed at Paramount's new animation group, where he will direct the feature Shedd.

Per Variety's report, the concept is being kept under wraps for now, but newcomer Tripper Clancy has been tapped to write the script, which is based on an original idea from Paramount's Film Group president Adam Goodman.

RELATED: Exclusive Interview with John Kahrs about Paperman

Paramount Animation was set up in summer 2011, following the success of Rango, as well as testy contract negotiations with DreamWorks Animation over film distribution rights. When DreamWorks chose Fox over Paramount in 2012, Paramount's animation division took on a renewed importance. The division won't have its first title ready until February 2015 when it releases the second SpongeBob Squarepants feature.

Prior to directing Paperman, Kahrs had animated at Pixar on such films as A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. At Disney, in addition to directing Paperman, he served as animation supervisor on Tangled, and animated on Bolt, Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen.

No release date has been set for Shedd.