EXCLUSIVE: Rashida Jones, Will McCormack and Michael Govier have been set to write Tom and Jerry, a feature that will be made under Bill Damaschke’s Warner Bros Pictures Animation.
They will be starting fresh on the new iteration of the misadventures of the cat Tom and mouse Jerry, hatched in 1940 by William Hanna & Joseph Barbera at MGM. Until MGM shuttered its animation division, they made 114 shorts that won 7 Oscars. Later versions came from Gene Deitch and Chuck Jones, and then others. The characters most recently toplined the 2021 hybrid film Tom & Jerry. While through the years it has been criticized for the sometimes violent ways the cat tries to trap the mouse and pays dearly for it, the venerable franchise has been an influence on many cartoon series including The Simpsons.
Through their prolific Le Train Train banner, Jones and McCormick work as writers, directors and producers with credits include Celeste and Jesse Forever, Toy Story 4 and The Invite, which Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are directing for FilmNation, with Amy Adams, Paul Rudd and Tessa Thompson attached.
McCormick teamed with Govier to write and directed the Oscar-winning short film If Anything Happens I Love You, which was released on Netflix in 2020.
Jones co-directed with Al Hicks Quincy, a Grammy-winning documentary about her iconic father Quincy Jones. She and McCormick most recently teamed on A Swim Lesson, a 20-minute docu that debuted last Telluride. Pic is on swim coach Bill Marsh as he helps youths replace fear with confidence and safety in their lives.
Jones is repped by UTA and Schreck Rose; McCormick by UTA, Range and Paul Hastings, and Govier by UTA and Range.