Apple Original Films has landed the rights to “The Beanie Bubble,” a movie about the ’90s craze surrounding the lovable plush Beanie Babies toys that will star Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan.
“The Beanie Bubble” is co-directed by Kristin Gore, an Emmy nominee known for “SNL” and “Futurama” and Damian Kulash, best known as the front man of the rock band OK Go.
Their film is inspired by the Beanie Babies craze and particularly the female relationship to the toys and the idea of the American Dream. It follows the women who helped surround the craze and helped make Ty Warner’s toys into a phenomenon but whose names and legacies weren’t represented on each Beanie’s heart-shaped tags.
Gore also wrote the screenplay based on the book “The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute” by writer Zac Bissonnette.
Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Karen Lunder, president of Imagine features, are producing “The Beanie Bubble.” The project is the first of a first-look deal between Imagine and Apple for scripted films.
Zach Galifianakis, who will also executive produce, last starred as himself in the “Between Two Ferns” movie and also did voice work for “Ron’s Gone Wrong” and the upcoming “The Bob’s Burgers Movie.”
Elizabeth Banks recently starred in “Mrs. America” and will next be seen in Phyllis Nagy’s “Call Jane” premiering at Sundance.
Sarah Snook is known for her work on HBO’s “Succession” and will next star in the thriller “Run Rabbit Run.”
Geraldine Viswanathan is known for her work in “Hala,” “Blockers,” “The Broken Hearts Gallery” and “7 Days.”
Galifianakis is represented by UTA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and attorney Jared Levine (Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich & Gellman). Banks is represented by Untitled Entertainment, UTA and Johnson Shapiro Slewerr & Kole. Snook is represented by UTA, Shanahan Management and Jennifer Rawlings at Omni Artists. Viswanathan is represented by WME, 3 Arts and Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern.