'Sausage Party' Director Tackling 'The Addams Family' (Exclusive)

by Borys Kit via Hollywood Reporter on 10/12/17

Conrad Vernon, who co-directed The Sausage Party, has come aboard to direct MGM’s animated feature version of The Addams Family.

Vernon will also produce the movie with Gail Berman, via her shingle The Jackal Group, and Alex Schwartz.

The Addams Family began their macabre life as single-panel gag illustrations by cartoonist Charles Addams that appeared primarily in The New Yorker. Their popularity led to the Addams Family becoming a television show in the 1960s that starred John Astin and Carolyn Jones as well as an animated series in the early 1970s. The Family enjoyed a revival in the early 1990s with a pair of hit movies that starred Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia and Christina Ricci.

The premise revolved around taking the American family ideal and giving it a morbid and satirical spin. The parents were named Gomez and Morticia, their children named Wednesday and Pugsley. Also in the household were Uncle Fester and Grandmama, plus their imposing butler Lurch. And not to be forgotten: Thing, a disembodied hand, and Cousin Itt, a being covered in long hair.

Pamela Pettler (Corpse Bride, Monster House) wrote the screenplay based on the cartoons with revisions by Matt Lieberman.

Andrew Mittman and Kevin Miserocchi are exec producing. MGM’s executive director Tabitha Shick is overseeing the project.

CG animation work is underway in Vancouver at Cinesite Studios

Vernon is an animation vet who co-directed Shrek 2, Monsters vs Aliens and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. Sausage Party, which he co-directed by Greg Tiernan, was a surprise and raunchy hit that grossed over $140 million worldwide.

He is repped by UTA and Mosaic.