The Writer

The Writer is a 1997 animated fantasy comedy-drama action film directed by Garrett Fredrickson and written by John Patrick Shanley. Starring the voices of Chevy Chase, Sheena Easton, Michael Ironside, Jon Lovitz, Alicia Silverstone, Dom DeLuise and Tim Conway, the film is about a struggling writer named Hammett Truman Mullins, or Truman Mullins, who has an unfinished fantasy story he hasn't been motivated to complete due to various things going on in his life; then, one of the characters from his story, a princess, ends up in the real world. Other characters from the story also start appearing in the real world, unfortunately including its villain, a raven-like monster known as Reckor. Now, Truman has to figure out how to send the characters back into the story's world and defeat the raven before it wreaks havoc on the earth.

The film was produced by Nightstorm Productions and animated by Oriental Light & Magic, Inc. It was originally going to be released by 20th Century Fox, but due to creative differences and LA's Biggest Con underperforming at the box office, Fox backed out of the project and sold the domestic distribution rights to Paramount Pictures whilst Fox retained the international distribution rights. It was eventually released on October 17, 1997, where it grossed $165 million against a budget of $40 million and generally positive reviews from critics, with much praise going to the story, characterization and voice acting.

Plot
Coming soon!

Release
The Writer was originally going to be released by 20th Century Fox, but due to creative differences and LA's Biggest Con bombing at the box office, they backed out of distribution in the United States, though they would still distribute it internationally. Paramount Pictures bought the US distribution rights from Fox and released the film in theaters on October 17, 1997. It was originally planned for a November 21, 1997 release, but the release was moved up for unknown reasons.

Marketing
The Writer was Garrett Fredrickson's first film to have a fast-food tie in, specifically with Burger King. Fredrickson had long been critical of these sorts of tie ins, but he decided to give in for this film. Other tie in deals for the film included deals with American Online, Shell Oil, NBC, TOMY, and Dole Food Company.

Home media
The Writer was released on VHS and DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment on October 20, 1998. The only supplement included on this release is the theatrical trailer. The film was later rereleased as a Special Edition DVD in 2005 titled the "Out of this Story Edition", which included a commentary by Garrett Fredrickson and Michael Steinberg, some behind the scenes featurettes, three deleted scenes and the movie's trailers and TV spots.

Paramount Home Media Distribution released the film on Blu-ray for the film's twentieth anniversary on October 17, 2017.