As one third of the writing and directing team of the sleeper hit animated film, “Hoodwinked” (2005), Cory Edwards, along with brother Todd Edwards and friend Tony Leech, was the quintessential 10-year overnight success story.
Born Aug. 21, 1968, Edwards and his brother were raised in Columbus, OH. Deep in the Midwest, the two brothers shared a deep love of movies and animation, going so far as to make their own films using the limited technology of the time – Super 8 film. Undaunted by the challenges of the medium, they filmed their own sci-fi and fantasy “epics,” with titles like “The Adventures of Captain Lightning.”
In high school, Edwards was fortunate enough to find summer work at an animation production company. After completing college, he landed a job at a production house in Tulsa, OK, where he worked on music videos and industrial films. While his younger brother was still back home, Edwards met and became fast friends with fellow Midwesterner Leech, a kindred spirit whom the brothers would follow to Los Angeles a few years later.
In L.A., Edwards dabbled in stand-up comedy and animation, but also worked in retail to pay the bills, while the others took similar odd jobs with occasional music or acting gigs on the side. Eventually, the frustrated trio teamed up to make a live-action film entitled, “Chillicothe,” in 1999. The film, about a group of men trying to transition from college life to real life, earned a spot at the Sundance Film Festival. It also caught the eye of a San Francisco investor, Maurice Kanbar, who enjoyed the film enough to stay in touch with the filmmakers. Eventually, their correspondence resulted in Kanbar agreeing to finance an animated fairy tale told in a contemporary style.
Calling upon his past experience on the animated film short, “Wobots,” Edwards, along with his creative partners, eventually settled on a retelling of the story of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Their version would contain a “Rashamon” twist – telling the story from within the context of a police investigation. While the film finished up, Edwards also appeared as the host of the ESPN2 television series, “K9 Nation” (2004).
Once the fractured fairy tale was finished, Kanbar was not in the financial position to both make and distribute “Hoodwinked,” so he sent a copy to Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who were in the process of leaving Miramax and Disney to set up their own company. The Weinsteins, already interested in entering the realm of kiddie films, bought the movie and then used their creative clout to wrangle high-level voice talent for the film, namely, Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close and Chazz Palminteri. “Hoodwinked” was released in late 2005 to be eligible for award consideration, before receiving wider release in January of the following year. Thanks in part to its relatively low $20 million budget, the film earned enough money back to warrant a sequel, with Edwards and the rest of their team in charge. In the meantime, the multi-talented brother also provided voice-over work for the 2006 animated film, “Over the Hedge,” as well as working with his two partners to develop additional live action projects.