Bob Barlen

Robert George Barlen (born July 27, 1980), best known as Bob Barlen, is a Canadian screenwriter and producer. He is best known for having co-written The Weinstein Company's animated film Escape from Planet Earth (2013), and produced and co-written The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature (2017), both in collaboration with his business partner Cal Brunker, who served as the director for both films.

Bob Barlen
Born	Robert George Barlen (1980-07-27) July 27, 1980 Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Alma mater	Ryerson University Canadian Film Centre
Occupation	Screenwriter, Producer
Years active	2003–present
Notable work	Escape from Planet Earth, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature

Career

Upon graduating from Ryerson University, Barlen attended the Directors' Lab at the Canadian Film Centre.[1]

He co-wrote the screenplay for Escape from Planet Earth,[2] which was released to theaters February 15, 2013.

Barlen produced and co-wrote the sequel The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, starring Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph and Katherine Heigl, which was theatrically released by Open Road Films on August 11, 2017.[3]

He co-wrote the screenplay for The Son of Bigfoot, a Belgian CGI-animated film, for nWave Pictures that is due to be released in August 2017, and for Arctic Dogs, a Canadian CGI-animated feature film, for AMBI Pictures that is due to be released in January 2018. His next screenplay work is Cranston Academy: Monster Zone, a Mexican-British-Canadian animated horror-comedy film starring Jamie Bell and Ruby Rose, which is produced by Ánima Estudios and Prime Focus World.[4]

On 21 February 2020, following the announcement, Barlen confirmed via his Twitter that he's collaborating with Brunker once more as a co-writer, alongside with Billy Frolick, for PAW Patrol: The Movie, a film based on the popular Nick Jr. animated series, PAW Patrol.[5][6] It will be released in August 2021, produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Spin Master, and distributed by Paramount Pictures.[6]

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Miscellaneous	Notes
2002	Deportation at Breakfast	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Short film
2003	Enrico, Stammi Vicino	No	No	No	Yes	Short film Cinematographer
2007	Push and Turn	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Short film Co-written with David Knobel
2009	Ollie & the Baked Halibut	No	No	No	Yes	Short film Titles First collaboration with animator Cal Brunker
2009	Ninjamaica	No	No	Line	No	Television film
2013	Escape From Planet Earth	No	Yes	No	No	Co-written with Cal Brunker Feature film debut
2017	The Son of Bigfoot	No	Yes	Executive	No	Co-written with Cal Brunker
2017	The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-written with Cal Brunker and Scott Bindley Voice of Handsome Mouse
2019	Arctic Dogs	No	Yes	No	No	Co-written with Matt Lyon, Cal Brunker, Aaron Woodley, and Bryan Thompson
2019	The Puppet Master	No	Yes	Yes	No	Short film Co-written with Cal Brunker
2020	Cranston Academy: Monster Zone	No	Yes	No	No	Co-written with Cal Brunker
2021	PAW Patrol: The Movie[6]	No	Yes	No	No	Co-written with Cal Brunker and Billy Frolick In development

References

1. "The Canadian Film Centre :: Alumni". Cfccreates.com. 2013-01-28. Archived from the original on 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
2. Fleming, Mike. "Animated Film 'Escape From Planet Earth' Gets Voice Cast". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
3. Hipes, Patrick. "'The Nut Job 2' Gets May 2017 Release Date". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
4. Grater, Tom (1 November 2019). "Jamie Bell, Ruby Rose To Voice Animation 'Cranston Academy: Monster Zone' For DDI – AFM". Deadline. Deadline. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
5. Barlen, Bob (21 February 2020). "Bob Barlen on Twitter: "Excited to share what @calbrunker and I have..." Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
6. Galuppo, Mia (21 February 2020). "'PAW Patrol' Feature Coming From Paramount, Spin Master". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media, LLC. Retrieved 10 March 2020.

External links

• Bob Barlen on IMDb
• Bob Barlen Biography
• Bob Barlen Twitter