Zayn Malik's '10 Lives' set to captivate audiences with world premiere at Sundance Film Festival

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The animated film '10 Lives,' created by Chris Jenkins, is set to make its world premiere at the ongoing Sundance Film Festival.

The filmmaker in an interview with Variety reflected on his latest project and signing major celebrities, including Zayn Malik.

Director Jenkins on signing Zayn Malik

The 63-year-old began by saying, “I was apprehensive, to begin with, I didn’t know what to expect. Amongst the community of animation directors, we know that if we’re going to go with a big star that can come with all sorts of issues.” 

“Sometimes people come in with an entourage and you can barely find the real person underneath, which is what I love to do," he added.

"Zayn was the complete opposite. We bonded immediately, and I knew what I had to do going in was to have a good time, like two guys just having a laugh really, and then I would push him for more emotions,” Jenkins expressed.

On Zayn’s playing two characters in the movie, Jenkins reflected, “But he’s really funny. He plays those guys with the pathos that I really wanted, which was, they are acting as bad guys but they’re not really bad."

"They don’t know how to be bad. At the start of the next movie — if we get there, I hope — they’ve actually bought that pub in town and called it Pets and Pints,” he said.

Malik, serving as the executive music producer, has contributed original tracks to the film, including a duet with Simone Ashley from 'Bridgerton.'

Another notable figure involved in the project is Bill Nighy, renowned for his role in 'Love, Actually.'

Mo Gilligan plays Beckett in '10 Lives'

Regarding the inclusion of Mo Gilligan as Beckett, the filmmaker explained, “I didn’t know about Mo and I apologized to him because he’s fantastic.

Our wonderful casting director mentioned Mo Gilligan for one of the smaller parts. I listened and I thought, 'This guy’s Beckett.'"

He further explained, “He had the charm. He had the wit. His improvisational chops were just brilliant, which I love. There was no other choice after that."

"We talked about some pretty big stars but Mo was by far and away the happiest accident that has ever happened in one of these movies. He’s brilliant and a lovely man,” he added.

Discussing the grand premiere of '10 Lives,' Jenkins expressed, "It was totally unexpected. I was in post in London, in the middle of a very busy schedule, when one of the producers came in with a sign-up sheet for Sundance."

"She passed me a piece of paper, I signed it, and said, 'What’s it for?' She replied, 'We’re going to send this to Sundance, you never know.' I totally forgot about it. So literally, I’m working here, I look up to check my mail, and my eyes fill up," he added.