Animation and live-action production company Waterman Entertainment has acquired animation house Film Roman, that was previously a subsidiary of Starz. In the deal Film Roman will expand its business model to acquire, develop and produce original ideas/concepts for television, feature film and digital media and handle Waterman’s development slate that includes Brave Little Toaster, Heathcliff and Mr. Ed. As part of the acquisition, Film Roman GM Dana Booton has been upped to President of Production. Film Roman founder Phil Roman will return to the company he founded in 1984 as Chairman Emeritus.
David Heyman has launched Heyday Television, a joint venture with NBCUniversal International Studios with the aim of creating premium long-form scripted content. This is the first major entry into TV for the veteran film producer credited with the Harry Potter franchise. The new company already has two blind series commitments from NBC. Heyday Television will still have the freedom to sell its shows to other networks. The company will operate separately from Heyman’s film banner and will have offices in LA and London.
Joel Silver and his Silver Pictures Television production label have signed a multiyear first-look television deal with Lionsgate. Under the deal, the production company has a put pilot commitment from CBS for Bathory, with writer-producer David Eick to executive produce, along with Silver and his president of Silver Pictures Television, Rodney Ferrell. Additionally, Silver Pictures Television has a put pilot commitment from Fox for the drama Soar, that Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer will write and exec produce.
Nic Pizzolatto has signed an overall deal through 2018 with HBO. He is best known as the creator/EP/showrunner/writer/actor in HBO’s True Detective. Under the deal, he will develop new projects that could possibly include a third season of True Detective, although no order has been given. Previously he was credited as a writer on AMC’s The Killing.
Broad Green Pictures has inked a first-look deal with Storyscape Entertainment, the production company from veteran producers and former studio heads Bob Cooper and Richard Saperstein. Under the deal the company will develop and produce movies for the studio with the deal covering physical and financial production resources. This deal will allow the company to grow from mainly acquisitions to also developing new material. Storyscape’s credits include 99 Homes, I Smile Back and A Walk in the Woods.
Veteran producers Karla Hidalgo and Christopher Martin have launched a new production company called TV Dinner Productions. TV Dinner will concentrate on the creation, development and production of non-scripted programs for broadcast, cable and online networks. The company will be under a production deal with VH1 to produce a new series set for the spring. They will also develop programs for Lifetime and History. Their next project is the Lifetime special The Sexiest Man Alive, a tie-in with People magazine’s 2015 hunk edition.
Producer Tom Leach has inked a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television to develop and produce unscripted TV formats and series under his new production company, Media RED. Media RED, which recently set up projects at FYI, Pivot, Funny or Die and Red Bull TV. Previously Leach was the VP of Development & Current Programming under Mark Burnett at One Three Media, where he helped develop Space Race and produced TBS’ Trust Me, I’m A Game Show Host.
CBS Studios International has signed an exclusive, multi-year pact with PPTV, China’s leading SVOD operator that has users in the neighborhood of 400 million. CBS will now provide PPTV with current series from CBS and CBS-owned Showtime. PPTV will also have exclusive rights to the China premieres of select upcoming CBS new event series, as well as select Showtime series.
Cross Creek Pictures have inked a new three-year, multifaceted co-financing, production, and distribution multi-platform deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group. The company previously had a deal at Universal. The company is known for developing, producing and co-financing quality films with mid-range budgets with projects that include Black Mass, Everest, Rush, The Ides of March, and Black Swan. Under the deal, Sony Pictures and Cross Creek will also co-finance certain films, originating in either pipeline.
Lionsgate has made an ownership stake in Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios in a deal valued at an estimated $200 million for more than 50% of the studio. Pilgrim will continue to operate independently under its current management team headed by Piligian. The Studio currently produces 47 unscripted and scripted series across 27 networks, including hits Ghost Hunters, Wicked Tuna and Ultimate Fighter.
Shine Pictures and Lovely Day will now fall under the umbrella of Kudos as part of a restructure within the Endemol Shine Group. Per the restructure, Shine Pictures’ MD Ollie Madden will be an executive producer at Kudos. Projects include The Siege, Blowback and an adaptation of bestselling novel The Farm. Upcoming productions will be produced under the Kudos banner and Shine Pictures will continue to produce features, but will now also work in TV with a particular focus on collaborating with film talent.
Writer-producer Charles Agron has launched distribution company K Street Pictures where he will serve as CEO. He recently wrote, produced and acts in director Harvey Lowry’s suspense thriller, Monday At 11:01 AM which will be released under the banner during first-quarter 2016. The company aims to produce and acquire for worldwide distribution up to five productions per year in the first two years with plans to expand in 2018.
Le Vision Pictures USA has inked a deal with director Rob Minkoff and his producing partner Pietro Ventani to co-develop and produce two films under their Flying Tigers Entertainment. The two films will be the live-action comedy Silkworms about monks in ancient China and the animated feature Wolf Totem about the life-and-death struggle on the great Mongolian plains.