Cynopsis: Kids!
02/09/09
Good morning. It’s Monday, February 9, 2009, and this is your first early morning Kids briefing.
DreamWorks is well on its way to entering into a multi-year movie distribution deal with Walt Disney, following the crumbling of the studio’s discussions with Universal on Friday, according to BusinessWeek.com. Under the deal Disney will release six DreamWorks pictures a year, with DreamWorks paying Disney an 8% distribution fee (they same as it would have with Universal), with Disney offering a $150 million line of credit if DreamWorks needs it for production, per the report. Additionally, Disney will help DreamWorks raise additional funds for the new company.
NEW PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Breakthrough Films & Television is developing a new CGI animated kid’s featuring the characters Dudley the Dragon and based on its classic series The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon. Targeted to preschoolers, the new series welcomes back actor Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves among others) who played Mr. Crabby Tree in the original series. Originally produced in 1993 by Breakthrough in association with TV Ontario, the original series was a mix of live action and puppetry featuring Dudley, an easygoing, eight-foot dragon that featured songs and stories, which ran in 180 territories including PBS in the US.
The feature film adaptation of author Beverly Cleary‘s kid’s book Beezus and Ramona, which is based on her Ramona book series, will star Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) as Beezus and Joey King (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) as Ramona. Elizabeth Allen (Aquamarine) directs from a screenplay by Laurie Craig and Nick Pustay, Denise Di Novi (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Little Women) and Alison Greenspan are producing for Fox 2000 Pictures and Walden Media. Twentieth Century Fox releases Beezus and Ramona on March 19, 2010.
PorchLight Entertainment has partnered with Hidden City Games to create an animated TV series and long-form film content based on the Bella Sara horses. Targeted to K6-11, the animated Bella Sera series (26×22) will focus on Emma and Wings and their adventures. Under the agreement, PorchLight will have worldwide rights to the animated productions based on the Bella Sara brand and will simultaneously pursue feature and direct-to-DVD opportunities. Bella Sara was created in Denmark by Gitte Odder Braendgaard, with the trading cards and online game developed by Conceptcard ApS, also of Denmark. ITV Global Entertainment serves as licensing agent for the Bella Sara property.
MORE KIDS STUFF
Nickelodeon reveals nominees for its 22nd Annual Kids’ Choice Awards. Hosted by Dwayne Johnson, Nickelodeon’s annual scream-fest will air live from UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion on Saturday, March 28, 8-9:30p. Topping the list with three personal nominations is Miley Cyrus for top female singer, for her voiceover work in Bolt and favorite TV actress, as well as her Disney Channel series Hannah Montana nominated for favorite TV show. Beginning March 2, kids can vote online (www.nick.com/kca) for their favorites in 18 categories. Kids also will be able to vote via the Nick mobile website (wap.nick.com). From Monday-Friday, March 2-6, a different category will be featured on-air each day, and kids again vote for their favorite online at Nick.com. On the night of the show, the KCA site will kids an insider’s look at the entire live event, with coverage beginning at 7p with an exclusive 1-hour live pre-show webcast from the Orange Carpet. Also, webcams will offer multiple views of the event, giving kids control of what they want to see. A selection of Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards categories and nominees include:
- Favorite Movie
- Bedtime Stories
- The Dark Knight
- High School Musical 3: Senior Year
- Iron Man
- Favorite Movie Actor
- Jim Carrey (Yes Man)
- George Lopez (Beverly Hills Chihuahua)
- Adam Sandler (Bedtime Stories)
- Will Smith (Hancock)
- Female Movie Actress
- Jennifer Aniston (Marley & Me)
- Anne Hathaway (Get Smart)
- Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical 3: Senior Year)
- Reese Witherspoon (Four Christmases)
- Favorite Animated Movie Favorite
- Bolt
- Kung Fu Panda
- Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
- Wall-e
- Favorite TV Show
- Hannah Montana
- iCarly
- The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
- Zoey 101
- Favorite TV Actress
- Miranda Cosgrove/iCarly
- Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana
- America Ferrera/Ugly Betty
- Selena Gomez/Wizards of Waverly
- Favorite TV Actor
- Jason Lee/My Name Is Earl
- Dylan Sprouse/ The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
- Cole Sprouse/ The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
- Nat Wolff/The Naked Brothers Band
- Favorite Cartoon
- The Fairly OddParents
- Phineas and Ferb
- The Simpsons
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- Favorite Video Game
- Guitar Hero World Tour
- Mario Kart Wii
- Mario Super Sluggers
- Rock Band 2
Beginning Monday, April 20 on PBS Kids Go! (check local listings) kid can find out a lot more about weather with via the animated series Cyberchase, which launches a new seventh season Weather Watchers initiative that focuses on how math connects with climate issues with new episodes, new online game, and outreach activities. NBC meteorologist Janice Huff will lend her voice to the character Stormy Gale and will also appear as herself in two new Cyberchase For Real segments, which air at the end of each show. Cyberchase is produced by Thirteen in association with Title Entertainment Inc. and WNET.org.
MARKETING/LICENSING
TOKYOPOP partners with Big Tent Entertainment for the first Domo English language manga, scheduled for publication in September 2009. The Domo manga, which will resemble the look of the Domo TV series, release is being supported by a viral marketing campaign, including the fan art contest the Sho’ Me the Domo Competition.
Sega Corporation inks a worldwide deal with International Sports Multimedia (ISM) to serve as the official video game publisher of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada. Under the agreement, Sega secures the sole rights to publish console, PC/Macintosh, handheld, arcade, and mobile games worldwide. Under this exclusive license, Sega will publish a range of games with winter sports and events bearing the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games emblem.
BBC Worldwide renews its deal with Tomy as the master toy licensee across Europe for the Teletubbies brand. Under the renewed agreement, Tomy, which has held the UK master toy license since 2001 and France since 1998, will develop new products for the next three years. Produced by Ragdoll Productions, BBC Worldwide holds global rights to the Teletubbies.
STONE SOUP
Weekend Box Office Estimates for kids/tweens/teens rated G, PG or PG-13; February 6-8, 2009:
He’s Just Not That Into You (Warner Bros. (New Line)) PG-13 Opening Weekend $27.5m
Taken (Fox) PG-13 $20.3m-2 wk total $53.4m
Coraline (Focus Features) PG Opening Weekend $16.3m
The Pink Panther 2 (Sony/Columbia) PG Opening Weekend $12.0m
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Sony/Columbia) PG $11.0m-4 wk total $97.0m
Push (Summit Entertainment) PG-13 Opening Weekend $10.2m
The Uninvited (Paramount (DreamWorks)) PG-13 $6.4m-2 wk total $18.4m
Hotel for Dogs (Paramount (DreamWorks)) PG $5.8m-4 wk total $55.2m
New in Town (Lionsgate) PG $3.3m-2 wk total $11.9m
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount) PG-13 $2.4m-7 wk total $120.0m
Source: Rentrak
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Gail Rivett is appointed VP/Consumer Marketing, Astral Media. Rivett will oversee marketing, interactive, customer care and research for The Movie Network, HBO Canada, Mpix, Family Channel and Playhouse Disney brands. Additionally, Rivett will be responsible for growing the monthly Movie Entertainment magazine. Most recently, Rivett toiled for mDialog.com. She previously served as SVP/Marketing and Publicity, Alliance Atlantis Communications.
RATINGS
Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Thursday, February 5, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON: K2-11 1054; K6-11 511; TWEENS 9-14 370
DISNEY CHANNEL: K2-11 739; K6-11 393; TWEENS 9-14 318
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11 463; K6-11 284; TWEENS 9-14 211
TOON DISNEY: K2-11 136; K6-11 84; TWEENS 9-14 53
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data
Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: On what children’s TV series could you find characters named Squishington and Destructo? BUMP IN THE NIGHT Kudos to: Bonnie Bluemke-Fisher Price/NY; Bridget Brady-WETA/Washington, DC; Michael Hawkins-PromoDoctors/Irving, TX; Nijaguna Saoor-Turner International India Pvt. Ltd./Mumbai, India; Claire Wilmut-Boomstone Animation Inc./Ottawa; Lee Williams-Boomstone Animation Inc./Ottawa
Today’s Trivia Question: What was the name of Speed Racer’s girlfriend? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: Only the second four correct answers from each time zone will be mentioned; and once you’ve been mentioned in any of the Cynopsis editions, you can’t be mentioned again that calendar week.)
Later — Gwen
Gwen Billings for Cynopsis Kids!
02.09.09
Cynopsis Kids Ad Sales:
Chuck Bolkcom – 646-468-6180 / [email protected]
Mark Bohn- 203-583-1224 / [email protected]
Classifieds – Trish Pihonak- 203-926-9878 / [email protected]
To subscribe to any Cynopsis edition(s) click here.
To unsubscribe, click here or click the button at the end of this email.
Cynopsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here .
JOB OPENING: DIR, FINANCE/Embassy Row TV/NY: All aspects accting & financial reptg. CPA pref, BA & 10+ yrs exp. Entertainment exp. req, TV pref. Apply: www.sonypicturesjobs.com (2/13)
JOB OPENING: DIR. AD SALES RES /A&E TV-NY: Dvlp strategies & day-to-day for Ad Sls. BA/BS & 8 yrs media rsrch & mgmt exp. Knowl Nielsen/prime rsrch. Resume: www.aetn.com/careers.html (2/13)
JOB OPENING: CUST SVC REP/LA, CA/Baseline Inc: Filtering & monitoring client requests in multiple databases. 2+ yrs exp. Exp using or creating internal tracking databases. Deep understanding of ind. Send res to: [email protected] (2/12)
JOB OPENING: UNIT PUBLICIST/DKC/NYC: to work on location during prod of nationally synd TV show to ensure proper execution of all publicity efforts. 5+yrs exp w/ TV a must & health/wellness a plus. Resume: [email protected] (2/11)
JOB OPENING: SR. DIR, CLIENT DEVELOPMENT/NY/Ent-Media research co: Develop new/expand existing biz for research prod/custom services. Min 3 yrs market research sales exp. http://www.epollresearch.com/corp/aboutus/careers.view (2/11)
JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE (Universal Sports/NYC): 5-7 yrs exp @ sports network/website co., 3 yrs. Sports or digital sales exp req’d. Knwlg effective/creative pckgng strat a must. Res: [email protected] (2/17)
INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free, and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at [email protected].
SPRING INTERNSHIP/CREDITS ONLY: Exposure to business side of television. Work on program decisions, marketing & sales opportunities for client TV stations. COX REPs-NY-Strong comm..& math skills required, Contact [email protected] #(212)372-0443 (2/10)
SPRING INTERNSHIP/CREDITS ONLY: Keith Sherman & Associates seeks an intern willing to help with day-to-day activities doing PR for the theater and other events and outlets. Please send your resume and cover letter to [email protected] (2/10)
SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED … There is no charge for placing your Situation Wanted ad … for more information contact Trish Pihonak at [email protected]
SITUATION WANTED: PR & NEW MEDIA GURU (LA) Great Writer/Strategist, Social Media Expert, Strong Media Contacts, 15-year PR pro now avail for in-house or freelance. U want someone to hit the ground running, right? [email protected] (2/14)
SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE or Full-time MEDIA BUYER w/ over 25 yrs of buying exp. is newly available. Seeking F/T or Freelance wk from your office or my home (New York based) Please contact me @ [email protected] (2/14)
SITUATION WANTED: VIRTUAL WEB HOST PRODUCER (L.A.) Producer, Director, Writer Virtually place anyone or anything onto web pages. See www.YourLiveWeb.com. Contact [email protected] (2/14)
SITUATION WANTED: DEVELOPMENT/PRODUCTION EXEC. with studio and network background with great success in kids, family and teen arena seeks staff post or consultancy. www.tgcentertainment.com (2/13)
SITUATION WANTED: NASHVILLE BASED FIELD PRODUCER-Network, Cable,EPK, New Media. Ent.,Doc, News, Music, Reality, Docu-Soap, Social Issue/Ent. Video Journalist. Willing to travel and work as a local in NY, Dallas, Atlanta. [email protected] (2/12)
SITUATION WANTED: VIRTUAL CASTING Network, Major Cable, New Media credits.Booking – Casting – Research – Writing. Doc, News, Ent, Music – Celebs – Reality -Real People – Real Stories – [email protected] (2/12)
SITUATION WANTED: TV PROMO WRITER-PRODUCER L.A.- Multiple Emmy and Promax Award winner. 19+ years freelance for studios and networks. Large market station management experience. Freelance or full-time. Contact [email protected] (2/11)
SITUATION WANTED: TV PROGRAM EXECUTIVE/15 + yrs exp, Creative, great work ethic, knwldgbl, sense of humor, can relocate. See www.linkedin.com/in/joepauly. Looking for next great opp in cable or brdcst TV. Contact [email protected] (2/11)
SITUATION WANTED: EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/Animator/Editor, LA- Meg Barbour – seeks work in top design studio. 5+ years experience as producer, motion graphic designer, editor, project manager, web 2.0 consultant. [email protected] (2/10)
SITUATION WANTED: BUS AFFAIRS/EXEC PROD/DEVELOPMENT (NYC). Many years expnc in docs/reality ent. Sold progs to all cable nets. Develop/pitch/prod/negotiate. Orig commissions, co-pros, acquisitions. FT/PT/Freelance. [email protected] (2/10)
SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR (NY) Ultra-creative, award winning, all formats, all genres, all major networks and major cable. Fast, frugal and fun! [email protected] (2/10)
SITUATION WANTED: SYNDICATION SALES PROFESSIONAL. After six years working for a major radio program syndication company, I’m ready to make the leap to television program syndication sales.I’m a seasoned pro with over 20-yrs sales experience. E-mail: [email protected] (2/10)
SITUATION WANTED: Experienced VP, DEVELOPMENT and PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE looking for new opportunity. Contact [email protected] (2/10)
E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 203.926.9878 for rates and specs for Job Openings.
Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.
Cynopsis Media LLC
One Corporate Drive, Suite 724
Shelton, CT 06484
203.926.9878
All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynopsis 2009