Cynopsis: Kids!

11/05/09

Good morning. It’s Thursday, November 5, 2009, and this is your first early morning Kids briefing. 

TeenNick (f/k/a The N) begins production on its new dramedy Gigantic (20×30), the network’s first original scripted series, which is set to premiere in early 2010.  Shot on location in LA, Gigantic takes a fictional look at teens growing up in Hollywood, some of which are the offspring of celebrity parents.  Gigantic features an ensemble cast that includes Grace Gummer (Meryl Streep’s daughter) and Gia Mantegna (Joe Mantegna’s daughter).  The series is the network’s second collaboration with production company Reveille.  Gigantic is the first production from executive producers Marti Nixon‘s (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grey’s Anatomy, Mad Men, Point Pleasant) and Dawn Parouse Olmstead‘s (Prison Break, Point Pleasant, Tru Calling) new company Grady Twins.  Executive producers for Reveille are Carolyn Bernstein and Todd Cohen.  Gigantic was initially brought to TeenNick by brother/sister team Ben and Debby Wolfinsohn.

Sony Pictures Entertainment acquires the motion picture rights to the strategy conquest board game Risk, from Hasbro. The movie will be produced and developed by Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir and Overbrook Entertainment’s James Lassiter.  French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse invented the game in 1957 under the name La Conquete du Mond (Conquest of the World).  Two years later Parker Bros., which is now a division of Hasbro, published the game in the US.  Of course there have been numerous versions of the game released since then  such as the Star Wars, Halo Wars, Lord of the Rings and Transformers among many other editions.  The game is aimed at players 12 & up.

NEW PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

More on Walden Media‘s The Berenstain Bears feature film.  Nelvana, a division of Corus Entertainment, will also serve as a producer of the mixed live-action and CG movie.  This follows the news that Shawn Levy and his 21 Laps (Night at the Museum movies) banner has signed on as a producer of The Berenstain Bears.  Nelvana produced The Berenstain Bears animated TV series, which airs on PBS.  The movie will be based on The Berenstain Bears books, which are published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.

MORE KIDS STUFF

This week PBS Kids debuts season four of Franny’s Feet (check local listings, www.pbskids.org/frannysfeet ).  The 13 new episodes feature Franny traveling the world and learning about a range of things including National American Indian Heritage Month, the mountains of China where she learns about baby pandas and the Brazilian rainforest where she meets nocturnal animals.  In a Franny’s Feet special holiday episode, premiering November 25, Franny dances into a production of the Nutcracker ballet.  A production of Decode Entertainment in association with Thirteen and WNET.org, each episode of the series continues to feature Franny’s Treasures, an interactive segment where kids get to help Franny, and a sing-along music video.  In addition to PBA Kids, Franny’s Feet airs in the US on PBS Kids Sprout and V-me (in Spanish).

Author Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, 39 Clues) unveils plans for his next project, The Kane Chronicles, which like Percy Jackson and the Olympians, is a mythology based book series this time steeped in Egyptian mythology.  Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group, will publish the first title in the series, The Kane Chronicle, Book Ones: The Red Pyramid, and simultaneously release the audio version, on May 4, 2010.  The Kane Chronicles are targeted to K10+.  The series revolves around what happens when a magical accident unleashes the Egyptian gods on the modern world, siblings Carter and Sadie Kane discover that they are descendants of the greatest Egyptian magicians and thus the only ones who can put things right.  Fox is set to release movie version of Riordan’s book Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightening Thief, directed by Chris Columbus, on February 12, 2010.

MARKETING/LICENSING

Google celebrates two big kid and family properties this week.  Google teams with Sesame Workshop to recognize Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary with several original Google Doodles at the top of the search page ( www.google.com ).  The first Sesame Street Google doodle appeared yesterday with different doodles appearing each day through Tuesday, November 10, which is Sesame Street’s official anniversary day.  At the same time Google UK commemorated the 20th anniversary Aardman Animation‘s Wallace & Gromit yesterday with a special Wallace and Gromit Google doodle.  By the way  if you happened to miss one of these logo adaptations you can find them, and all previous doodles that have appeared around the world, by going to about Google, looking under the More Google section and then clicking on Logos and Photos.

More Twilight Saga: New Moon pre-movie release events.  Borders is hosting a live video webcast featuring popular Twilight and New Moon fansites from the Borders Westwood store in LA on Sunday, November 15 at 2p (PST)/5p (EST).  Expected to run 90-minutes, the event will be streamed live at www.bordersmedia.com/NewMoonLive .  While additional special guests are TBA, participating fansites include: Twilight Series Theories, Twilight Lexicon, Twilight Source, Twilight Facebook, His Golden Eyes, Twilighters Anonymous, and Twilight Moms.

STONE SOUP

PBS Kids Go! and WNED-TV Buffalo/Toronto are partnering to launch the PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest, a national-local contest designed to promote the development of kid’s reading skills via hands-on learning.  The Writers Contest invites kids in grades K-3 across the country, to create and illustrate their own stories and submit them.  Beginning on January 27, 2010, PBS stations nationwide will partners in the PBS Kids Go! Writers Contest and work with schools, public libraries and other literacy organizations to encourage kids in their communities to participate in the contest.  Local winners will be entered into the national contest where a panel of noted judges will select the winners. The contest website, www.pbskids.org/read, will launch in early 2010.

Bestseller Children’s Series and Tie-Ins (top 10), Week of October 29, 2009: Title; Author (Publisher)
Diary of a Wimpy Kid; Jeff Kinney (Abrams/Amulet)
Twilight Saga; Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown/Tingley)
The Vampire Diaries; L.J. Smith (HarperTeen)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians; Rick Riordan (Hyperion/Miramax)
Percy Jackson and the Olympians; Rick Riordan (Hyperion/Miramax)
Where the Wild Things Are; Maurice Sendak (HarperCollins)
House of Night; PC Cast and Kristin Cast (St. Martin’s Griffin)
Vampire Academy; Richelle Mead (Razorbill)
The 39 Clues; N/A Author* (Scholastic)
Night World; L.J. Smith (Simon Pulse)
Compiled from data received from independent and chain bookstores.
*A different author writes each book in the series
Source: Publishers Weekly

RATINGS

Live + Same Day Ratings Kids Cable Network Averages (000) for Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 6am-11pm, ranked by K2-11:
NICKELODEON:         K2-11 1144; K6-11 582; TWEENS 9-14 435
DISNEY CHANNEL:     K2-11   976; K6-11 606; TWEENS 9-14 479
CARTOON NETWORK: K2-11   532; K6-11 312; TWEENS 9-14 210
DISNEY XD:               K2-11   116; K6-11   77; TWEENS 9-14 60
Source: MTVN Research from Nielsen Media Research Data

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  What do Tennessee Tuxedo, Underdog, Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas and Nick Freno all have in common?  DON ADAMS  Kudos to: Christopher Byrne-TimetoPlayMag.com/NY; Kerry Milliron-Random House Children’s Books/NY; Squirrel Rippley-Dark Horse Media/Tucson; Steve Zuckerman-Creativecombustion.tv/LA

Today’s Trivia Question:  What series featured a boy trying to deal with everyday life and sharing his experiences by narrating his story and writing in his journal?   (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!
11.05.09

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