A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM THE CYNOPSIS FOUNDATION, INC.

Cynopsis: Kids!

10/02/07

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, October 2, 2007, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

SupperTime Entertainment, with producer Chris Henderson, has acquired all rights to the Tom Trueheart book series, from well-known author and illustrator Ian Beck.  SupperTime and Henderson have begun developing the first title in the series, The Secret History of Tom Trueheart, as CGI animated feature film.  The Secret History of Tom Trueheart was published in the US earlier this year by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins, while Oxford University Press published the book in the UK, where it is titled The Secret History of Tom Trueheart – Boy Adventurer, in summer 2006.  The second book in the series, Tom Trueheart and The Land of Dark Stories, is slated for publishing in March 2008, with a third to follow.  Small piece of trivia for you – in addition to writing/illustrating a number of kid’s books, among other books and magazines, Beck holds a place in the world of pop culture.  Those who remember 1973 somewhat clearly (not that I do, I was just a baby … okay, I was young) will be familiar with what is likely Beck’s best-known artwork, which graces the cover of Sir Elton John’s album, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.

Unified Pictures is developing a CG-animated feature film adaptation of Noah’s Ark.  Budgeted at $35 million, Unified has signed Philip LaZebnik to pen the script, which will tell the story from the point-of-view of the animals.  LaZebnik co-write the animated movies The Prince of Egypt, Mulan and Pocahontas.  ElectroAge will handle the animation.

MORE KIDS STUFF

Nickelodeon Germany will introduce a primetime branded programming block three nights a week from early 2008, under a new partnership between Off the Fence and its partner Rolf Ernst with the network.  Developed by Nick Germany and Off the Fence, the new block will feature Off the Fence’s wildlife series and specials and programs as well as those from NHNZ and Off the Fence catalogs.

Following Warner Bros.’ acquisition deal with Harmony Gold, for the movie rights to the anime property Robotech, Harmony Gold has inked a deal with Fireworks International.  Under the new pact, Fireworks will distribute the Harmony Gold TV library worldwide.  In addition to Robotech, Harmony Gold’s catalog includes the miniseries such as Shaka Zulu, King of the Olympics, Around the World in 80 Days, Heidi and kid specific TV series Rin Tin Tin among many others.  Fireworks International is a division of Content Film Plc.

Entertainment Rights has inked a deal with RHI International Distribution for the worldwide TV and home video distribution rights (excluding the US) for the animated movie Dinotopia: Quest for the Ruby Sunstone (75 min), across both pay and free TV.  Based on the Dinotopia book series, the movie was produced by Hallmark Entertainment, which changed its name last year to RHI Entertainment.

Canal Plus has acquired all French broadcast rights, including pay TV, cable TV, internet and mobile, for the HD 3D animated series The Imp (65×90 seconds) from BRB Internacional.  Under the deal Canal Plus will act as licensing agent in France for the animated series.  Produced by Red Kite, Screen 21 and TVC, The Imp is aimed at young adults.  Over the next few weeks, the official The Imp website will launch, and the merchandising and licensing program will begin to rollout.

A day plus into October 2007 and Halloween programming will begin cropping up on-air, online and everywhere you look here are some to look out for:

• Nick’s virtual world, Nicktropolis will transform its Downtown into a haunted destination featuring a Haunted House, Dracula’s Lair and The Mummy’s Tomb as part of company-wide “Shocktober” initiative. Kids can visit a pumpkin patch and pick one to put in their personalized rooms, or play a brand new online multiplayer game as team werewolf or vampire. Beginning Saturday, October 13, Nick.com will introduce a scream-themed mini site featuring scary games and videos for Halloween.
• Disney Channel launches the second season of the preschool series Handy Manny on Saturday, October 27 at 10:30a, during Playhouse Disney’s Big Halloween Party weekend, that will feature holiday themed episodes of the block’s series (including the new Handy Manny episode) on Saturday and Sunday, October 27 and 28, 6a-12p.
• Edgar & Ellen, the stars of the animated series of the same name, will star the Halloween special Trick or Twins (30-min) that will air later this month on Nickelodeon (date/time TBA) and on Nicktoons Network on Sunday, October 28 at 8:30p.

Partners in Motion and Breakthrough Films & Television along with distribution division, Breakthrough Entertainment have teamed in program development and distribution co-venture.  According to the terms of the new alliance, Breakthrough and Partners In Motion will co-invest half-a-million dollars combined over the next three years into a joint venture initiative, which will be used to develop factual programs and establishing new partnerships with international broadcasters, as well as third-party producers.  Tanya Kelen, head of distribution Breakthrough Entertainment, has been appointed as partners In Motion’s exclusive worldwide distribution agent for factual programming.  Breakthrough will hold distribution rights for projects born out of the new development/production initiative.  Additionally, Breakthrough will be at MIPCOM representing Partners In Motion’s slate of programs.

Beyond Entertainment heads to MIPCOM Junior this weekend with a range of animated series including Milly, Molly (13×30 min or 26×15 min).  Based on the Milly, Molly books, which have sold some 3.5 million copies around the world, the series follows the adventures of two young heroines and their friends.  So far the Milly, Molly series has been picked up in Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, Findland, Norway, Israel, Hong Kong and Portugal.  Beyond will also showcase: the CGI animated series Numberjacks (45×15 min); a second season of the live-action kid’s drama The Amazing Extraordinary Friends (26×30 min); and a new season (26×30 min or 52×15 min) of Backyard Science, based on the Dorling Kindersley’s book of the same name, for a total of three seasons (78×30 min or 156×15 min).

MARKETING/LICENSING

Casting : The Gap is searching for new babyGap and GapKids models with a nationwide contest that runs now through October 24, 2007.  Gap is teaming up with Kodak Gallery, the online photo service, to help identify the baby (ages 4 and under) and kids (5-12 years-old) models for their campaign.  For full details about the contest can be found via gap.com where there is a link to the Kodak Gallery Contest Site.

STONE SOUP

The World Heart Federation and the Colombian Society of Cardiology have joined forces with Sesame Workshop‘s Plaza Sesamo Healthy Habits for Life initiative to encourage children and families to adopt healthier heart habits and combat obesity in Colombia as part of the international World Heart Day.

Hoping to encourage kids/tweens 8-14 to keep reading over the summer to avoid that dastardly “summer slide,” Scholastic and Target launched the second annual Scholastic Summer Reading Buzz! in spring 2007.  Fast-forward to fall 2007, and kids participating in the program report having read 120,800 books over the four months.  The top 10 books read and logged during the campaign are: (title, author)

• Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
• A Series of Unfortunate Events series, Lemony Snicket
• Captain Underpants series, Dav Pilkey
• Holes, Louis Sachar
• Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
• Magic Tree House books, Mary Pope Osborne
• Because of Winn Dixie, Kate DiCamillo
• Geronimo Stilton series, Geronimo Stilton
• Aquamarine, Alice Hoffman
• Artemis Fowl series, Eoin Colfer

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Iris Lee has been upped to VP/Sales and Marketing, Cartoon Network.  Lee, who joined Turner 11 years ago as a Sales Planner, has led the Midwest region sales effort for the last two years as Sales Manager.

King Features Syndicate has tapped John Soppe as Managing Director/King Digital, a new unit of the company.  He will work with King’s editorial, sales and marketing teams to leverage current properties and provide consumers with content across the various avenues where they seek it.  He will also work with series content creators and new partners to develop new products and services.  Prior to this, Soppe spent several years as head of the supply chain services department at APC Magazines, the largest magazine publisher in Australia.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: In the 2004 movie Napoleon Dynamite, what does Napoleon ask his brother Kip to bring to him at school? CHAPSTICK   Kudos to:  Hugo Fernandes-Tasty Baking Company/Philadelphia; Rick Farley-HarperCollins/ NY; Bonnie Bluemke-IAG Research/NY; Bonnie Bisset-DIC Entertainment/NY; Izzy Neis-Star Farm Productions/Chicago; Torin Kelly-VEE Corporation/Minneapolis;  Julie Syers-Briggs & Caldwell/Houston; Josh Jones-Palisades MediaGroup Inc./Santa Monica; Justin Meadows-Disney/ABC Cable Networks Group/Burbank; Matthew C. Bergeron-Disney ABC Cable Networks Group/Burbank; Jason Avila-The Rogers Group/LA; Ian Lambur-KidScreen Magazine/Toronto;  Claire Wilmut-Boomstone Animation, Inc./Ottawa; Brodie Sanderson-Frantic Films/Winnipeg

Today’s Trivia Question:  Among the Peanuts gang, who is the girl who has “naturally curly hair”?   ( Click here 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!
10.02.07

Cynopsis Ad Sales: Jennifer Franko – 203-583-9796 / [email protected]
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Cyn opsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here

JOB OPENING: OTX/NY: Leading market research firm seeks paid (or schl crdt) interns for media ent group. Mkt rsrch and/or media exp and intrst pref’d.Accepting resumes thru Oct 30. Send: [email protected] (10/10)

JOB OPENING: VP, HR/RETIREMENT LIVING/Columbia MD: Design, develop and implement effective strategies and tactics to improve the business and employee performance. Please visit www.rl.tv for full description (10/10)

JOB OPENING:  DIRECTOR, AFFILIATE SALES/Columbia MD: Manage distribution sales and affiliate relations efforts for RLTV within a multi-state or national region. Visit www.rl.tv for full description (10/10)

JOB OPENING: GROUP SALES & MKTG DIRS/ Tribune Broadcasting/E & W Coastseek self-starter to develop new business across brdcst/cable stations/web sites; See ad @ www.TribJobs.com keywords16666/16664;Apply by 10/12 EOE

JOB OPENING: ASST. SALES PLANNER/ Oxygen Media/ NY: Candidate must be detail oriented and possess excellent communication skills. Will report to two AE’s. Resume & cover letter to [email protected], ref job title in subject line (10/10)

JOB OPENING: SALES PLANNER/ Oxygen Media/ NY: Support two AE’s, 2-3 yrs exp. buying or planning. Must be detail oriented and possess excellent comm and math skills. Resume/cover letter to [email protected], ref job title in subject (10/10)

JOB OPENING:  ONLINE ACCT EXEC/Discovery Networks/NY: Sell National online advertising on IMedia Ad Sales Team, strong sales skills, 5 yrs sales exp, min 2 yrs internet sales. Apply: www.discovery.com (#5868)   (10/6)

JOB OPENING:  SALES ASSISTANT/Hallmark Channel/NY: -Work w/ AE’s & Planners to service and maintain agencies and clients on daily basis. See full posting and apply at www.hallmarkchannel.com (10/6)

JOB OPENING:  TRAFFIC COORDINATOR/Hallmark Channel/NY:  Edits daily broadcast logs; executes agency traffic instructions; maintains commercial inventory. See full posting and apply at www.hallmarkchannel.com (10/6)

JOB OPENING:  MGR WRITTEN COMM/WB WW TV PUBL/CA: Create, write, edit and/or proofread all consumer publicity, bus comm, mktg, advertising/sales materials of WB TV Group. 5 yrs exp. Email: [email protected]    re: 88523BR_UCTC (10/6)

JOB OPENING:  FINANCE/BUS INTELLIGENCE SR ANALYST/MAXIM DIGITAL/NY: Support Maxim Digital Ops: fin modeling, web analytics; Strong system skills desired; Online exp pref’d; 2+ yrs exp fin / analytics; email res: [email protected]  (10/6)

JOB OPENING:  MANAGER AD SALES MKTG/TV Land/MTVN NY: BA; 5 yrs marketing exp. Creative thinker w/ strong proj mgmnt sk; highly organized. Understands brand mgmnt, advtg, promos, resrch. EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (10/6)

JOB OPENING:  NEW MEDIA EXEC PROD/Atlanta:   Exp in online Product Mngmt & Product delivery.Resp for content strategy, funding launch, ad sales strategy, writing business plans. Strategic role.  [email protected] (860) 632 3707 (10/6)

JOB OPENING: DIR INTG MKTG/Lifeskool/Sportskool/NYC: develop &sell integrated VOD programming& standard advert direct to brands & agencies. 5+ yrs sales in media w/direct to client exp. rez to www.cablevision.jobs ref #2475BR (10/5)

JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/Cablevision/Rockland NY: Seeks Acct Exec for local ad sales.2+ yrs ad sales exp. pref cable tv, classified, internet adv.  Valid NY Drivers Lic.  Apply to www.cablevision.jobs req 4147BR (10/5)

JOB OPENING: SALES/MKTG COORDINATOR/Entertainment research company/Encino: Provide administrative support to client development.Degree & 2 yrs exp. pref. Attention to detail & excellent org skills a must. Email [email protected]. (10/5)

JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/Entertainment research co/Encino: Aggressively sell syndicated research products. Min 2 yrs sales exp. Ability to demonstrate sales success required. Email resume/salary hist to [email protected] (10/5)

JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXEC/Norwalk, CT Cablevision:  Seeks Account Exec for Local Ad Sales. 2 + yrs ad sales exp. pref. Cable tv, classified, internet adv. Valid CT DL. Please visit www.cablevision.jobs and apply to 3744BR (10/5)

JOB OPENING: INTERACTIVE A/E/WPIX/CW11 NYC: 3+yrs online sales exp. well networked in online community, high interest in media, proven track record in online sales, pro-actively drive revenue, rush resume to www.cw11.com EOE (10/5)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH MGR/ Rainbow Ad Sales/NY:  5 years Research. exp in Agency, Station, & Rep Firm and/or in Cable or Web Environment and New Technology incld. VOD.  Please visit www.cablevision.jobs and apply to req id 1786BR (10/5)

JOB OPENING: MGR, LOCAL MARKET RESEARCH/National Cable Communications/NYC: 5+ yr Exp analyzing local mkt competitive TV landscape. Strong analytical/communication skills. Rep/station or cable exp. Email: nccr&[email protected] (10/4)
 
JOB OPENING: DIR OF SALES RES/NY:. Proactive contributor to work in a team-based envt/ provide sales res. materials, estimates, rating data, etc; min. of 7yrs of TV research. Apply at http://www.lifetimetv.com/about/jobs.html (10/4)

JOB OPENING: MGR.STRAT&BUS OPS (AFFILIATE)-/MTV Networks, NY NY: Xclnt Research & Quant Skills/Bkrnd in Strategic Plng, Biz Dev or Consult/Fin. Modeling/Creating Sales Pres./Mg. Direct Rpts./apply on-line www.mtvncareers.com EOE/M/F/D/AAP (10/3)

JOB OPENING: ONLINE ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/CBS Television Distribution, NYC: Looking for highly motivated & well organized individual. 2 yrs online experience pref’d. Base Salary plus bonus. Please send resume to [email protected] (10/3)

JOB OPENING: PROMOTIONS MGR/ADLINK/LA: Work w/ad sales team & cable nets to create, present & execute unique added value TV mktg opps. Presentation skills, industry exp., sales savvy a must. Apply: [email protected] (10/3)

JOB OPENING:  DIR, PROG OPS/AMC/WEtv/NY:  Resp for implementing nets film formatting & Orig Prod guidelines. 5+ yrs of ops related exp in TV. Highly organized, systems oriented prof. rez to www.cablevision.jobs ref # 4476BR(10/3)

JOB OPENING: AD SALES MKTG COORD/NY: Create sales proposals, execute added value, support dir. of mktg, develop ad sales materials, premiums, coord. events. 1-2 years exp cable/agency. Email res: [email protected] (10/3)

SUMMER or FALL INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. They are 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] .

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Production Company/Baltimore: Looking for fall and Spring interns for documentary. Will get experience in research, logging and all aspects of production and post production. Apply [email protected]  (10/6)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: MKTING/SALES INTERN/MediaPlace/NYC: Seeks motivated interns, 2-3 days wk, with strong interest in marketing/sales, strong comm skills required. Assist w/ projects, admin duties. E-mail Resume/CL: [email protected] (10/3)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Fox Reality Channel is seeking an intern for their PROGRAMMING DEPARTMENT. Interest in Reality TV a must. Experience a plus. Please email resumes to [email protected]. (10/3)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED …

SITUATION WANTED: PROD. COORD./ASSOC. PROD/L.A. area:  4+ yrs exp. in TV/Ent: Mobile/Digital Content producer/talent coordinator/ PA. Diligent, teamplayer, great comm./org. skills. Email [email protected]  (10/6)

SITUATION WANTED: Looking for “at home” assignments in marketing/promotion/translation/typing/calls etc. W/15 +yrs of International & Marketing experience. Spanish, Portuguese & English languages. Contact [email protected]  (10/5)

SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCTION COORDINATOR/L.A. area: exp. juggling multiple shows at one time, great work ethic and attitude; have TV & Film exp. as PA, script asst., and coord; amazing org. skills. Please contact [email protected] (10/4)

SITUATION WANTED: TV PROD./L.A. Seeking writer’s/showrunner’s assistant/PA position, 5 yrs. industry experience, computer-savvy, great written/verbal communication skills, resourceful, professional, excellent references. [email protected]  (10/4)

SITUATION WANTED: ANIMATION PRD/NYC. Seek Producer/Assoc. Prod. Role. Exp. in Animation Industry. TV Series, Mobile/Digital Content. Contact [email protected]  (10/3)

SITUATION WANTED: REALITY SHOW RUNNER & DIR: Seeks employment. Extensive Directing, Prod,Dvlpmnt, Story & Post exp. Network and Cable credits. NYC & LA. (Reality, Competition, House, Lifestyle, Docusoap) [email protected] (10/3)

SITUATION WANTED: MKTG/SALES DIRECTOR: 10+ yrs TV, print, radio, online. Entrepreneur-minded, out-side-the-box, brand-focused Canadian w/GreenCard, US-educated, seeks US-based (Cali/ FL/NYC), mngmnt-level role. [email protected] (10/3)

SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCTION COORDINATOR/L.A. area: exp. juggling multiple shows at one time, great work ethic and attitude; have TV & Film exp. as PA, script asst., and coord; amazing org. skills. Please contact [email protected] (10/3)

E-mail Trish Pihonak for rates and specs for Job Openings.  

Interested in posting your Video Resume?  Contact [email protected] for more information ….

Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email Trish Pihonak for specs.