ITV

Tag: Andy Heyward

  • Chef Wolfgang Puck partners with Genius Brands to create a children’s brand

    Chef Wolfgang Puck partners with Genius Brands to create a children’s brand

    Mumbai: Chef, restaurateur, entrepreneur and philanthropist Wolfgang Puck announced a partnership with Genius Brands International to create an all-new children’s brand, Wolfgang Puck’s Secret Chef Academy, for the worldwide marketplace.

    Wolfgang Puck’s Secret Chef Academy will feature an animated adventure series (52 x 11 episodes) that stars Puck voicing his own character.

    Creatively collaborating with Puck, Genius Brands is also developing a global licensing, merchandising, promotions and retail programme that will feature themed subscription boxes containing lots of fun recipes from all different types of cuisine for kids to create; a line of branded merchandise for children in categories, including publishing, cooking tools, apparel, home goods, among others; a new private food label for kids; a dedicated YouTube channel featuring short-form content; a dedicated website and social media channels.

    Puck said, “Wolfgang Puck’s Secret Chef Academy is at its core a celebration of food and culture around the world, and an exploration of how we are all connected through our shared love of eating a delicious meal. I am extremely passionate and committed to teaching kids and parents about nutrition and the value of cooking meals with healthy ingredients. Equally important is helping reinforce their understanding of how food goes from farm to table and touching on issues near and dear to my heart such as the elimination of global hunger. Our goal is to deliver these increasingly important messages in an easy to understand and entertaining manner. I look forward to working with my friend Andy Heyward and the Genius Brands team to fulfill a lifelong dream of reaching kids through my life’s work.”

    Genius Brands chairman and CEO Andy Heyward said, “I have had the privilege of knowing Wolfgang for many years and have been fortunate enough to experience his culinary magic from the beginning. I have always wanted to collaborate with him on a children’s project. His level of skill, passion, creativity and commitment is truly unparalleled. Our goal for Wolfgang Puck’s Secret Chef Academy is to create an atmosphere of ‘James Bond meets Julia Child’ with a state of the art kitchen and supersonic gadgets, all while highlighting the importance of health, nutrition and sustainability through our storylines and characters’ journeys. We are creating a one-of-a-kind immersive experience through entertainment and merchandise for worldwide distribution.”

    Genius Brands chief brand officer Kerry Phelan commented, “Wolfgang Puck’s Secret Chef Academy is inspired by Wolfgang’s global brand recognition, and it is incredibly important to us that we create a brand that honours his vision of delivering an experience that celebrates cuisine around the globe and teaches kids to respect and be inspired by different cultures. We truly believe the next generation will fall in love with food, friendship and family and will learn that there is nothing better than a shared meal to bring people together!”

  • Dic Entertainment & Thomopoulos Productions form JV

    Dic Entertainment & Thomopoulos Productions form JV

    MUMBAI: DIC Entertainment and Thomopoulos Productions have joined forces to launch Promise Media Productions, a new venture focused on developing, marketing and distributing properties for children and families under the positive value-based Promise Media brand for both the faith-based and secular markets.

    The announcement was made by Thomopoulos Productions president Tony Thomopoulos and DIC Entertainment chairman and CEO Andy Heyward.

    Promise Media Productions will develop original live-action and animated Promise Media-branded content, as well as acquire properties with strong brand recognition for distribution across film, television, home entertainment, new media and consumer products platforms. In addition to developing comprehensive licensing and merchandising campaigns, it will build an online community to reach an audience interested in positive value entertainment that will serve as an information and entertainment destination.

    The Promise Media-branded content will incorporate virtues such as faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance to create product that ranges from an animated version of Black Beauty to a classic remake of Ben Hur and an original live-action theatrical production Angel Flight For Life. The programming will avoid all gratuitous sex and violence and will offer parents a safe environment to entertain and inform their children.

    “The multi-billion dollar market for positive values entertainment continues to rapidly grow, and Andy and I recognised a tremendous opportunity in this underserved marketplace to create and deliver high-quality product that resonates with faith-based values. DIC has built a solid reputation in the brand management of family and children’s properties, and I look forward to working with Andy and his team to develop unique entertaining and inspirational family fare,” said Thomopoulous.

    “We know there is a vast demand for content that showcases positive values and celebrates the triumph of the human spirit, and we plan to apply our entertainment and consumer products’ expertise to promote positive values for kids. Tony is a respected industry veteran whose patina of quality and stature of his career is unparalleled, and we plan to set the gold standard in this market with the Promise Media label,” added Heyward.

    Promise Media Productions is currently forming an Advisory Board which will comprise leading media experts and educators who can develop program guidelines that ensure positive values are incorporated into the content. The board will include clinical psychologist, author and leadership consultant, Dr. Henry Cloud.

    Promise Media Productions is currently in development on a slate of animated and live-action projects for theatrical, home entertainment and television. By returning to the literary roots of Lew Wallace’s original novel, Ben-Hur, A Tale of the Christ is an animated film that revitalises the classic story of one man’s journey from loss and betrayal to forgiveness and salvation.

    Angel, Flight for Life is a feature film based on a true story of how a loving father, restricted by his financial limitations and reeling from a devastating loss, must rely on the generosity and ingenuity of his small town community to provide the miracle that will save his gravely ill daughter and renew his faith.

    The live-action children’s DVD series, Zakland, produced in association with Jay Silverman Productions, showcases the multi-talented Zak Norman, an award winning musical performer and writer. Zakland entertains, inspires and encourages young viewers to explore the world through the magic of their imaginations.

    Based on the illustrated children’s book, Sophie and Sam, by Tori Cloud and rooted in the principles of the bestselling book, Boundaries, by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, The Animated Adventures of Sophie and Sam delivers fun, often comical, lessons on how to set and keep boundaries.

    The Jammies of Harmonyville, a television series produced in association with Believe Entertainment, is an innovative series that utilizes original music and CGI animation to teach valuable life lessons while introducing young audiences to a wide range of musical style.

    The animated comedy adventure, Noah’s Hope, stars Noah, a hip, nineteen-year-old scientist, and his animal friends, who are concerned about environmental issues such as global warming, deforestation, pollution, etc.

    Black Beauty, an animated version of Anna Sewell’s classic novel, encompasses its universal and timeless message that all animals deserve to be treated with consideration and respect.

  • DIC looks to acquire & co-produce at MipTV

    DIC looks to acquire & co-produce at MipTV

    CANNES: DIC Entertainment is at MipTV with an aim to acquire and/or co-produce programming for its new Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party on CBS, in addition to sealing deals on its library of kids’ properties.

    DIC has a five-year deal to broadcast 30 series on the three-hour CBS kids’ block. It is looking for both animated and live-action properties that can air on the block and can be extended across new media and merchandising platforms.

    DIC Entertainment chairman and CEO Andy Heyward said, “MIP and MIPCOM have always served as key markets to initiate major media deals for our business, and we are thrilled to once again utilize them to launch a significant strategy for the Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party programming block. We always welcome the opportunity to work with leading international broadcasters to create quality programs, and we look forward to meeting with producers and distributors to find stellar series to air on the block.”