Subject:
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LEGO® Company & Miramax Films Strengthen Their BIONICLE™ Bond
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.mediawatch
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Followup-To:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Tue, 29 Jul 2003 00:16:44 GMT
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Viewed:
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1630 times
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July 28,2003/PRNewswire/
Miramax Films and the LEGO® Company Strengthen Their BIONICLE™ Bond; Follow-up
to Exclusive-to-Video BIONICLE: MASK OF LIGHT Begins Production
Following their first collaboration, BIONICLE™: MASK OF LIGHT -- set to debut on
DVD and video on September 16 -- Miramax Films and the LEGO Company announced
today the start of production of a second CGI-animated, action-adventure movie
based on the toy company's red-hot BIONICLE brand.
Miramax is expanding its role on the new project, co-producing with the LEGO
Company as well as acting as worldwide distributor. Miramax's Charles Layton,
executive vice president, office of the co-chairmen, and Eric Roth, senior vice
president of business and legal affairs, negotiated the deal on behalf of the
film company. The LEGO Company was represented by Conny Kalcher and Stig
Blicher, both vice presidents of global innovation and marketing. Create TV and
Film was represented by its managing director and global controller, Vanessa
Chapman. Create TV and Film is a new company formed from the TV and film
division of LEGO Media International. Create TV and Film is a co-producer on
both movies.
This new home video movie is the second of three partnerships between the three
companies this year. In addition to the two exclusive-to-video projects, the
companies are currently developing a BIONICLE theatrical motion picture
scheduled for release in 2005.
"Miramax began as our distribution partner on MASK OF LIGHT in July of 2002,"
says Kalcher. "But, when we started to develop the theatrical film, the
creative sparks began to fly, and we knew we had found our kindred spirits on
this property. They really get it. Harvey Weinstein and his talented team,
especially Kevin Kasha and Jeff Tahler, are really just big BIONICLE boys at
heart, and they are eager to increase their involvement on the second movie."
"BIONICLE's rich storylines and complex characters really capture its audience's
attention," said Weinstein. "As millions of fans around the world will attest,
once you're immersed in BIONICLE, there's no turning back."
Sharing production duties on the new home video movie with the LEGO Company,
Miramax and Create TV and Film is the original MASK OF LIGHT production team,
leading independent animation studio, Creative Capers Entertainment,
headquartered in Los Angeles and run by producer Sue Shakespeare and directors
David Molina and Terry Shakespeare. Jeff Tahler, vice president of
acquisitions, will continue to oversee the production on behalf of Miramax.
BIONICLE, the confluence of "biological" and "chronicle," is a rich and complex
universe of mystery and mythology developed by a team of talented LEGO designers
and storytellers, inspired by the folklore of many exotic cultures. Set in the
time before time, the film will take viewers to a new location for an epic
action-adventure story featuring a vast array of biomechanical characters -
focusing on the now legendary heroes called the Toa in their ongoing struggle
against the shadowy force of The Makuta.
The BIONICLE characters and story were launched in December 2000, first on an
interactive website and in comic books and shortly thereafter in dozens of
different - yet interconnecting - media platforms. Clues, characters and
adventures revealed in one platform enhanced the experience on another. By
August of 2001, the toy line was outselling every other action figure on the
market. In 2002, the product line was recognized with two Toy of the Year
awards, including "Most Innovative Toy of the Year" and "Best Boy Toy of the
Year" by the American Toy Industry Association.
To complement the MASK OF LIGHT movie, this year's franchise highlights include
a number of platforms and product lines related to the film:
* A new line of BIONICLE action figures, many of which are based on the
movie characters;
* A new video game from LEGO Virtual and Electronic Arts, which
parallels the movie's plotline;
* The first of six titles from Scholastic Books, including a
novelization of the movie;
* A brand new style of the hot Nike BIONICLE shoes released earlier this
year, featuring interchangeable masks.
About the LEGO Company
Based in Billund, Denmark, the LEGO Company is committed to the development of
children's creative and imaginative abilities, and its employees are guided by
the motto adopted in the 1930s by founder Ole Kirk Christiansen: "Only the best
is good enough." For more information, visit LEGO.com or BIONICLE.com or
BIONICLEmovie.com.
About Create TV & Film
Create TV & Film is a privately owned independent production and IP management
company, formed in January 2003 and based in London and Los Angeles, which
develops and commissions high quality programming for children between the ages
of 2 and 15 years.
About Miramax Films
Miramax Films, founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 1979, has released some of
the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful independent feature
films of the past fourteen years, with a record eleven Best Picture nominations
over the past ten consecutive years: In the Bedroom, Chocolat, The Cider House
Rules, Shakespeare In Love, Life Is Beautiful (La Vita E Bella), Good Will
Hunting, The English Patient, Il Postino (The Postman) and The Piano as well as
eighteen Best Foreign Language Film nominations including Amelie, Life is
Beautiful, Kolya, Mediterraneo and Cinema Paradiso.
SOURCE Miramax Films
CO: Miramax Films; LEGO Company; Create TV & Film
-end of report-
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