BREAKING: Former Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erik Feig has launched Picturestart, a media company that has a broad range of funding to create, co-finance, and producen what he calls “discovery of voice” content across multiple platforms. He’s got deals from Warner Bros, Nordic Entertainment Group, Scholastic and Endeavor Content to see it through.
What’s “discovery of voice” storytelling? The phrase is meant to speak not just to youth culture but to a broader sense and purpose of establishing identity and telling diverse stories with diverse creatives..
Picturestart is backed by:
* Warner Bros. Pictures, which has ponied up a significant equity investment and a first look deal to co-develop and cofinance with Picturestart films it will distribute. .
* Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), the Nordic company that has put up an equity investment and will get first look on Nordic rights to select Picturestart TV productions as part of its equity investment
*Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, which will give Picturestart access to its IP for development into other forms of media for content aimed at a young audience.
* Endeavor Content will be co-financier and strategic advisor on select Picturestart projects.
* BRON Ventures, the equity investment division of BRON Media Corp. BRON will serve as a co-producer/co-financier on select projects.
There are other investors in gaming, music, technology, and finance industries.
Feig has a strong track record for overseeing such franchises as The Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games and successes that include La La Land, The Hurt Locker, Wonder, and The Step Up series, as well as The Divergent series, Warm Bodies, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Nerve, the Red and Now You See Me franchises, A Simple Favor, The Impossible, Sicario, Sinister, and 50/50. He spent the past six years as Lionsgate co-prexy of the Motion Picture Group.
Said Warner Bros Picture Group chairman Toby Emmerich: “Erik is a super-talented and accomplished producer, executive and entrepreneur with an impressive ability to successfully navigate our evolving business. He has great taste, great instincts and great filmmaker relationships. Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line are very proud and enthused to be both his financial and creative partner and look forward to many years of success together.”
Said Feig: “Great storytelling that digs into who we are, who we want to become, who we love, and why we live is relatable to everyone no matter your stage or age in life. Creating a company that focuses on working with groundbreaking and innovative artists to tell transformative stories is something I am passionate about on a creative and business level and I am thrilled to be able to now focus on this robust category with both more precision and more scale and with the best-in-class of financing, distribution, and marketing options. I am incredibly proud of Picturestart’s partnership and executive team and honored to have their support for this venture, as we look forward to creating the definitive home for great content that inspires and transforms us for this generation and generations to come.”
Picturestart’s development exec staff will be headed by Ryan Lindenberg, Lucy Kitada, and Jessica Switch.
Lindenberg joins as Picturestart’s Executive Vice President of Production from Berlanti Productions, for which he oversaw and produced the Netflix hit You, Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
Kitada will be Executive Vice President of Production and came from Michael De Luca Productions where she packaged and oversaw The Babysitter’s Club reboot for Netflix and Long Way Down for Universal.
Switch will serve as the Company’s Vice President of Production coming from Studio 8 and previously Lionsgate where she worked with Feig on Nerve.
Ziffren Brittenham, Venable and The Raine Group advised Picturestart on the transaction.
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