ANIMATION
Kids First will collaborate with Amazon Kids Plus on a new original kids’ program set in the Hello Kitty universe titled “Hello Kitty: Super Style!” The new series is being produced with a global audience in mind, and will be made available in major territories around the world, including the U.S. Paris-based Watch Next. Banijay’s Monello will produce with Milan-based Maga Animation Studio. Kids First will handle global distribution outside of Asia, where Japanese company ABC Frontier will represent the series. The new, 3D-animated production will follow Hello Kitty and other members of the Cherry Town community as the titular character uses the power of her magical bow to transform herself to any number of versions of herself, including but not limited to explorer, chef and pop star, as is appropriate in any given episode.
“Having a well-known international digital video service and soon to be announced best-in-class linear broadcasters all backing the project demonstrates the wide appeal of one of the most popular and adorable characters on earth,” said Philippe Alessandri, CEO of Kids First and Watch Next.
“We love how this new series combines Hello Kitty’s signature kindness with bold new action and humor,” added Veronica Pickett, head of Amazon Kids Plus original series. “We can’t wait for our audience to say ‘Hello’ to ‘Hello Kitty: Super Style!’”
CASTING
Augusta Woods (“Downton Abbey,” “Silent Witness”), who also produces, will co-star alongside Wil Johnson (“House of the Dragon,” “Outlander”), in the upcoming feature “The Track.” Producing their debut feature, Track Films are teaming with Kusini Productions to co-produce the uplifting drama, which focuses on the extremities of homelessness across the U.K. and follows a rough sleeper who is offered a night in a four-star hotel. Four-time Primetime Emmy-nominated actor Jim Carter (“Downton Abbey”) and Oscar/BAFTA-nominated actor Imelda Staunton (“Harry Potter,” “The Crown”), each longtime supporters of organizations that work in the homeless community, are executive producers alongside BAFTA-winning producer Bobby Lockwood (“Wolfblood,” “Dunkirk”). Actor and BAFTA long-listed filmmaker Louisa Connoly-Burnham (“The Call Center”) directs.
SALES
Cineflix Rights has dealt more than 20 hours of factual content from its blue-chip history and documentary catalog to Australian broadcaster SBS. In total, seven series, specials and films make up the deal, including “Voices of the Dead,” an in-depth look at how citizens of ancient Egypt and Pompeii lived; “The Story of Late Night,” a look back at the history of U.S. late night talk shows; “WWII By Drone,” a overhead look at several of WWII’s best-known battlefields enhanced by CGI; “Battle of Alcatraz,” on the 1946 Alcatraz jailbreak and subsequent violence; “Battle of Britain: Three Days that Saved the Nation,” a minute-by-minute account of the most vital three-day period in the struggle for the skies over Britain during World War II; and a pair of specials focused on the final days of two of the 20th century’s most important figures in “The Day Hitler Died” and “The Day Kennedy Died.”
EDUCATION
Garden Studios, MetFilm School and Mission have announced a new partnership which sees the later companies join as on-site members of the Garden Studios community. Under the agreement, MetFilm School will lead four, six-month long courses at the studios: Acting for Film, Digital Animation and VFX, Post Production and Practical Filmmaking. For their part, leading U.K. DIT and digital dailies facility Mission will offer start-to-finish digital workflow management for film and TV productions at Garden Studios. Setting up offices in the studios’ Unit 16 space, Mission will be well positioned to work closely with MetFilm School students. The new partnership comes after Garden Studios recently announced it will be expanding its sight to a total of more than 146,000 sq. ft., allowing for much larger-scale feature production.
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