Thursday, October 22
According to Deadline Hollywood, Viacom's Nickelodean purchased the global intellectual property rights and merchandising rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) in a deal estimated at $60 million. Nickelodean plans to develop a new CG-animated TV series starring the Turtles and release a new feature film of their exploits in 2012.
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book was originally self-published in 1984 by creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird as a parody of popular comic books of the time, including Frank Miller's Ronin and Marvel Comics' Daredevil. The comic book spawned a tremendously popular cartoon series, multiple video games, countless toys, three live-action movies, and the 2007 Imagi Animation Studios' CG-animated movie, simply titled TMNT.
Nickelodean plans to maintain a relationship with Playmates Toyes, Inc., the company that first manufactured and marketed Turtles toys and is responsible for much of the franchise's success throughout the years.
Posted 10/22/2009 by BrentJS
Related: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze | Frank Miller | TMNT | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Origins
Wednesday, June 10
Last time we heard about the upcoming Heavy Metal sequel, directors Zack Snyder, Gore Verbinski, and David Fincher were added to the list of directors collaborating on the animated anthology, and now it looks like James Cameron will also direct a segment as well.
FilmSchoolRejects spoke with Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and editor-in-chief and owner of Heavy Metal Magazine, who offered this update:
I've got breaking news that Fincher and James Cameron are going to be Co-Executive Producers on [Heavy Metal]. Fincher will direct one. Cameron will direct one. Zack Snyder is going to direct one and Gore Verbinski is going to. Mark Osborne and Jack Black from Tenacious D are going to do a comedy segment for the film. Three other directors have agreed but we haven't signed them, but they're equally as jaw-dropping. So we're on cloud nine to be working with such an amazing amount of talent.
It is a pretty impressive list. And while "Co-Executive Producer" is not the most involved of movie jobs, Cameron and Fincher are clearly giving Heavy Metal all the support they can.
Posted 6/10/2009 by Ryan
Related: David Fincher | Gore Verbinski | Jack Black | James Cameron | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Heavy Metal | Kevin Eastman | Mark Osborne | Zack Snyder