Superights international sales manager
Pedro Citaristi now heads up the Italian studio, which will continue to operate as a separate company.
February 11, 2021
France’s Superprod has acquired a majority stake in fledgling Italian animation studio Red Monk. Superprod will use the acquisition as a way to expand its own development and production resources, according to the press release.
Red Monk, which opened in 2017, develops IPs and does animation service work. Its original development slate includes CG-animated adventure-comedy
Osmond and Scout (26 x 22 minutes) for kids six and up. as well as
My Unbelievable School, Nadia and
The Green Bunch.
Acquiring Red Monk will give Superprod a stronger foothold in the Italian market and access to the country’s tax credits, according to a spokesperson.
The Japanese prodco s first original series
Chiruta will be co-produced with the UK animation studio, and the partners are pitching it at Kidscreen Summit Virtual.
February 10, 2021
Japan’s Flying Ship Studio is partnering with UK-based Cloth Cat Animation to co-produce Flying Ship’s first original series
Chiruta (52 x 11 minutes).
Aimed at two- to four-year-olds, this 3D-animated series is set in a small forest village that’s invisible to the human eye, where a woodland gnome works hard to protect her home. It will be animated using Maya CG software and real-time animation tool Unreal.
The two companies are currently pitching the show to broadcasters and potential partners at Kidscreen Summit Virtual. Flying Ship first unveiled the concept for
Kid Cosmic.
The 10 x 22-minute adventure launched on Netflix February 2, and the streamer has already committed to two more seasons, says McCracken.
Kid Cosmic is produced by Netflix’s in-house animation team and animated by Canada’s Mercury Filmworks. It follows a young boy and his friends as they gain superpowers and fight evil aliens.
McCracken who created also created
Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends
for Cartoon Network and Disney Channel’s
Wander over Yonder has made a name for himself making content for linear, but was eager to try his hand at serialized storytelling, which fits well with Netflix’s binge-watching strategy. In particular, he’s been keen to develop a show with characters who grow and learn, which can be more difficult in an episodic series that’s meant to be consumed in any order, he says.
HBO Max lines up international leadership
Ahead of rollouts in EMEA and LatAm, the SVOD has set up its regional leadership teams to steer growth, and announced the closure of HBO Nordic, España, Portugal and GO in CEE.
January 21, 2021
WarnerMedia has established its new leadership teams for HBO Max EMEA and Latin America ahead of the SVOD’s launches in those territories.
Christina Sulebakk (pictured) has been named GM of HBO Max EMEA, with responsibility for upgrading the current HBO streaming services in the region to HBO Max services. This will involve closing HBO Nordic, HBO España, HBO Portugal and HBO Go in Central Eastern Europe. She will also orchestrate the expansion of HBO Max into more territories in Europe, the Middle East and Africa where the brand doesn’t already have a strong foothold. Sulebakk joined HBO in 2012 as an EVP and chief marketing and sales officer for HBO Nordic, and before that, she worked as an exec at Canal+.