Universal Announces Global Licensing Program for ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’
Building on the success of Jurassic World, Universal Brand Development announced the global merchandising program inspired by the upcoming Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Products will hit retail in spring 2018.
Master global toy partner Mattel and LEGO will lead the retail rollout with toys across a variety of play patterns and age segments. Additional toy, roleplay and costume licensees supporting the second film include Funko, Build-A-Bear, Rubies, WowWee, and more. Other multi-tiered and cross-category licensees include apparel and home décor licensees H&M, Freeze, 5th Sun, Issac Morris, GBG, Fast Forward, and Franco; food, beauty and stationary/expressions licensees Kelloggs, Ferrero, Jelly Belly, PEZ, GBG Beauty, Party City, Innovative Designs, DecoPac, and American Greetings; and gaming and digital licensee Frontier Development, which recently debuted Jurassic World Evolution. Additional gaming titles and platforms from other partners to be announced shortly.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opens in theaters June 2018.
WME|IMG Rebrands as Endeavor
WME|IMG announced the formation of a new holding company, Endeavor, which will take on the full portfolio of owned and operated brands formerly under the WME|IMG banner.
The new entity will be led by Ariel Emanuel as CEO and Patrick Whitesell as executive chairman, both of whom will continue to sit on the company’s board.
Beginning with Silver Lake’s initial investment in WME in 2012, Endeavor has attracted strategic partners including CPPIB, Fidelity, Focus Media, FountainVest, GIC, Mubadala, Sequoia Capital, SoftBank and Tencent, gaining recognition as one of Fortune’s 25 Most Important Private Companies.
The Endeavor family includes: WME, the global entertainment agency representing a client roster across motion picture, television, sports, music, books, digital, and theater; IMG, a global leader in sports, events, media and fashion; UFC, the world’s premier professional mixed martial arts (MMA) organization; Droga5; Professional Bull Riders; The Miss Universe Organization; and Frieze, a leading arts and media company. Endeavor also encompasses a range of premium properties and agencies, including comedic management house Dixon Talent and artist management and consulting agency The Wall Group. Additionally, the Endeavor family includes a number of strategic joint ventures, among them Euroleague Basketball and ELEAGUE, an eSports league created in conjunction with Turner as well as a subsidiary in China focused on advancing the company’s growth in the country.
Will Smith, Tom Holland to Voice Fox Animation’s ‘Spies in Disguise’
Fox Animation, Chernin Entertainment, and Blue Sky Studios announced the voice casting of Will Smith and Tom Holland as the lead characters Lance Sterling and Walter in the animated feature Spies In Disguise, an action comedy that will be released by Twentieth Century Fox on January 18, 2019.
Spies In Disguise is a buddy comedy set in the world of international espionage. Will Smith (Men in Black) voices Lance Sterling, the world’s most awesome spy. Cool, charming and super-skilled, saving the world is his occupation. And nobody does it better. Almost the exact opposite of Lance is Walter, voiced by Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Homecoming). Walter is a great mind but perhaps not a great socializer. What he lacks in social skills though, he makes up for in smarts and invention. Walter is the scientific genius who invents the gadgets Lance uses on his missions.
But when events take an unexpected turn, Walter and Lance suddenly have to rely on each other in a whole new way. And if this odd couple can’t learn to work as a team, the whole world is in peril.
Directed by Nick Bruno & Troy Quane, Spies In Disguise is a Fox Animation production, with Blue Sky Studios and Chernin Entertainment. The project is based on Pigeon: Impossible, an original animated short film by Lucas Martell.
Power Rangers to Take Stage in New Live Show
In celebration of Saban’s Power Rangers’ 25th anniversary, the Rangers are set to morph onto stages around North America in a live show based on the series. Power Rangers Live will be an interactive, mixed media stage production featuring stunts and martial arts. Featuring themes from Power Rangers Ninja Steel, six ordinary teens will morph into the Power Rangers to help save cities and the world from an alien threat. Kicking off in Phoenix, AZ on February 17, 2018, the tour will visit an additional 50 North American cities in spring 2018, including Los Angeles and Toronto.
Citi is the official card of Saban’s Power Rangers Live. Beginning yesterday, Citi card members have access to a special pre-sale, as well as VIP packages that include a meet-and-greet with the Power Rangers through Citi’s Private Pass Program. The public on-sale date begins Friday, October 13 at 10:00 a.m. (local time).
The live tour will be part of a year-long celebration of 25 years of Saban’s Power Rangers and the core pillars of the brand: inclusivity, diversity, and teamwork.
Created by Haim Saban and launched in 1993, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers quickly became a pop culture phenomenon. Today, Power Rangers is one of the longest running kids live-action series in television history. The series is currently in its 24th season with Power Rangers Ninja Steel. Power Rangers currently airs in 150 markets around the world and is translated into numerous languages.
For more information and tour dates, visit www.powerrangerslive.com.
Voting Opens to the Public for TAGIE Awards
The nominees for the 10th Annual Toy & Game Innovation (TAGIE) Awards have been determined for categories including Game Inventor of the Year, Toy Inventor of the Year, Rising Star of the Year, Innovative Arts & Visuals of the Year, Innovative Marketing Team of the Year and Young Inventor of the Year. Nominees in these categories were selected by their industry peers, and the public is now invited to join the industry in placing its votes in advance of the annual TAGIE Awards gala. The deadline for voting at www.chitag.com/tagies-finalists is October 31st.
The 2017 Toy & Game Innovation (TAGIE) Award nominees are:
GAME INVENTOR OF THE YEAR
- Don Ullman and Steve Calhoun, Soggy Doggy
- Fuse – Oliver Morris, Roller Coaster Challenge
- Jim McCafferty and JMP Creative team, Catch the Fox
- KID Group, Ultra Dash
- Seven Towns, Ltd., Who’s the Dude?
- Top Notch Toys, Fantastic Gymnastics
TOY INVENTOR OF THE YEAR
- Bang Zoom Design, Barbie on the Go
- David Small and Paul Rago, BB8
- Desinbytouch, Nerf Nitro
- Ronen Horovitz, Play Doh Touch
- Ruth Green-Synowic, Paint Sation
RISING STAR OF THE YEAR
- Brady Peterson, Groovy Blocks
- Brian Gomez (Egils Grasmanis, Edgars Zakis, Janis Grunte, Reinis Butans), Ice Cool
- Dominic Yard, Thomas Adventures Sea Monster Pirate Set and Shark Escape Play Set
- Joyce Sprau, Flower Fairies Secret Garden
- Thijmen de Schipper, Spy Code Break Free
INNOVATIVE ARTS & VISUALS OF THE YEAR
- Funnybone Toys, Whim, Akin, Spirot, Spectracube, Anaxi, and others
- Harmonix, DropMix
- Mattel, Enchantimals
- MGA Entertainment, Inc., L.O.L. Surprise! Collectible Dolls
- Rory O’Connor and Anita Murphy, The Extraordinaires Design Studio
INNOVATIVE MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR
- Mattel, Dads Who Play Barbie
- Spin Master, Hatchimals
- Hasbro, Nerf’s Dude Perfect
- Marektoy, Klask and Bonk
- PlayMonster, Ultra Dash
YOUNG INVENTOR OF THE YEAR
- Olivia Wasilewski and Brynna Siewers, Ship of Treasures
- Samaira Mehta, CoderBunnyz
- Shay Bhattessa Sharma, Football Billionaire Limited
- Sydney and Toni Loew, Poketti Plushies with Pocket Powers
In addition to the winners determined through nominations and public voting, a panel of industry experts will also determine honorees in the following closed categories:
Inventor Advocate – Lisa Guili, General Manager of Educational Insights
In Memoriam – Montage of those we have lost
Hassenfeld Humanitarian Award – Lurie Children’s Hospital
Lifetime Achievement – Judy Blau of J. Hope Designs
Lifetime Achievement – Adi Golad, Founder and Managing Director of Goliath
The 2017 TAGIE Award winners will be announced at a festive gala held on the evening of November 17 in conjunction with the 15th Annual Chicago Toy and Game Week. The elegant and entertaining gala at historic Theater on the Lake will bring together industry leaders including inventors, manufacturers and retailers, to celebrate the individuals and teams behind the hottest and most innovative products of the year. The evening will commence with a cocktail hour, followed by a seated dinner and the awards program.
For more information about Chicago Toy & Game Week events including the 2017 ChiTAG Fair, the Young Inventor Challenge and professional conferences, visit ChiTAG.com.
Rainbow Acquires Iven S.p.A. Group in Italy
Rainbow has acquired a majority holding in the Iven S.p.A. group.
Iven was founded in 1986 by the show business agent and producer Maurizio Totti, the Oscar-winning director Gabriele Salvatores, the actor Diego Abatantuono, and the actor Paolo Rossi. It includes film and television production company Colorado Film, artistic management and talent management company Moviement, and recording company San Isidro Edizioni Musicali. It also has a stake in production and distribution company Gavila srl.
Bringing the two together creates a major entertainment hub whose aim will be to consolidate and build on the two companies’ combined achievements in Italy and to increase expansion abroad. In particular, after the success of the live-action teen series Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends, Rainbow plans further investment in the live action sector and to broaden its target audience to include young adults.
This latest agreement gives Rainbow strength and expertise in the live-action market. Rainbow’s landmarks to date include Winx Club, World of Winx, Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends, Regal Academy and others.