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Random House Children’s Screen Entertainment (RHCSE), a joint venture between Random House Children’s Books and Komixx Entertainment, has secured options to develop a number of RHCB books and characters for film and television.
RHCSE, which is a full-service production house, will develop scripts and pilots for five RHCB properties. RHCSE will then seek studios and distribution partners to take on each project.
The projects currently under development include Fish-Head Steve by Jamie Smart, the Gargoylz series by Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler, the Princess Poppy books by Janey Louise Jones and the Charlie Small series by Nick Ward. RHCSE secured media rights to Monster Republic by Ben Horton from Hothouse in February. The company aims to have eight projects in development at any one time.
Fish-Head Steve is a cartoon comic strip which was first published in the DFC and will now be developed for TV animation. RHCSE is developing scripts and a pilot animation for Fish-Head Steve, to present at Cartoon Forum in September.
Fiona Macmillan, RHCB publisher of children’s colour and licensing, said: “We have not sold any projects yet but we are pleased with what we have achieved since last autumn.”
Scripts and a pilot are also being developed for Gargoylz, which is aimed at six-year-olds and will be developed into live action CGI for TV. Princess Poppy will be developed for TV animation and the Charlie Small series will be developed into live action CGI for film or TV.
Andrew Cole-Bulgin, partner and head of film & TV, RHCSE said that many broadcasters are focused on finding global properties. He added: “We can deliver not only global brands but material with an established commercial audience.”
RHCSE conducts market research early in the project’s life to establish the potential market for each property. The company is also exploring how these properties can be developed for digital platforms including apps and games.