Sierra/Affinity Furthers Move Into TV Biz With Engine Entertainment Venture

The companies’ newly launched Sierra/Engine Television creates a new distribution and production venture for the global TV marketplace. The entity will debut at MIPCOM this year and combine Sierra/Affinity‘s international film sales and distribution expertise with Engine Entertainment‘s strength as a distributor of TV programming for global audiences. It will be run by Engine CEO Chris Philip. It’s the latest move into the TV business for Sierra/Affinity, which earlier this month pacted with Georgeville Televisionto distribute overseas Georgeville’s  Crossbones, a 10-episode order for NBC from Luther creator Neil Cross and producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald; Hunters (aka Epidemic), a 13 episode order for ABC from J. Michael Straczynski and Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment. The new Sierra/Engine will offer the titles to MIPCOM next month.

Source: http://www.deadline.com/2012/09/sierraaffinity-furthers-move-into-tv-biz-with-engine-entertainment-venture/

Sierra/Affinity teams with Engine Entertainment

Venture eyes overseas TV distribution, production

Nick Meyer's Sierra/Affinity banner is diving into the fast-growing arena of internationally focused TV production and distribution.

Sierra/Affinity has teamed with Engine Entertainment to launch Sierra/Engine Television, which aims to finance and distribute TV programming on a worldwide basis. The company will make its debut at the Mipcom sales confab in Cannes next month.

Sierra/Affinity had already pacted with Georgeville Television, the startup indie production venture backed by Reliance Entertainment, to handle international sales of its budding slate of series, which encompasses the NBC pirate drama "Crossbones" and "Hunters," a thriller in development at ABC from sci-fi vet J. Michael Straczynski. Sierra/Engine Television will shop those series to international outlets during Mipcom, which runs Oct. 8-11. The company also intends to develop and produce its own content.

Engine Entertainment was launched in 2010 by NBCUniversal alumnus Chris Philip. Company has a first-look pact with Ben Silverman's Electus Entertainment.

"Chris' experience in studio television distribution and in the independent financing and packaging of programming is a perfect fit for our expansion into television," said Meyer. "Partnering with Chris and Engine accelerates our movement into this space, and we are looking to continue to work with great creative partners in television as we have done in film."

Philip credited the "financial strength" of Sierra/Affinity as a boon for the new venture.

"We are ready to offer our global clients a raft of new high-quality programming and taking three new U.S. network series to Mipcom is an outstanding way to launch," he said.

Source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118059947.html?cmpid=RSS%7CNews%7CLatestNews

Engine Latino Takes On Two Titles from Canana Films

LOS ANGELES: Engine Latino has signed a distribution deal with Canana Films, the production company founded by Mexican actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, for two scripted series: Niño Santo and Soy Tu Fan.

Niño Santo is produced by Pablo Cruz, Mauricio Katz and Pedro Peirano. The hit Mexican drama is about doctors who are attempting to vaccinate people in a remote village against a world epidemic. The town is protected by a cult-like leader who miraculously cures the sick and teaches that the village is touched by the hand of God. The show airs on Canal Once and is in production on its second season.

Pablo Cruz and Constanza Novick are behind the romantic comedy Soy Tu Fan. The series follows Charly and Nicolas, who find each other, only to create uncertainty in their lives. As their relationship grows, they will discover if the bond that unites them is love or an excuse to avoid solitude.

“We are excited to be involved with Canana and the superb production quality they deliver,” said Paulette Bensussen, the managing director of Engine Latino. “Engine is proud to introduce their product to Latin American broadcasters and to clients from all over the world.”

Cruz added, "This is very exciting and we believe we are in the best hands possible, and I know the Engine group shares common goals with Canana."

Engine Latino is a joint venture between Chris Philip’s Engine Entertainment and Mexico’s Bross al Cuadro .

Source: http://www.worldscreen.com/articles/display/2012-6-15-engine-latino-canana-films

Palatin, Engine to handle international sales on Kick

June 1, 2012 - Marcus Warren’s football thriller is currently shooting in London.

Palatin is to handle international sales in Europe, excluding the UK
on British feature Kick, whilst Engine will sell to the US and the
rest of the world. Both sales agents are selling all rights including
theatrical and DVD.

The film, directed by Marcus Warren and shooting in London, centres
around two aspring young footballers who have bribed their way into a
premier league football stadium to play illicit underground football
only to discover that they are trapped in a game of survival.

The cast includes Brit actors Daniel Bayle, Rik Young, Richard
Strange, Kellie Shirlie and Pete LeWilson.

The film is being produced by Geoff Austin, David Ravden and Jon
Thompson for Contraption Media, who are handling UK sales on the
project.


Source: http://www.screendaily.com/news/distribution/palatin-engine-to-handle-international-sales-on-kick/5042961.article?blocktitle=Latest-news&contentID=1846

La Gran Royal, nueva serie web de Engine Latino

La división de Engine Entertainment dirigida al mundo hispano presentó su nuevo contenido -a cargo de los populares mexicanos Aisemberg y Bucay- para el canal de YouTube NuevOn, lanzado recientemente por Electus.


Engine Latino, división de Engine Entertainment -compañía fundada y dirigida por Chris Philip- enfocada en el mercado hispanohablante de TV, ha anunciado que comenzó la producción de La Gran Royal, una serie cómica del reconocido dúo de escritores y directores mexicanos Marcos Bucay y Moisés Aisemberg, para el nuevo canal hispano de YouTube NuevOn. Este canal ha sido lanzado el pasado 16 de abril por Electus, el estudio de producción y distribución de Ben Silverman, y Latin World Entertainment, la compañía hispana de producción, gestión y marketing de Luis Balaguer.

La Gran Royal es un programa semanal dirigido a los jóvenes latinos, que incluye parodias de videos musicales y situaciones irreverentes, ridículas y de comedia. Los videos virales de Aisemberg y Bucay ya son conocidos alrededor del mundo, con decenas de millones de vistas. Su logro de derribar las barreras de la comedia hispana convencional se refleja en los premios obtenidos y en su sólida base de fans en redes sociales. Ahora, esta plataforma digital se presenta como un espacio ideal para sus videos, que podrán llegar a nuevas audiencias y en una escala mucho mayor. La Gran Royal estrenará un nuevo episodio cada martes en NuevOn.


"NuevOn dará a los hispanos de EEUU y latinos del mundo contenidos de entretenimiento de calidad mundial", dijo Luis Balaguer, fundador y CEO de Latin World Entertainment. "Pero lo más importante es que NuevOn también se convertirá en una incubadora de talentos, productores y formatos que trascenderán en otros medios". "Estamos encantados de estar trabajando con el equipo de La Gran Royal, y emociona estar ofreciendo uno de los primeros contenidos de NuevOn", agregó Paulette Bensussen, directora ejecutiva de Engine Latino.


Source: http://www.todotvnews.com/scripts/templates/estilo_nota.asp?nota=46556&numero=miriarte@todotv.tv

Engine Latino Producing Web Show for Electus' NuevOn

LOS ANGELES: Engine Latino is behind the new web series La Gran Royal for the new Hispanic YouTube channel NuevOn, which was launched last week by Ben Silverman's Electus.

From the Mexican comedy writing and directing duo of Marcos Bucay and Moises Aisemberg, La Gran Royal is a weekly show that includes musical video parodies, irreverent situations, impersonations and comedic happenings targeted at young Latino audiences. A new episode will run every Tuesday on NuevOn.

"NuevOn will give U.S. Hispanics and Latinos around the world high entertainment content, humor, gossip, drama series, and a chance to enjoy their favorite stars as never before," said Luis Balaguer, the founder and CEO of Latin World Entertainment. "But, most importantly, NuevOn will also become an incubator of talented stars, producers and formats that will transcend into other media."

“We are delighted to be working with the superbly-talented La Gran Royal team, and it is hugely exciting to be supplying some of the first content for NuevOn,” added Paulette Bensussen, the managing director of Engine Latino.

Source: http://www.worldscreen.com/articles/display/34270

Electus Strikes International Distribution Deals for Holiday Variety Special "A Michael Buble Christmas" in Over 60 Global Markets

Electus Strikes International Distribution Deals for Holiday Variety Special "A Michael Buble Christmas" in Over 60 Global Markets Including Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America & More


NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ben Silverman's multimedia entertainment studio Electus, an operating business of IAC (Nasdaq: IACI), today announced that its global distribution arm Electus/Engine Distribution has secured international distribution deals in over 60 markets around the world, including major networks in Australia (Channel 7), Canada (CTV), Brazil, (Globosat), Latin America (Televisa Networks), Mexico (TV Azteca) , South Africa (Mnet), Asia and Europe for "A Michael Buble Christmas." This star studded holiday variety show is set to air in the United States on NBC, Tuesday, December 6th from 8-9pm ET.


Hosting his very first holiday variety show, Michael Buble, a multi-Grammy Award winning Canadian, will sing songs from his new Christmas album, including such classics as "White Christmas, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Feliz Navidad," and "Jingle Bells," and will be joined by guest superstars Justin Bieber, Kellie Pickler, Thalia, Oscar the Grouch, The Puppini Sisters and Naturally 7. The special will also include comedy shorts featuring Michael and stars Tracy Morgan ("30 Rock") and Ed Helms ("The Office").


"One of Electus' main focal points is to create, produce and distribute the very best, universal content to our partners around the world," said Chris Grant, CEO of Electus. "We are privileged to partner with Grammy-award winning artist Michael Buble, Brad Lachman Productions and our international network partners in bringing this incredible holiday special to audiences all over the globe."


Buble's lifelong dream of creating an album to honor his favorite holiday was realized with the recently released CD "Christmas" which entered the Billboard Top 200 charts at No. 3. The artist's previous CD "Crazy Love" sold seven million copies worldwide and won two Grammy Awards in 2011 for Best Traditional Pop Vocal album and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his No. 1 self-penned single, "Haven't Met You Yet." Buble also wrote two previous Number One singles, "Everything" and "Home." The Vancouver native's recent "Crazy Love" Tour sold out 80 cities and was seen by over a million people in the US alone. A superstar in his native Canada as well, Buble is the recipient of 10 Juno Awards including a Juno Album of The Year for "It's Time." In less than a decade, Michael Buble's international record sales have topped 30 million. Buble arrived on the music scene nine years ago with the release of his self-titled debut CD which was followed up by the multi-platinum "It's Time." He also performed at the 2010 Olympics Ceremony which was seen by an audience of over one billion people.


"A Michael Buble Christmas" is produced by Electus ("Fashion Star," "Mob Wives," "Rocco's Dinner Party") and Brad Lachman Productions ("Christmas in Rockefeller Center," "The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade") withElectus/Engine Distribution owning distribution rights across all platforms including television, motion picture, and digital.


About Electus


Electus is the first integrated multimedia entertainment studio to unite producers, creators, advertisers and distributors under one roof and produce all forms of content for distribution across a variety of platforms around the world. Headed by Ben Silverman, in partnership with IAC, the company connects advertisers, distributors and content creators early on in the development process, enabling marketers and advertisers to be a true partner in campaigns and content creation. For more information on Electus, visit http://www.electus.com/.


About Electus/Engine Distribution


Electus/Engine Distribution was formed in 2010 by Electus and TV veteran Chris Philip's Engine Entertainment. The company, spearheaded by Chris Philip, is the global distribution arm of Electus that handles all international sales for Electus' programming as well as scripted and non-scripted programs and formats from other well-known 3rd party providers.


Source - http://iac.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1976