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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 8, 2017 0:34:44 GMT -6
deadline.com/2017/08/netflix-acquires-kingsman-kick-ass-comic-publisher-millarworld-mark-millar-ted-sarandos-1202143833/Netflix Acquires ‘Kingsman’ & ‘Kick-Ass’ Comic Publisher Millarworld In its first ever acquisition, Netflix has bought Millarworld, the comic book publisher founded by Mark Millar which has spawned stories such as Kick-Ass, Kingsman and Old Man Logan. Netflix and Millar will work to bring Millarworld’s portfolio of character franchises to life through films, series and kids shows available exclusively to Netflix global subscribers. The company will continue to create and publish new stories and character franchises under the Netflix label. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the move does reflect Netflix’s ambition to own and develop intellectuatl property. “As creator and re-inventor of some of the most memorable stories and characters in recent history, ranging from Marvel’s The Avengers to Millarworld’s Kick-Ass, Kingsman, Wanted and Reborn franchises, Mark is as close as you can get to a modern-day Stan Lee,” said Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “We can’t wait to harness the creative power of Millarworld to Netflix and start a new era in global storytelling.” Millar added: “This is only the third time in history a major comic book company has been purchased at this level. I’m so in love with what Netflix is doing and excited by their plans. Netflix is the future and Millarworld couldn’t have a better home.” Millar runs Millarworld with his wife Lucy. He previously spent eight years at Marvel, where he developed the comic books and story arcs that inspired the first Avengers movie, Captain America: Civil War and Logan (Wolverine), which collectively grossed more than $3B at the worldwide box office. Since Millarworld was started, the company and its co-creators have created 18 published character worlds, of which three – Wanted, Kick-Ass and Kingsman – have yielded theatrical films that have collectively grossed nearly $1B worldwide.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 10, 2017 19:48:16 GMT -6
icv2.com/articles/news/view/38161/mark-millars-millarworld-acquired-netflixMARK MILLAR'S 'MILLARWORLD' ACQUIRED BY NETFLIX For Media Adaptations, New Content Posted by Nicole Bunge on August 7, 2017 @ 3:56 pm CT Netflix Inc. announced the acquisition of Mark Millar’s creator-owned comic book publishing portfolio, "Millarworld," including Jupiter’s Legacy, Nemesis, Empress, and Starlight. The deal does not include iconic characters already licensed for other media, including Kick-Ass and Kingsman. The deal is a full acquisition of the intellectual properties, as Netflix plans to work with Millar to create and publish new stories and character franchises under the Netflix label, in addition to adapting character franchises for films, series, and kids’ shows. "Mark has created a next-generation comics universe, full of indelible characters living in situations people around the world can identify easily with," said Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer. "We look forward to creating new Netflix Originals from several existing franchises as well as new super-hero, anti-hero, fantasy, sci-fi and horror stories Mark and his team will continue to create and publish." Millar had many hit-making runs on Marvel comics that were later adapted into movies, including Fantastic Four, Captain America: Civil War, and the "Old Man Logan" storyline for Wolverine. He launched his creator-owned comic line, Millarworld, in 2004, where he has created Wanted, American Jesus, Kick-Ass, The Secret Service (Kingsman), Superior, Chrononauts, Nemesis, MPH, Supercrooks, Jupiter’s Legacy, Jupiter’s Circle, Huck, Empress, Starlight, and Reborn, released by various publishers.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 23, 2017 8:47:25 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/behind-netflixs-bold-bet-comics-king-mark-millar-1031336Behind Netflix's Bold Bet on Comics King Mark Millar The prolific creator shopped his library to studios, but now he’s being counted on to deliver a wave of new titles as the streamer gears up to compete with Disney. A day before Disney unveiled plans for a competing streaming service to Netflix, the digital giant made a preemptive strike in what may become a new intellectual property arms race, snapping up Mark Millar’s “mini-Marvel” imprint Millarworld. The prolific comic creator, who launched his company in 2004, is said to have approached studios earlier this year offering a deal for his library and future stories. But because some of his marquee properties, such as Kick-Ass, Kingsman and Wanted, already are spoken for, it was difficult to determine the deal’s value, a studio source tells The Hollywood Reporter. Netflix, however, determined the answer was quite a lot. Terms of the Aug. 7 deal were not disclosed, but two sources pegged it in the $30 million to $50 million range. Complicating things were side deals Millar had to make with his co-creator artists to sew up rights in order to make the ironclad sale to the streamer. Some artists may have walked away with six- or seven-figure payouts, sources say. Also part of the deal are future works; one source says Millar has been holding back a wave of titles in anticipation of such a deal. “You get whatever he comes up with next, that’s the value here,” says one executive with knowledge of the deal. Additionally, there may even be a component that has Millar act as a story consultant for other Netflix projects. "Millar has been very successful at creating comic worlds that can stand on their own in other media, and there are very few people that can say that," says Milton Griepp of comic industry analyst ICv2. "The stories resonate, and with his marketing, his comics sell like mid-tier Marvels or DCs in a very tough market in which it’s very rare for comics outside the major universes — Marvel, DC, etc. — to do so. Acquiring Millarworld is one of the very few ways that Netflix could have immediately bought a credible comics universe with proven potential." Deals with comic book companies are not slam dunks. Universal had a multiyear first-look arrangement with Dark Horse Entertainment that yielded only the 2013 flop R.I.P.D. But owning a publisher, one that continues to generate fresh content, may offer different results. Fox hopes so, too; in July, it acquired a minority stake in comics company Boom! Studios. Millar is no ordinary comic creator. You would have to go back to Stan Lee and his voluminous output during the golden age of Marvel to find a comic book writer whose work has so often been translated to the screen. Before launching Millarworld, which employs only a handful of staffers, Millar worked at Marvel in the early part of the 2000s, with the ideas and concepts he developed there popping up in Marvel Studios' The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War and Fox's Logan. There are a number of titles that have already been farmed out to others and will be off the table for Netflix. Millar friend and frequent collaborator Matthew Vaughn owns the rights to Kingsman and Kick-Ass after directing and self-financing bigscreen adaptations of those properties. Fox has the rights to the Flash Gordon-inspired Starlight, as well as superhero series Superior and the kid-focused Kindergarten Heroes. Universal has Wanted, which it adapted as an Angelina Jolie film in 2008, as well as Chrononauts. “The key to this deal is Millar himself. He’s a bankable creative powerhouse and brand persona whose name above the title can generate interest,” says Rob Salkowitz, author of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture. Netflix can mine Millar properties like Reborn, a drama that suggests that the afterlife brings you into a war alongside those you knew when you were alive, and MPH, about speedy teens in rundown Detroit. The crown jewel may be Jupiter’s Legacy — featuring multigenerational hero stories — which could lend itself to cinematic universe treatment. "[Netflix] figured out that instead of getting 10 ideas from 10 different people … they go, 'How do we start buying clumps of ideas?'" explains Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, who co-founded Image Comics in 1992, paving the way for some creators of the publisher's books (such as The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman) to reap millions by retaining rights to their properties. McFarlane sees Millarworld as being just a first step for Netflix to buy out more creators, adding: "If I were Netflix, I would consider it not to be a whole pie I bought, I would consider it to be a portion of a pie." As for the future of Millarworld, the September-launching Kingsman: The Red Diamond comic book series, tying into the second Kingsman movie, marks the company’s first comic book without any direct involvement from Millar himself. (Rob Williams, writer of DC's Suicide Squad comic book, steps in to replace him.) Millar, who has withdrawn from the press and refused interviews since the Netflix deal was revealed, is teasing all-new properties and concepts as part of the next phase of Millarworld. As he wrote about the buyout on Aug. 7, "I’m going undercover between now and spring as I stockpile all the new projects we’re putting together, but you’ll hear about them very soon." Aaron Couch contributed to this report. A version of this story first appeared in the Aug. 23 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. subscribe.hollywoodreporter.com/sub/?p=THR&f=saleb&s=IH1402HR20
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 31, 2017 16:02:27 GMT -6
www.cbr.com/millarworld-netflix-animation/Millarworld Can Expand Netflix’s Animation Game Netflix’s continues to impress animation fans with the likes of Voltron: Legendary Defender and Castlevania garnering large amounts of praise. Voltron isn’t losing momentum anytime soon, with three seasons down and a fourth due in October, while Castlevania, which has been certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, has been renewed for a second season. It’s probably a safe assumption, then, that the service’s original animation train isn’t slowing down anytime soon. RELATED: Netflix Acquires Mark Millar’s Millarworld Thanks to the company’s historic acquisition of Millarworld, Netflix’s animation division finds itself with a virtual embarrassment of riches to work with. Mark Millar and company’s comic books are ideal for cartoon adaptation. The Scottish writer has seen quite a few of his works, like Wanted, Kick-Ass and Kingsman made into movie franchises, and now it’s time to see the rest of the library brought to life, and what better way than as a series of animated shows? Netflix has already explored the vast deepness of space with the anime series Knights of Sidonia, and Millarworld offers an avenue for similar cosmic stories. It’s no secret that making the next live-action space saga is quite challenging; it’s expensive and there’s no guarantee you’ll end up with the next Star Wars or Guardians of the Galaxy. We’ve seen a few notable misses lately, such as Jupiter Ascending and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, but just like we saw with the Voltron reboot, animated space epics could find success with the Netflix audience. Luckily for everyone involved, Millarworld boasts more than one solid story that can be made into a rollicking space sagas. RELATED: What Is Millarword? A Guide to Netflix’s New Superhero ‘Universe’ Empress (drawn by Stuart Immonen) is one such example. It feels like Flash Gordon a bit, as it details a family space-drama on the run. The story revolves around Empress Emporia fleeing from her husband, the ruthless King Morax, with her kids in hand. What makes this special is the concept of a mother trying to protect her kids from their tyrant father, while falling in love with her bodyguard. It’s a tension-filled, sentimental ride that’s packed with tons of emotions. Then there’s Starlight (drawn by Goran Parlov) which deals with the concept of how we treat our parents in their old age, and the fact that they may have lived adventures that kids could only dream about. Duke McQueen is an action hero who has to come out of retirement and embark on a road trip to save the galaxy. What makes it so intriguing is that he did this once before when he was young, but no one believed him when he came back to Earth. Now, while grieving his dead wife, he has to save the cosmos again! Think John Carter of Mars meets Buck Rogers. However, Millarworld isn’t just about telling outer space epics; sometimes, it gets more introspective, though not without spectacle, which is what you get with Reborn. Drawn by Greg Capullo, the comic deals with what happens in the afterlife. It’s built around a young lady, Bonnie, exploring her new surroundings, which readers quickly realize is Purgatory. Here, she battles avatars of death while trying to find the souls of loved ones who have passed on in the hopes that they are at peace — including her own father and husband. It’s an emotional rollercoaster to say the least, but despite its highly personal story, it’s not unlike the medieval epics found in franchises such as the Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones or Chronicles of Narnia. The story rolls out like an episodic video game, with Bonnie cutting her way to a final level boss that has caused pain, not just in the kingdom she has entered into, the real world where the repercussions of his actions are felt back as people die. Then, there’s the world of time-travel, essentially a sci-fi genre of its own. Chrononauts was conceived as a challenge from Ridley Scott, and while Universal is developing as a film, movement has been glacially slow. Should Netflix now have the rights to the Sean Gordon Murphy-illustrated series, we’d love to see the animated adventures of Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly. Two hot-headed scientific geniuses, with the whole world watching, the pair embark on the world’s first time-travel experiment. They succeed, but temporal war erupts with the plot taking us to places like ancient Rome, feudal Japan, the 1920’s, ancient Egypt and even to primitive times as well. The duo wreak havoc with the time stream as they score front-row seats to the world’s wildest events, all while rubbing shoulders with some crazy villains. Think of stories like Jumper and Looper, but with a sense of adventure like Jurassic Park. RELATED: With Millarworld’s Huck, Netflix Can Do Superman Right That’s just a sampling of the wild and ballistic stories the Millarworld acquisition has placed in Netflix’s care. And while it’s a virtual certainty that we’ll be seeing Millarworld series imagined as movies and live-action series, the idea of seeing these — or any of the rest — brought to life as state of the art animated shows is simply too exciting to ignore.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Sept 26, 2017 10:43:11 GMT -6
www.bleedingcool.com/2017/09/25/mark-millar-putting-flash-gordon-back-starlight/Is Mark Millar Putting Flash Gordon Back Into Starlight? Posted by Rich Johnston September 25, 2017 In 2014, Mark Millar and Gorlan Parlov published Starlight through Image Comics. It is now a title controlled by Netflix. The comic was about, basically, a Flash Gordon who came home from saving the universe and wasn’t believed. And now, in his dotage, his time has come again. The similarity with Flash Gordon was intentional. Initially described it as “Flash Gordon meets The Dark Knight Returns.” But just before release he stopped saying Flash Gordon. Indeed he told CBR, “Starlight” is my love letter to all the sci-fi serials I was obsessed with as a kid…. I was obsessed with everything from the Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies to all the old sci-fi serials. That stuff really means as much to me as superheroes. That mainstream sci-fi thing resonates on so many levels for me and I’ve always wanted to do something in that genre. It’s one of the things that John Cassaday and I bonded over years ago: we both had all those things on DVD. I love “Buck Rogers” and “Commander Cody.” I’m probably the only guy in a thousand mile radius who has every episode of “Undersea Kingdom.” But suddenly no mention of Flash Gordon. And then the artwork started changing. Young Duke was originally potrayed with a big mane of blond hair, suddenly it was turned dark. You can check the before-and-after comparison – as well as the loss of the sword fight straight out of Flash Gordon. It looked very much like the lawyers had nobbled them. Why bring this all up now? Well, Mark Millar has been out on the town with his new best friend, Sam Jones, best known for playing Flash Gordon in the early eighties camp classic movie. Well, if anyone were to play an ageing Flash Gordon who few take seriously, it would be.. an ageing Flash Gordon who few take seriously. Unless of course, it’s another fakeout like Kick Ass viral video, MPH Detroit visits, Nemesis Times Square, Superior Obama, Empress Hollywood actors… and of course the Starlight fake Granny tattooed reviewer. But I don’t think he is hugging a cardboard cut out.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Oct 10, 2017 21:12:20 GMT -6
www.newsarama.com/36872-first-mark-millar-netflix-collaboration-wraps.htmlMARK MILLAR Wraps First NETFLIX Comic Book Collaboration By George Marston, Newsarama Contributor October 10, 2017 08:30am ET Writer Mark Millar has finished his part of his first collaboration with Netflix. Millar announced the project in a pair of tweets - though he said full details on what the project is would not be released until later this month. Netflix acquired Millar's Millaworld properties back in August, though no specific projects were announced at the time. It is unclear if the property in question is an adaptation of some of Millar's previous work, or if it is an entirely new story developed in tandem with Netflix.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Dec 1, 2017 16:52:23 GMT -6
www.cbr.com/mark-millar-teases-next-millarworld-project/Mark Millar Teases Netflix’s Next Millarworld Project Writer Mark Millar is teasing an upcoming Millarworld project, though it’s not entirely clear whether it’s a new comic, or a show or movie for his partnership with Netflix. The photo, which >Millar shared on his , shows only an hourglass. “Three weeks into a new script,” Millar wrote. “Here’s your only clue until our marketing department announce in December:” twitter.com/mrmarkmillar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbr.com%2Fmark-millar-teases-next-millarworld-project%2FSeveral users responded to Millar, speculating that it may have something to do with 2015’s Chrononauts series, on which he collaborated with Sean Gordon Murphy (Punk Rock Jesus). A comic is the likely announcement, as it’s not totally clear whether it would be contractually possible to adapt Chrononauts for Netflix as Universal Pictures has been working on its own adaptation since the comic’s release. Although production did stall for a while, Universal brought writer Philip Gawthorne (Kojak) on board in April to adapt the series with producer Chris Morgan (The Fate of the Furious), so the studio has been active in the project’s development. Millar is well-known for his work on Civil War, Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kick-Ass. He has been nominated for four Eisner Awards. Many of the author’s works have been adapted into films. Millar launched Millarworld in 2004. In August, Netflix acquired the creator-owned line and is set to release The Magic Order, the first of its shows based on the author’s work, in Spring 2018.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 6, 2018 14:33:18 GMT -6
www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/06/mark-millar-netflix-not-publish-comics/Mark Millar Confirms: Netflix Isn’t Getting Into Publishing Comics Posted by Rich Johnston April 6, 2018 0 Comments Ever since Mark Millar sold Millarworld and its associated comic book properties to Netflix, people have wondered how it would work. Millar has chosen Image Comics to publish these Netflix-owned comics — so far — with The Magic Order. And we heard word about comic industry staffers being recruited in New York for Netflix. But would Netflix actually get around to putting them in print or publishing them digitally through their Netflix service? Maybe publish through Image initially, just as Image published through Malibu initially back in 1992. At C2E2’s Mark Millar Spotlight panel today, Mark Millar has been going through his current work and plans, but confirmed that “Netflix isn’t getting into publishing. That’s not part of the plan.” There you go. From Mark Millar’s mouth. If Netflix Comics was ever a plan… it isn’t now. (Last Updated April 6, 2018 1:53 pm )
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