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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jan 23, 2014 13:43:27 GMT -6
Foreign sales on the “Max Steel” movie will launch at the European Film Market in Berlin as the first title to be offered by newly minted Dolphin Films International.
Mattel announced plans last September for a live action movie based on the property, with Open Road Films picking up U.S. rights and Dolphin Films producing with the toymaker.
Dolphin’s sales banner has formed a multi-year partnership with IM Global. Christine Perrin-Stocco, who has successfully led all of Dolphin’s international sales for the past 12 years, will expand her role to head the new division. Perrin-Stocco’s overseen distribution of projects to more than 100 territories including Nickelodeon series “Zoey 101” and digital project “Cybergeddon.”
IM Global will provide international sales, marketing, publicity, technical operations, legal and accounting support.
“Family films drive the leading box office results worldwide,” said Dolphin Films topper Bill O’Dowd. “We’re thrilled to partner with IM Global and provide international distributors with powerful, branded films the entire family can enjoy. We couldn’t be happier to launch the division with ‘Max Steel,’ a franchise film with studio clout that comes with the added value of being a successful Mattel property.”
“Max Steel,”based on teenager Max McGrath and alien companion Steel, is being written by Christopher Yost (“Thor: The Dark World”) and directed by Stewart Hendler (“Halo”). The U.S. release is planned for late this year.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Feb 6, 2014 21:29:09 GMT -6
Dolphin Films and IM Global have announced the casting of the principal roles in the first film in the Max Steel franchise, which is slated to debut in 2015. The plan to create a movie franchise based on the popular Mattel toyline, which has been in the works since 2009, is finally bearing fruit with helmer Stewart Hendler set to direct the first Max Steel movie from a script by Christopher Yost, who wrote the screenplay for Thor: The Dark World. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ben Winchell, who will be familiar to young audiences from his work on Disney’s A.N.T. Farm and the USA series Necessary Roughness, will play the key role of Max McGrath, a teen with special powers who combines with his alien companion Steel to become the superhero Max Steel. Ana Villafane, who was in the TV series Los Americanos and the 2102 movie Hiding, will play Max’s romantic interest Sydney Gardner. Mattel’s Max Steel toy franchise has been the #1 toy property in Latin America for over a decade, a success that was the impetus behind Mattel’s re-launch of the property here in the States last year, a move that was supported by a new animated TV series as well as line of graphic novels from Viz Media.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 29, 2014 13:16:31 GMT -6
variety.com/2014/film/news/andy-garcia-starring-in-max-steel-movie-1201166247/Andy Garcia has signed on to star as a scientist in the live-action movie “Max Steel” opposite Ben Winchell and Ana Villafane. The casting is the latest component in a campaign by Mattel and Dolphin Films to launch “Max Steel” as a live-action superhero feature film franchise. Shooting is starting Tuesday in Wilmington, N.C. Sales to international markets launched at Berlin through a strategic partnership between Dolphin Films Intl. and IM Global. Open Road will release the film in the U.S. next year. Christopher Yost (“Thor: The Dark World”) is writing and Stewart Hendler is on board to direct the story of teen Max McGrath and his alien companion Steel, who combine special turbo-energy powers to become Max Steel. Mattel re-introduced the Max Steel franchise last year and has subsequently launched the brand in more than 150 countries with branded entertainment, toys, games and publishing. Mattel and Dolphin announced the partnership in September, with Open Road on board for U.S. distribution. During Berlin, Variety reported that Winchell and Villafane would star. Garcia can be seen in the indie crime drama “Rob the Mob.” He will star later this year in Fox’s action-comedy “Let’s Be Cops.”
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on May 9, 2014 8:09:06 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-im-global-dolphin-films-702601Mattel’s new superhero franchise starring Ben Winchell, Ana Villafane and Andy Garcia sells across Europe and Asia. Max Steel, the first entry in a would-be superhero franchise based on the hit action figure from Mattel, has found a welcome audience abroad, with sales group IM Global closing pre-sales deals with much of Europe and Asia for the upcoming feature. Major European indies including Germany’s Universum, France’s Metropolitan, Lucky red in Italy and Russia’s Central Partnership have pounced on the film, which also sold to Leda Films for Latin America, Media Max for Turkey and MVP Entertainment for multiple territories in South East Asia. Open Road will distribute Max Steel theatrically in the U.S.. Stewart Hendler is directing from a script by Christopher Yost (Thor: The Dark World). Ben Winchell (Necessary Roughness) stars as the ordinary 16-year-old Max McGrath who joins forces with alien companion Steel to become the superhero Max Steel and battle mysterious forces that threaten the world. Andy Garcia, Ana Villafane and Billy Slaughter also star. Dolphin Films’ Bill O’Dowd is producing, alongside veteran producer Julia Pistor (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events) for Mattel’s Playground Productions. Dolphin Films International, the company’s new international sales division run by Christine Perrin-Stocco, is handling worldwide sales on the project together with Stuart Ford’s IM Global. Dolphin and IM Global introduced Max Steel to buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market. The big-budget project stands out in the current indie market where there are currently few high-end franchise ready titles available for independent distributors. “We couldn’t be more thrilled with the response from international distributors, media and the overall market,” said Bill O’Dowd, CEO of Dolphin Films. “We’re looking forward to working with our partners to make Max Steel the start of a blockbuster franchise all over the world.“ Max Steel is currently shooting on location in North Carolina and is slated for a U.S. domestic release in 2015.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on May 20, 2014 22:02:08 GMT -6
variety.com/2014/film/news/jersey-boys-actor-joins-open-roads-max-steel-1201187455/Mike Doyle has joined the cast of Open Road’s “Max Steel.” Pic currently stars Ben Winchell, Andy Garcia and Ana Villafane. The movie is a co-production between Mattel and Dolphin Films. It follows teen Max McGrath and his alien companion Steel, who combine special turbo-energy powers to become Max Steel. Mattel re-introduced the Max Steel franchise last year and has subsequently launched the brand in more than 150 countries with branded entertainment, toys, games and publishing. Stewart Hendler is directing with Chris Yost penning the script. Doyle can be seen next in WB’s “Jersey Boys” where he plays the role of Bob Crewe, the Four Seasons’ manager. He is repped by Gersh, Untitled and lawyer Greg Slewett.
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