News

Steven Banks has joined Variety as creative director.

The publishing veteran will steer the brand’s design and aesthetic across all editorial platforms, reporting to Variety incoming co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh and co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton. Banks is leading a department that is seeing record levels of activity for Variety’s weekly print magazine, as well as dozens of digital and print Extra Editions each year around events such as the Oscars, the Emmys, the Cannes Film Festival and more.

“We are thrilled to have Steven join our team to enhance the look of our award-winning magazine and continue to strengthen our digital storytelling for our millions of readers and followers,” said Setoodeh. “His depth of experience and creative instincts will enliven our coverage of the global entertainment business.”

In overseeing design for all Variety platforms, Banks will work closely with Jennifer Dorn, who was promoted to visual content director earlier this year.

Warner Bros. Discovery Latin America has acquired streaming and Pay-tv rights to Indonesian-produced kids animation series “The Beachbuds” for play in Latin America. An air date for “The Beachbuds” is yet to be announced.

This follows previously announced deals with The Walt Disney Company for Japan, Disney+ Hotstar for Southeast Asia, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for Australia. Licensing is handled by Australia-based Odin’s Eye Animation, a sister company to long running film sales outfit Odin’s Eye Entertainment.

“The Beachbuds” season 1 comprises 52 11-minute episodes and is a children’s animated series set in the Zoobak Resort, a tropical island paradise with the funniest feathered friends. Aimed squarely at 6–11-year-olds, “The Beachbuds” entertains kids while teaching about harmony, hospitality and humor.

Primetime Emmy winner Steven Banks teams up with talented writers including Ken Goin and John R Morey and director, George Samilski.

The show’s colorful cast of characters includes Bayo...

Further sale secured with ABC Australia.

Sydney-based Odin’s Eye Animation (Oea) is expanding from features into TV with sales of The Beachbuds to Disney Japan and ABC Australia.

The sister company to Odin’s Eye Entertainment has previously handled animated features such as Little Eggs: An African Rescue and Daisy Quokka - World’s Scariest Animal. But this latest brace of deals indicates Oea’s ambitions in the TV sales space.

Deals in further territories are under negotiation at the MipTV market in Cannes this week.

The Beachbuds comprises 52 x 11-minute episodes, aimed at 6 to 11-year-olds, and centres on a group...

Sydney-based Odin’s Eye Animation has secured sales of kids’ TV series “The Beachbuds” to Disney Japan and ABC Australia. Other territories are under negotiation at the MipTV market in Cannes.

“The Beachbuds” is a 52-episode x 11’ animated series set in Zoobak Resort, a fictional tropical island paradise with the funniest feathered friends. With a target demographic of 6 to 11-year-olds “The Beachbuds” teaches kids about harmony, hospitality and humor, so no matter what happens everyone can have their best day ever.

The series is produced by J-Toon Productions, a U.S. and Indonesian firm, established in 2013 by industrialist and minerals magnate Jimmy Budiarto, and Montreal-based producer-distributor Syon Media. The producers previously negotiated a license deal for Southeast Asia, where the series is now available on Disney Plus Hotstar.

The series is directed by George Samilski with writers including Primetime Emmy-winner Steven Banks, Ken Goin and John R. Morey (“Family Guy”).

Music...

Kcet has now led in wins at the Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, for five years in a row.

At the 73rd awards ceremony, which took place Saturday, the station claimed a total of nine statuettes. Kvea and Spectrum SportsNet followed it up with six wins apiece. Other outlets scoring multiple wins at the show, hosted by Spectrum News 1 journalist Giselle Fernández, included ABC7 (four), Kmex (three), KTLA5 (two), Kttv-tv (two) and Spectrum News 1 (two).

The Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards honor locally produced programs in the categories of Live and Breaking News Coverage, Crime and Social Issues, Culture and History, the Arts, Human Interest, Sports, and the Environment. Presenters for this year’s ceremony, which streamed live on the Emmys website, included Carrlyn Bathe (Fox Sports West), Mike Bresnahan (Spectrum SportsNet/LA), Enrique Chiabra (Telemundo/Kvea), Allie Clifton (Spectrum SportsNet/LA), Suzanna Guzmán (Kcet/PBS SoCal), Elex B.

Shamus Kelley May 14, 2019

Things are about to get awesome in Lego City Adventures in this new Nickelodeon series!

Nickelodeon and Lego are about to team-up! We've got the exclusive that a brand new CG-animated series, Lego City Adventures will premiere Saturday, June 22, at 11:30 a.m. (Et/Pt) on Nickelodeon! The series will be ten episodes long and depict "the funny, smart, and dynamic slices of life within the sprawling and diverse Lego City community, following the absurd and action-packed adventures of its residents."

Lego fans looking to find a little chararcter in their favorite toys, this series is for you! We've got the exclusive trailer for the series that gives us a look into what it'll be like. You can watch it below!

This looks like it'll be a lot of fun, especially for anyone who's ever imagined the daily life of their Lego cities. And who can't love those little "awesome" references?...

Some of Off-Broadway’s best recent productions will soon be viewable from the comfort of your living room. PBS Thirteen is premiering an exciting new television series titled “Theater Close-Up” on Oct. 2 at 9 P.M. New York theater fans who may have missed some of the most talked-about plays of the last year can tune in to see carefully filmed versions of John Van Druten’s “London Wall,” Richard Nelson’s quartet of dramas “The Apple Family Plays,” Hamish Linklater’s “The Vandal,” Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson’s “An Iliad,” Brian Richard Mori’s “Hellman v. McCarthy,” and Steven Banks’ “Looking at Christmas.” In addition to receiving widespread critical acclaim, these shows are for the most part intimate, family-oriented dramas that enable PBS to continue a tradition of bringing live work to a wider public audience. Wnet-13, New York’s Public Broadcasting Service station, will air weekly installments on Thursdays at 9 p.

While Dan Aykroyd has been on a personal mission to relaunch the franchise for years, it looks like he’s finally accepted the forgone conclusion that Bill Murray will not do Ghostbusters III. Whether a third installment gets made now, seems to be in ever greater doubt. In an interview with the British Telegraph Aykroyd told them: “I honestly don’t know. At this point it’s in suspended animation. The studio, the director Ivan Reitman and Harold Ramis feel there must be a way to do it, but Bill Murray will not do the movie. He doesn’t want to be involved. He’s got six kids, houses all over America. He golfs in these tournaments where they pay him to turn up and have a laugh. He’s into this life and living it. I know we’d have a lot of fun…I can’t be mad at him.

Steven Banks ("SpongeBob Squarepants," "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius") has been hired to pen Arnold Schwarzenegger's upcoming "The Governator" animated series. "Throughout my career, whether it has been in body building, movies or politics, my philosophy has always been to bring together the best specialized talent to create projects that people will love," said Schwarzenegger. "Having Steven on board to head up the writing for 'The Governator' series is a fantastic next step." The series follows an animated Schwarzenegger who, after leaving office in California, takes on a secret identity as a crime-fighting superhero, with the help of an elite squad of teenagers.

Steven Banks has been hired to lead the writing team for The Governator. We shared the trailer for the 52-episode series will feature the voice and animated image of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a super hero bent on beating the bad guys and the forces of evil. Earlier we reported that the TV show was created with input from Stan Lee, and that it will eventually lead to a 3D feature film.

Here is what Arnie had to say about the project:

When I ran for governor back in 2003 and I started hearing people talking about ‘the Governator,’ I thought the word was so cool. The word Governator combined two worlds: the world of politics and the movie world. And [this cartoon] brings everything together. It combines the governor, the Terminator, the bodybuilding world, the True Lies…

The trailer looks Horrible, I don't think that Banks hiring as a writer will be able to save this show.

Briefly: As the giant 'Wtf?' of Arnold Schwarzenegger's animated series The Governator continues to crawl towards release, we're getting a few new details. We know that the icon is returning to entertainment with the show, which follows a politician-turned-superhero, that the show was created with the input of Stan Lee, and that it will eventually lead to a 3D feature film [1]. Now Steven Banks has been hired to lead the writing team for the show. His primary credits include a long stint on SpongeBob Squarepants and head writer credit on The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. Does that mean The Governator will be more light-hearted and fun than we've expected? Truthfully, probably not. The trailer [2] already suggested that anyone older than eight shouldn't expect much here, and Arnie has explained that, It takes my entire career, basically, whether it is bodybuilding, action movies, if it is the governorship,...

The Saturday schedule for the 2010 Comic-Con at San Diego is now released. As was the case with the Thursday and Friday breakdown reports, I'm focusing on film/TV/DVD related events, screenings and panels.

Read the Thursday, July 22, 2010 schedule.

Read the Friday, July 23, 2010 schedule.

10:00-11:00 Nickelodeon Presents: The SpongeBob SquarePants Secret Formula Revealed!— Ever wonder what delicious ingredients go into making an episode of SpongeBob? The masterminds behind the show -- executive producer Paul Tibbitt (Nightmare Ned), head writer Steven Banks (The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius), creative director Vincent Waller (Ren & Stimpy), supervising storyboard director Tuck Tucker (Hey Arnold!), layout supervisor Kenny Pittenger (CatDog), storyboard director Luke Brookshier (Kim Possible), background painter Andy Clark (Dexter's Laboratory), animation director Andrew Overtoom (Family Guy), and the voice of SpongeBob himself, Tom Kenny -- show you how the kernel of an idea turns into a fully animated episode. Followed...

Hey Gang! Comic-Con International has unveiled the full schedule for Saturday July 24th! If you thought Thursday and Friday were insanely awesome and crazy, wait until you see what's planned for Saturday! There is a ton of great stuff going on that you're going to want to see! We've got all Marvel film panel with Thor, Captain America and The Avengers. There's also Green Lantern, Cowboys & Aliens, Sucker Punch, Harry Potter, Paul, and a ton of other great stuff! And if you aren't able to make it out to Comic-Con this year don't worry we got your back, and will be covering everything we possibly can. I've highlighted all the events we hope to cover. If you're going to comic-con we will be having a little meet up. The details for that will be revealed soon. Now check out the full schedule below and start planning out your Comic-Con geekdom.

As the year comes to a close on these Take Fivers' adventures, Back Stage seeks five working actors to take their places and write monthly about their 2010 experiences. If you are interested, contact Back Stage Executive Editor Dany Margolies at dmargolies@backstage.com, with "Take Five" in the subject line. Let us know a bit about you and your interest in writing, and include a headshot and résumé. We are seeking working actors from anywhere in the country.Beth Grant, Los AngelesOn the plane, headed back to L.A. from the Austin Film Festival, where the movie I helped produce, the sweet-hearted "Herpes Boy," the kid with a birthmark and an unfortunate nickname, had its world premiere. Our modestly budgeted, truly independent little movie was a great big fat hit. We sold out both screenings, sadly having to turn people away. We got great reviews and did many press interviews,...

AMC is climbing "99 Stories" with veteran feature writer David Seltzer.

The cable network is developing the sci-fi horror thriller, set at a 99-story high-rise building, that Seltzer created with "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" executive producer James Middleton and Steven Banks ("Women in Law").

Seltzer is penning the project, which is yet to be set up at a studio.

"99" revolves around a group of strangers invited to tour a newly constructed multipurpose 99-story building who find themselves trapped in it with no way out but up.

"Each story presents a different kind of challenge for the group," Seltzer said.

In their fight for survival, the strangers are at the mercy of a technological brain that electronically controls every element of the building.

"The elevators are in control of (the strangers') destiny, whittling them out by deciding who they deem deserve to go up," Seltzer said.

And what happens in the sealed-off high rise has much larger repercussions. "What's going on there is not about the people trapped inside, it affects the rest of the world," Seltzer said.

Brian Levant has come aboard to direct Revolution Studios' Ice Cube starrer Are We There Yet? A fall start date on the project is expected, with Ice Cube also producing the project alongside Matt Alvarez in their CubeVision. Are We There sees Ice Cube star as Nick, a playboy bachelor and sports memorabilia collector who is dating Suzanne, a divorced mother of 8-year-old Kevin and 11-year-old Lindsey, who never like the men their mom dates. When Suzanne is stuck in New York for work on New Year's Eve, Nick offers to get her kids -- whom he has never met -- from Washington to New York on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Along the way, the kids do everything in their power to ruin the trip and, in the process, Nick's relationship with their mom. The project was originally picked up as a pitch from writers Steven Banks and Claudia Grazioso. Ice Cube is rewriting the material. Levant, repped by WMA, has directed such films as Snow Dogs, The Flintstones Jingle All the Way and Beethoven.