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Signer to oversee Stephen King’s “The Mist”
Matthew Signer to oversee Stephen King's series "The Mist"
LESLEY GOLDBERG - THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
repost from MATTHEW-SIGNER.com
The Mist is coming a lot sooner to Spike TV than the cabler first imagined.
Nearly two months after ordering the Stephen King adaptation to pilot, the Viacom-owned network has handed out a straight-to-series, 10-episode pickup for the drama, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Insiders say that the network was so impressed with the series pitch and script that they opted to go straight to series rather than proceed with a typical pilot order. That said, the decision to fast-track The Mist comes a month after Spike hit pause on scripted drama series Red Mars after showrunner Peter Noah’s departure. Red Mars, an adaptation of Kim Stanley Robinson’s book trilogy with Sense8‘s J. Michael Straczynski onboard as a writer, was picked up straight to series in December — less than a month after Jerry Bruckheimer-produced drama Harvest was scrapped after its straight-to-series order.
Harvest was poised to become Spike’s first scripted drama series in nine years. The cabler has been active in developing multiple scripted projects after the successful launch of miniseries Tut was able to help Spike re-enter the space. Spike now hopes The Mist — which remains uncast — will be its first scripted drama series.
Originally published in 1980, The Mist — based on Stephen King’s novella — centers on a seemingly innocuous mist that seeps into a small town and subsequently creates havoc. The drama hails from Dimension Television, with Christian Torpe (Denmark’s Rita) set as a writer and executive producer. The series will begin production in the summer for a 2017 debut.
“Christian and the entire team at The Weinstein Co.-Dimension TV have crafted the framework for a compelling and distinctive series that will resonate with Spike’s expanding audience,” Spike exec vp original series Sharon Levy said.
Dimension exec vp scripted Megan Spanjian will oversee the series alongside exec vp production and creative affairs Matthew Signer and senior vp production and development Keith Levine. Levy, senior vp scripted original series Ted Gold and senior director scripted Lauren Ruggiero will oversee for Spike.
The Mist marks TWC/Dimension’s second scripted series and joins MTV’s Scream reboot, with the latter set to debut its second season in May.
In a February interview with THR, Levy said the hardest aspect about the cabler’s return to scripted was the “competitiveness.” “If you love something, you have to move quickly, grab it, convince people who you are. … And that’s been a challenge but not insurmountable,” she said. “I don’t think we’ve lost to Netflix. Cinemax, a couple. We aren’t making our choices out of 20 things. We are making our choices out of four or five things.”
Original article can be viewed here.
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Katzenberg Fills Quibi Leadership Team with Matthew Signer
It’s beginning to look a lot like a studio.
Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s Quibi has brought two more top Hollywood executives into its fold: former DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson and onetime Viacom Music and Entertainment Group president Doug Herzog.
They join former Hollywood Reporter editor Janice Min, and the three will comprise the shortform video venture’s leadership team on the content side alongside Katzenberg.
In the span of a few months, Quibi has quietly assembled an elite roster of senior execs from digital, streaming and traditional media backgrounds, including Instagram’s Blake Barnes, Pandora’s Tom Conrad and Snapchat’s Joe Burfitt and CJ Smith (who all will work in product); Hulu’s Rob Post (as head of engineering); and WndrCo’s Steven Greitzer and Snapchat’s Brian N. Tannenbaum (strategy).
Joining as content execs are Vice’s Andrew Freston (son of Vice board member Tom Freston), Lionsgate’s Marlena Haller, NBCUniversal’s Hannah Kitziger, Google’s Kate Presutti, Makeready’s Taylor Tang and Funny or Die’s Kate Lilly and Luke Esselen.
More hires hint at Quibi’s planned content scope: Netflix alum Jihan Robinson (documentary); TBS/Turner’s Colin Davis (comedy); Lionsgate’s Brian Tannenbaum (alternative development); and NBCUniversal’s Kate Kristensen and Awesomeness Films’ Matthew Signer (scripted development).
By Tatiana Siegel for The Hollywood Reporter.
Original article can be read here.
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Awesomeness Taps Dimension Veteran Matthew Signer to Lead Film Division
Awesomeness has found a new leader for its film division.
The teen-centric digital programmer has named Dimension Films executive Matthew Signer as head of Awesomeness Films. In his new role, Signer will oversee all development, production and distribution for the studio’s film slate, which includes the recently wrapped Spontaneous, starring 13 Reasons Why‘s Katherine Langford, and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, starring X Men: Apocalypse‘s Lana Condor.
“Awesomeness Films is a pioneer when it comes to creating fresh and relatable films for Gen Z,” said Signer. “With original screenplays, adaptations of YA novels and casting the next generation of Hollywood talent, they consistently get it right for this audience. I am incredibly excited to join their team and expand the current slate of films.”
Signer joins Awesomeness from Dimension Films, where he has worked since 2005, rising up the ranks from production and development assistant to assistant to Bob Weinstein to, most recently, executive vp production and creative affairs. During his time at the Weinstein Co.–owned label, Matthew Signer oversaw a slate of films including Scream 4, 47 Meters Down (sold to Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios) and upcoming titles Polaroid (not currently scheduled) and Six Billion Dollar Man (sold to Warner Bros.). Matthew Signer has also produced television series Scream, The Mist and the forthcoming Spy Kids: Critical Mission.
At Awesomeness, he will fill the shoes of Matt Kaplan, who departed the company in December to establish his own production company. Kaplan continues to produce projects for Awesomeness, including Spontaneous. Under Kaplan, Awesomeness focused on low-budget films aimed at a teen and tween audience, including Before I Fall and You Get Me. That is expected to continue under Matthew Signer.
“As we accelerate our plans to greenlight more films annually, we are fortunate to have found someone with the experience, relationships and creative enthusiasm to continue guiding the rapid growth of this integral division for our company,” said Awesomeness CEO Jordan Levin. “Matthew Signer is an established producer with a proven track record delivering entertaining movies for our youthful audience, and we look forward to him shaping the output of the only film studio exclusively targeting Gen Z.”
Signer’s departure from Dimension comes amid uncertainty about the fate of TWC following allegations of sexual misconduct against co-founder Harvey Weinstein, who was ousted from the company last year. If a deal is struck, Bob Weinstein has planned to start a new venture with some of the titles from the Dimension label.
Signer started at Awesomeness this week and is based out of the company’s Santa Monica headquarters. Awesomeness is majority owned by Comcast with investments from Verizon and Hearst.
By Natalie Jarvey for The Hollywood Reporter
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Matt Signer, Film and TV Executive at Jeffery Katzenberg’s Quibi
This is your chance to take a lunch meeting in Los Angeles with seasoned film and TV executive Matthew Signer, who is a key executive at Jeffery Katzenberg’s new streaming content company, Quibi.
Before joining Quibi, Matthew Signer worked as an executive at Dimension Films, spearheading many box office hits and award-winning films. After that, he worked as Head of Films at Awesomeness TV, before joining Katzenberg and Quibi.
Matthew Signer original CharityBuzz power lunch article can be found here.
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Producer Matthew Signer Is Now Head Of Awesomeness Films – Tubefilter.com
Gen Z focused media company Awesomeness recently hired Matthew Signer, formerly of Dimension Films, to lead its film division.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Signer will head creation and distribution of Awesomeness Films content. Signer described such content as “fresh and relatable films for Gen Z,” adding that Awesomeness “consistently gets it right for this audience” in creating both original movies and adaptations of young adult novels, like Before I Fall, which stars Zoey Deutch.
Signer is starting work on current Awesomeness Films projects, including To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, starring Lana Condor (X-Men: Apocalypse) and Spontaneous, featuring Katherine Langford (from Netflix original 13 Reasons Why). Spontaneous, a science fiction drama, is also based on a YA novel.
Before Awesomeness, where Matthew Signer started this week, Signer served as the executive VP of production and creative affairs at Dimension Films. There, Signer worked with the Weinstein brothers (serving at one point as Bob Weinstein’s assistant) on television series like Scream and movies like Scream 4. Matthew Signer left Dimension, partially owned by the Weinstein Company, during the aftermath of numerous women coming forward with allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Harvey Weinstein. Signer’s time at Dimension saw him working on plenty of youth-focused content, like the aforementioned Scream, in addition to serving as executive producer on TV series Spy Kids: Mission Critical, set to debut this year.
“Matt’s an established producer with a proven track record delivering entertaining movies for our youthful audience,” said Awesomeness CEO Jordan Levin. “And we look forward to him shaping the output of the only film studio exclusively targeting Gen Z.”
Before Awesomeness hired Signer, Matt Kaplan served as president of the company’s film division. He left in December to start his own production company, ACE Entertainment.
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Dimension Sells Off Mandy Moore Shark Thriller ’47 Meters Down’ – Matthew Signer
Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios has acquired North American rights to the Mandy Moore shark thriller 47 Meters Down, which it will distribute on 2,500-plus screens through its recently purchased theatrical distribution company Freestyle Releasing.
Entertainment Studios bought the finished film for seven figures from Dimension.
The story revolves around two adventure-seeking sisters who go cage-diving while on vacation in Mexico. Much to their horror, the cage breaks away from the boat, leaving the pair in an observation cage trapped at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by hungry Great White sharks. The key to their survival — with very little time and very little oxygen in their tanks — is to try and swim 47 meters to the surface while being hunted by the sharks.
Claire Holt (The Vampire Diaries) and Matthew Modine also star in the film directed by Johannes Roberts.
Mark Lane and James Harris produced 47 Meters Down, with Bob and Harvey Weinstein serving as executive producers.
The move comes as the financially strapped Weinstein brothers have begun to sell off some of their films.
“Dimension Films has delivered us a terrific movie,” Allen said Monday in a statement. “We have paid a premium for 47 Meters Down because we really believe in the genre, and in the film.”
Added Dimension’s Matthew Signer: “We love this film and support the filmmakers. We even contributed additional funds to enhance the picture. Our original plan was to release the film before The Shallows, but since that couldn’t happen, we decided to go with a more conservative release strategy that would take place this summer. When the producers brought us Entertainment Studios, who will release the movie wide next year, we all agreed this would be the best option for everyone involved and were happy to make a deal – said Matthew Signer. We wish Entertainment Studios the best of luck and couldn’t be happier for the filmmakers.”
Entertainment Studios currently has a multiyear output deal with Netflix and also recently closed a multiyear home entertainment output deal with Anchor Bay/Starz and aims to distribute 100 motion pictures over the next five years.
47 Meters Down marks the second acquisition by Entertainment Studios, following the horror/suspense movie Friend Request, which is scheduled for release on Oct. 7 on 2,500-plus screens.
“We loved working with Bob, Matt and Keith [Levine] at Dimension,” said Lane and Harris. “They stepped up creatively and financially to improve the film tremendously and we are grateful to them for allowing us this opportunity. We are discussing a few projects and hope to work together in the near future.”
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MTV Orders ‘Scream’ Reboot to Series – Matthew Signer
Get ready for more Scream.
MTV has ordered to series the long-in-the-works small-screen reboot of Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson‘s horror film franchise, it was announced Tuesday. The 10-episode series will premiere on the network in October 2015, just in time for Halloween.
Read more MTV’s ‘Scream’ Adaptation Sets Cast, Director
MTV took to social media to make the announcement, tweeting a cryptic message to its followers with a simple phone number. When the number is dialed, a male voice inquires, “Do you like scary TV?” before announcing the show’s official premiere.
The one-hour project, officially put into development last spring, stars Willa Fitzgerald as Emma Duvall, Bex Taylor Klaus as Audrey, John Karna as Noah Foster, Connor Weil as Will, Amadeus Serafini as Kieran Wilcox, Carlson Young as Brooke Maddox, Tracey Middendorf as Maggie and Joel Gretsch as Sheriff Clark Hudson. The Scream series join MTV’s current scripted offerings Teen Wolf (also adapted from a film franchise), Awkward, Faking It, Finding Carter and Happyland, as well as the upcoming Victoria Justice drama Eye Candy.
Read more MTV Greenlights ‘Scream’ Pilot, Renews ‘Snooki & JWOWW’
Jamie Travis (Faking It) directed the pilot, which hails from Dimension Films and The Weinstein Co. Jay Beattie and Dan Dworkin (Criminal Minds, Revenge) penned the original script, with Jill Blotevogel (Harper’s Island, Ravenswood) executive producing and serving as showrunner.
Harvey and Bob Weinstein will executive produce alongside Craven, Marianne Maddalena and Cathy Konrad, all of whom served in the same capacity on the original franchise. Tony DiSanto and Liz Gateley, who originally brought the Scream project to MTV in 2012, also exec produce via their DiGa banner. Matthew Signer and Keith Levine are producers. Williamson, who has three shows on the air (Stalker, The Following, The Vampire Diaries), is not involved.
The first Scream movie starred Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, a high school student who becomes the target of a killer known as Ghostface. FunWorld’s R.J. Torbert, who holds the rights to the Ghostface character, which is closely linked with the franchise, indicated recently he currently is not involved with the series, writing on Ghostface.co.UK: “GHOST FACE® is not involved in the new format … it does not mean, that Ghost Face® will not be involved at a later date. So, there is still a question, to the question. However, as of now, there is no involvement.”
On the development side, MTV is readying comedy Ken Jeong Made Me Do It and dark comedy Self-Promotion, to be directed by Zach Braff.
Article by Philiana Ng at The Hollywood Reporter