IM Global Television Partners with Marvista Entertainment For Series Re-Invention Of “KING KONG”

MarVista Entertainment, a leading independent studio that produces, acquires and distributes premium film and television content, has partnered with IM Global Television, a joint venture between prolific independent studio IM Global, Chinese digital giant Tencent and Tang Media Partners, to develop, co-produce, and co-finance the tale of King Kong for series television.


Based on DeVito ArtWorks' Skull Island property and Merian C. Cooper's King Kong, King Kong Skull Island is a comprehensive King Kong Universe exclusively endorsed by Kong's creator.  The series is a  serialized, contemporary continuation of the classic with a female-led, multi-cultural ensemble that delves fully into the wonders and horrors of Skull Island and its origins. Academy Award® nominees Jonathan Penner and Stacy Title (The Bye Bye Man) are attached as writers/executive producers.  Dannie Festa (Trolls) of World Builder Entertainment will executive produce.

"It's been a privilege to work with Joe DeVito and his truly unique, never-before-seen Kong universe," said Festa. "We feel confident that it will be hugely appealing to fans all over the world."

"Jonathan and Stacy have taken a world that has enraptured audiences in all its many forms over the years and given it a contemporary, female-focused spin," said MarVista CEO Fernando Szew. "It is with great anticipation that we partner with IM Global Television to bring this exciting new vision directly into viewers' homes."

"There's clearly a deep and abiding interest in this timeless story.  We love Stacy and Jonathan's approach to this adaptation and look forward to partnering with MarVista as we bring this gripping tale of survival and adventure to life for a new generation of Kong fans," said IM Global Television President Mark Stern.

Penner and Title are repped by Dannie Festa, Paradigm and lawyer Andy Galker. DeVito Artworks are repped by Dannie Festa and lawyer Robert Seigel.

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ABOUT MARVISTA ENTERTAINMENT
Founded in 2003, Los Angeles-based MarVista Entertainment is a leading independent entertainment studio that produces, acquires and distributes premium film and television content worldwide.  With a library showcasing nearly 2,500 hours of content, and with approximately 40 new movies per year added to the company's distribution pipeline, MarVista has become one of the largest suppliers of movies to the worldwide marketplace. MarVista has an expansive distribution footprint spanning more than 125 global territories, and has grown to become a pre-eminent supplier of programming to major cable networks in the U.S., including Disney Channel/Disney XD, Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon and MTV Networks, as well as key international broadcasters, cable networks and digital platforms. MarVista's recent projects include Bitch, the first film in their partnership with Elijah Wood's Company X/Spectrevision that premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival; and Rebel, the dramatic series from executive producer John Singleton that currently airs on BET.

ABOUT IM GLOBAL TELEVISION
IM Global Television ("IMGTV") is a full-service television studio that develops, finances, produces, and distributes high-quality scripted dramas for the domestic and international marketplace. In June 20 16, Los Angeles and based Tang Media Partners ("TMP") assumed a controlling ownership position in parent company IM Global to help accelerate the company's growth initiatives.  Simultaneously, TMP arranged a new, expanded television production joint venture among IM Global, TMP, and Tencent Holdings. The IM Global television JV included an innovative first-of-its-kind programming investment fund arranged by TMP.  With a scripted division led by industry veteran Mark Stern and an unscripted and alternative division led by award-winning producer Phil Gurin, IM Global Television has a deep well of experience in television development and production, an innovative business approach, and a solid financial foundation.  These assets make IM Global Television uniquely able to team with top-tier creative talent to deliver creative, bold and compelling programming. IM Global Television also has a fast growing scripted and unscripted international distribution business led by President of International Distribution Eli Shibley.


ABOUT IM GLOBAL
IM GLOBAL was founded by Chief Executive Officer Stuart Ford in 2007. The prolific independent studio operates one of the world's leading international film, television and music production, sales and distribution platforms, controlling a library of more than 600 films which have collectively grossed more than $6 billion in worldwide box office.  The company has financed or produced over thirty Hollywood feature films deploying more than $500 million in production capital, establishing itself as one of the most prolific film financiers outside of the major studios.  IM Global has offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Munich, Mumbai, Mexico City, Beijing and Shanghai.


ABOUT TANG MEDIA PARTNERS
Tang Media Partners is a next generation global content creation, development, financing and production company with an emphasis on forging connections between China and international markets across all media platforms through subsidiaries IM Global (Hacksaw Ridge, The Mermaid, Breakup Buddies) and partners such as Chinese tech giant, Tencent Holdings. Tang Media Partners is also behind such box-office hits as STX Entertainment's Bad Moms and the critically acclaimed The Edge of Seventeen. Tang Media Partners is a content company devoted to developing expansive franchises for globally recognized intellectual properties across the entertainment landscape.  TMP's newly acquired Chaotic Good Studios are the creators of the premium analytic tool, Fanalytics, and the Chaotic Good Franchise Lab, a writer's program focused on the creation of original multi-platform franchises across film, television, gaming and digital. Tang Media Partners was founded in 2015 by Donald Tang, former Bear Stearns & Co. Vice Chairman and Chairman and CEO of Bear Stearns Asia, Ltd., and is based in Los Angeles and Shanghai.

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