T.I. and Tiny have lost their copyright infringement lawsuit against the L.O.L. Surprise! doll maker Mga Entertainment, as a jury ruled in favor of the toymaker on Friday.
The rapper (real name Clifford Harris) and Tiny (Tameka Cottle) initially sued Mga Entertainment for allegedly stealing the name, likeness, and trade dress of Omg Girlz — the pop trio Tiny founded in 2009 — when the company launched its “L.O.L. Surprise Omg” dolls in 2019.
The case first went to trial in January, but a mistrial was declared after T.I.
The rapper (real name Clifford Harris) and Tiny (Tameka Cottle) initially sued Mga Entertainment for allegedly stealing the name, likeness, and trade dress of Omg Girlz — the pop trio Tiny founded in 2009 — when the company launched its “L.O.L. Surprise Omg” dolls in 2019.
The case first went to trial in January, but a mistrial was declared after T.I.
- 5/27/2023
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
T.I. and Tiny are back in court today, May 10, for the second round of their copyright infringement suit against L.O.L. doll maker Mga Entertainment after the first ended in a mistrial.
The parameters of the case haven’t changed: T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) and Tiny (Tameka Cottle) sued Mga Entertainment for allegedly stealing the name, likeness, and trade dress of Omg Girlz — the pop trio Tiny founded in 2009 — when the company launched its “L.O.L. Surprise Omg” dolls in 2019. Mga has denied the allegations.
The...
The parameters of the case haven’t changed: T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) and Tiny (Tameka Cottle) sued Mga Entertainment for allegedly stealing the name, likeness, and trade dress of Omg Girlz — the pop trio Tiny founded in 2009 — when the company launched its “L.O.L. Surprise Omg” dolls in 2019. Mga has denied the allegations.
The...
- 5/10/2023
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
T.I. and Tiny’s lawsuit against L.O.L. doll maker Mga Entertainment ended in a mistrial Wednesday after jurors heard barred testimony accusing the toy company of “racist cultural appropriation.”
U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna granted Mga’s motion for mistrial on the sixth day of the multimillion-dollar court battle over claims Mga stole the name, likeness, and trade dress of the all-female group Omg Girlz started by Tameka “Tiny” Harris in 2009 and popularized on her reality show with her rapper husband, Clifford “T.I.” Harris.
U.S. District Court Judge James V. Selna granted Mga’s motion for mistrial on the sixth day of the multimillion-dollar court battle over claims Mga stole the name, likeness, and trade dress of the all-female group Omg Girlz started by Tameka “Tiny” Harris in 2009 and popularized on her reality show with her rapper husband, Clifford “T.I.” Harris.
- 1/26/2023
- by Nancy Dillon
- Rollingstone.com
Atlanta rapper T.I. and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris want “economic justice” after a major toy company made “millions of dollars” off a line of dolls allegedly inspired by the all-girl group Omg Girlz that the couple launched in 2009. The musical group was also featured on T.I. and Tiny’s reality TV show, their lawyer told jurors in a California courtroom Wednesday.
The opposing lawyer representing the toymaker used her opening statement to allege T.I. and Tiny have no legitimate claim to any profits from Mga Entertainment’s line of “L.O.L. Surprise!
The opposing lawyer representing the toymaker used her opening statement to allege T.I. and Tiny have no legitimate claim to any profits from Mga Entertainment’s line of “L.O.L. Surprise!
- 1/19/2023
- by Nancy Dillon
- Rollingstone.com
Toy giant Mga Entertainment is the latest big player from outside Hollywood to take aim at the content business.
The privately held firm, based in Chatsworth and home to popular retail brands such as L.O.L. Surprise!, Rainbow High, Bratz and Little Tikes, has launched Mga Studios, a content division backed with 500 million in capital and assets to drive acquisitions and new production. The unit will be headed by Jason Larian, son of Mga Entertainment founder and CEO Isaac Larian.
Mga has produced animated series tied to its toy brands over the years, but the Mga Studios launch is an effort to dramatically up the production quality. The first step toward building out a studio operation is the acquisition of Brisbane, Australia-based animation shop Pixel Zoo Animation. The deal is valued in the low eight-figure range. Paul Gillett, Pixel Zoo founder and CEO, will join Mga Studios as a partner.
The privately held firm, based in Chatsworth and home to popular retail brands such as L.O.L. Surprise!, Rainbow High, Bratz and Little Tikes, has launched Mga Studios, a content division backed with 500 million in capital and assets to drive acquisitions and new production. The unit will be headed by Jason Larian, son of Mga Entertainment founder and CEO Isaac Larian.
Mga has produced animated series tied to its toy brands over the years, but the Mga Studios launch is an effort to dramatically up the production quality. The first step toward building out a studio operation is the acquisition of Brisbane, Australia-based animation shop Pixel Zoo Animation. The deal is valued in the low eight-figure range. Paul Gillett, Pixel Zoo founder and CEO, will join Mga Studios as a partner.
- 11/14/2022
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
This review was written for the theatrical release of "Bratz".Finally, a postfeminist multicultural musical extravaganza for 8-year-old girls. Is "Bratz" not the most totally stylin' movie ever? Grownups won't think so, but for their daughters who share a "passion for fashion" with the dolls that are giving Barbie a run for her money, it will be the event of the season.
As the fab four fashionistas collectively known as Bratz enter the emotionally charged terrain of high school, the filmmakers have infused the girly glamour with broad Life Lessons about the importance of friendship and self-expression -- hard to argue with and, for nontweens in the audience, hard to care about.
It was just a matter of time before the multiethnic dolls (dollz?) received a live-action makeover, expanding their multibillion-dollar empire of magazines, books, a computer-animated series and videos with titles like "Rock Angelz" and "Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz". The same "nag factor" that drives sales of Bratz merch, despite many parents' aversion to the dolls' bling-bespangled stripper aura, will generate business for the film.
They may not be able to spell, but the Bratz are not bubbleheads. Dialing down the doll/cartoon characters' sass quotient and, to a lesser extent, their shopping obsession, screenwriter Susan Estelle Jansen ("The Lizzie McGuire Movie") has created some real-girl talents and problems for the central quartet of BFFs. Cheerleader Sasha (Logan Browning) is the subject of postdivorce joint custody. Science geek Jade (Janel Parrish), tragically, must hide her inner fashion diva from her academics-minded parents. The single mom of soccer star Cloe (Skyler Shaye) struggles to make a living. As these three pursue new interests and new friendships, Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos) goes it more or less alone, with the support of an exuberant Latin-Jewish household that boasts not only mariachis but Lainie Kazan.
Also on hand is Jon Voight, providing much-needed moments of comic subtlety amid the frenetic proceedings. As principal of Carry Nation High, he's in thrall to the real power behind the campus surveillance cameras: his daughter, Meredith Baxter Dimly. A familiar composite of every-uppity blond high school-movie villainess, she's played with apt over-the-top gusto by Chelsea Staub. Trailing an entourage that includes a dreamy but spineless boyfriend (Stephen Lunsford) and a pampered lapdog named Paris, Meredith has shrewdly divided her domain into neatly organized cliques, complete with lunchtime seating chart.
After the girls' head-turning high school entrance, the action jumps ahead two years, to the lead-up to the inevitable talent show. This might give adults the false hope that things will move along at a brisk pace. But for all the quick cutting, the story feels endless, much the way momentous adolescent experiences can look inconsequential to anyone out of their teens. Sean McNamara directs with a breathless, short-attention-span frenzy, backed by a wall-to-wall pop soundtrack, and the young actresses tend to deliver their lines with drama-queen urgency. Will Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe see past the comfort of cliques to once again be best friends? And how many shopping-at-the-Grove montages will it take to find out?
To its credit, the film makes getting the boy a bonus rather than the be-all end-all. Singer Yasmin overcomes stage fright with the encouragement of a cute guy (Ian Nelson) who happens to be deaf, and Jade's science lab partner (nicely played by Chet Hanks) turns out to be a key ally.
McNamara ("That's So Raven," "Beyond the Break") is most inspired in the set pieces, in particular a plot-point food fight set to Strauss. Bernadene Morgan delivers a profusion of spirited costumes, and production designer Rusty Smith balances institutional drab with effusive off-campus sets.
BRATZ
Lionsgate
Crystal Sky Pictures in association with Avi Arad Prods.
Credits:
Director: Sean McNamara
Screenwriter: Susan Estelle Jansen
Story by: Adam de la Pena, David Eilenberg
Producers: Isaac Larian, Steven Paul, Avi Arad
Executive producer: Benedict Carver
Director of photography: Christian Sebaldt
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: John Coda
Choreographer: Kishaya Dudley
Co-producer: Kyla Kraman
Costumer designer: Bernadene Morgan
Editor: Jeff W. Canavan
Cast:
Yasmin: Nathalia Ramos
Jade: Janel Parrish
Sasha: Logan Browning
Cloe: Skyler Shaye
Meredith: Chelsea Staub
Avery: Anneliese van der Pol
Quinn: Malese Jow
Cameron: Stephen Lunsford
Bubbie: Lainie Kazan
Principal Dimly: Jon Voight
Dylan: Ian Nelson
Dexter: Chet Hanks
Bethany: Sasha Cohen
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
As the fab four fashionistas collectively known as Bratz enter the emotionally charged terrain of high school, the filmmakers have infused the girly glamour with broad Life Lessons about the importance of friendship and self-expression -- hard to argue with and, for nontweens in the audience, hard to care about.
It was just a matter of time before the multiethnic dolls (dollz?) received a live-action makeover, expanding their multibillion-dollar empire of magazines, books, a computer-animated series and videos with titles like "Rock Angelz" and "Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz". The same "nag factor" that drives sales of Bratz merch, despite many parents' aversion to the dolls' bling-bespangled stripper aura, will generate business for the film.
They may not be able to spell, but the Bratz are not bubbleheads. Dialing down the doll/cartoon characters' sass quotient and, to a lesser extent, their shopping obsession, screenwriter Susan Estelle Jansen ("The Lizzie McGuire Movie") has created some real-girl talents and problems for the central quartet of BFFs. Cheerleader Sasha (Logan Browning) is the subject of postdivorce joint custody. Science geek Jade (Janel Parrish), tragically, must hide her inner fashion diva from her academics-minded parents. The single mom of soccer star Cloe (Skyler Shaye) struggles to make a living. As these three pursue new interests and new friendships, Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos) goes it more or less alone, with the support of an exuberant Latin-Jewish household that boasts not only mariachis but Lainie Kazan.
Also on hand is Jon Voight, providing much-needed moments of comic subtlety amid the frenetic proceedings. As principal of Carry Nation High, he's in thrall to the real power behind the campus surveillance cameras: his daughter, Meredith Baxter Dimly. A familiar composite of every-uppity blond high school-movie villainess, she's played with apt over-the-top gusto by Chelsea Staub. Trailing an entourage that includes a dreamy but spineless boyfriend (Stephen Lunsford) and a pampered lapdog named Paris, Meredith has shrewdly divided her domain into neatly organized cliques, complete with lunchtime seating chart.
After the girls' head-turning high school entrance, the action jumps ahead two years, to the lead-up to the inevitable talent show. This might give adults the false hope that things will move along at a brisk pace. But for all the quick cutting, the story feels endless, much the way momentous adolescent experiences can look inconsequential to anyone out of their teens. Sean McNamara directs with a breathless, short-attention-span frenzy, backed by a wall-to-wall pop soundtrack, and the young actresses tend to deliver their lines with drama-queen urgency. Will Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe see past the comfort of cliques to once again be best friends? And how many shopping-at-the-Grove montages will it take to find out?
To its credit, the film makes getting the boy a bonus rather than the be-all end-all. Singer Yasmin overcomes stage fright with the encouragement of a cute guy (Ian Nelson) who happens to be deaf, and Jade's science lab partner (nicely played by Chet Hanks) turns out to be a key ally.
McNamara ("That's So Raven," "Beyond the Break") is most inspired in the set pieces, in particular a plot-point food fight set to Strauss. Bernadene Morgan delivers a profusion of spirited costumes, and production designer Rusty Smith balances institutional drab with effusive off-campus sets.
BRATZ
Lionsgate
Crystal Sky Pictures in association with Avi Arad Prods.
Credits:
Director: Sean McNamara
Screenwriter: Susan Estelle Jansen
Story by: Adam de la Pena, David Eilenberg
Producers: Isaac Larian, Steven Paul, Avi Arad
Executive producer: Benedict Carver
Director of photography: Christian Sebaldt
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: John Coda
Choreographer: Kishaya Dudley
Co-producer: Kyla Kraman
Costumer designer: Bernadene Morgan
Editor: Jeff W. Canavan
Cast:
Yasmin: Nathalia Ramos
Jade: Janel Parrish
Sasha: Logan Browning
Cloe: Skyler Shaye
Meredith: Chelsea Staub
Avery: Anneliese van der Pol
Quinn: Malese Jow
Cameron: Stephen Lunsford
Bubbie: Lainie Kazan
Principal Dimly: Jon Voight
Dylan: Ian Nelson
Dexter: Chet Hanks
Bethany: Sasha Cohen
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 7/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Finally, a postfeminist multicultural musical extravaganza for 8-year-old girls. Is Bratz not the most totally stylin' movie ever? Grownups won't think so, but for their daughters who share a "passion for fashion" with the dolls that are giving Barbie a run for her money, it will be the event of the season.
As the fab four fashionistas collectively known as Bratz enter the emotionally charged terrain of high school, the filmmakers have infused the girly glamour with broad Life Lessons about the importance of friendship and self-expression -- hard to argue with and, for nontweens in the audience, hard to care about.
It was just a matter of time before the multiethnic dolls (dollz?) received a live-action makeover, expanding their multibillion-dollar empire of magazines, books, a computer-animated series and videos with titles like "Rock Angelz" and "Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz". The same "nag factor" that drives sales of Bratz merch, despite many parents' aversion to the dolls' bling-bespangled stripper aura, will generate business for the film.
They may not be able to spell, but the Bratz are not bubbleheads. Dialing down the doll/cartoon characters' sass quotient and, to a lesser extent, their shopping obsession, screenwriter Susan Estelle Jansen (The Lizzie McGuire Movie) has created some real-girl talents and problems for the central quartet of BFFs. Cheerleader Sasha (Logan Browning) is the subject of postdivorce joint custody. Science geek Jade (Janel Parrish), tragically, must hide her inner fashion diva from her academics-minded parents. The single mom of soccer star Cloe (Skyler Shaye) struggles to make a living. As these three pursue new interests and new friendships, Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos) goes it more or less alone, with the support of an exuberant Latin-Jewish household that boasts not only mariachis but Lainie Kazan.
Also on hand is Jon Voight, providing much-needed moments of comic subtlety amid the frenetic proceedings. As principal of Carry Nation High, he's in thrall to the real power behind the campus surveillance cameras: his daughter, Meredith Baxter Dimly. A familiar composite of every-uppity blond high school-movie villainess, she's played with apt over-the-top gusto by Chelsea Staub. Trailing an entourage that includes a dreamy but spineless boyfriend (Stephen Lunsford) and a pampered lapdog named Paris, Meredith has shrewdly divided her domain into neatly organized cliques, complete with lunchtime seating chart.
After the girls' head-turning high school entrance, the action jumps ahead two years, to the lead-up to the inevitable talent show. This might give adults the false hope that things will move along at a brisk pace. But for all the quick cutting, the story feels endless, much the way momentous adolescent experiences can look inconsequential to anyone out of their teens. Sean McNamara directs with a breathless, short-attention-span frenzy, backed by a wall-to-wall pop soundtrack, and the young actresses tend to deliver their lines with drama-queen urgency. Will Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe see past the comfort of cliques to once again be best friends? And how many shopping-at-the-Grove montages will it take to find out?
To its credit, the film makes getting the boy a bonus rather than the be-all end-all. Singer Yasmin overcomes stage fright with the encouragement of a cute guy (Ian Nelson) who happens to be deaf, and Jade's science lab partner (nicely played by Chet Hanks) turns out to be a key ally.
McNamara ("That's So Raven," Beyond the Break) is most inspired in the set pieces, in particular a plot-point food fight set to Strauss. Bernadene Morgan delivers a profusion of spirited costumes, and production designer Rusty Smith balances institutional drab with effusive off-campus sets.
BRATZ
Lionsgate
Crystal Sky Pictures in association with Avi Arad Prods.
Credits:
Director: Sean McNamara
Screenwriter: Susan Estelle Jansen
Story by: Adam de la Pena, David Eilenberg
Producers: Isaac Larian, Steven Paul, Avi Arad
Executive producer: Benedict Carver
Director of photography: Christian Sebaldt
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: John Coda
Choreographer: Kishaya Dudley
Co-producer: Kyla Kraman
Costumer designer: Bernadene Morgan
Editor: Jeff W. Canavan
Cast:
Yasmin: Nathalia Ramos
Jade: Janel Parrish
Sasha: Logan Browning
Cloe: Skyler Shaye
Meredith: Chelsea Staub
Avery: Anneliese van der Pol
Quinn: Malese Jow
Cameron: Stephen Lunsford
Bubbie: Lainie Kazan
Principal Dimly: Jon Voight
Dylan: Ian Nelson
Dexter: Chet Hanks
Bethany: Sasha Cohen
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
As the fab four fashionistas collectively known as Bratz enter the emotionally charged terrain of high school, the filmmakers have infused the girly glamour with broad Life Lessons about the importance of friendship and self-expression -- hard to argue with and, for nontweens in the audience, hard to care about.
It was just a matter of time before the multiethnic dolls (dollz?) received a live-action makeover, expanding their multibillion-dollar empire of magazines, books, a computer-animated series and videos with titles like "Rock Angelz" and "Passion 4 Fashion Diamondz". The same "nag factor" that drives sales of Bratz merch, despite many parents' aversion to the dolls' bling-bespangled stripper aura, will generate business for the film.
They may not be able to spell, but the Bratz are not bubbleheads. Dialing down the doll/cartoon characters' sass quotient and, to a lesser extent, their shopping obsession, screenwriter Susan Estelle Jansen (The Lizzie McGuire Movie) has created some real-girl talents and problems for the central quartet of BFFs. Cheerleader Sasha (Logan Browning) is the subject of postdivorce joint custody. Science geek Jade (Janel Parrish), tragically, must hide her inner fashion diva from her academics-minded parents. The single mom of soccer star Cloe (Skyler Shaye) struggles to make a living. As these three pursue new interests and new friendships, Yasmin (Nathalia Ramos) goes it more or less alone, with the support of an exuberant Latin-Jewish household that boasts not only mariachis but Lainie Kazan.
Also on hand is Jon Voight, providing much-needed moments of comic subtlety amid the frenetic proceedings. As principal of Carry Nation High, he's in thrall to the real power behind the campus surveillance cameras: his daughter, Meredith Baxter Dimly. A familiar composite of every-uppity blond high school-movie villainess, she's played with apt over-the-top gusto by Chelsea Staub. Trailing an entourage that includes a dreamy but spineless boyfriend (Stephen Lunsford) and a pampered lapdog named Paris, Meredith has shrewdly divided her domain into neatly organized cliques, complete with lunchtime seating chart.
After the girls' head-turning high school entrance, the action jumps ahead two years, to the lead-up to the inevitable talent show. This might give adults the false hope that things will move along at a brisk pace. But for all the quick cutting, the story feels endless, much the way momentous adolescent experiences can look inconsequential to anyone out of their teens. Sean McNamara directs with a breathless, short-attention-span frenzy, backed by a wall-to-wall pop soundtrack, and the young actresses tend to deliver their lines with drama-queen urgency. Will Yasmin, Jade, Sasha and Cloe see past the comfort of cliques to once again be best friends? And how many shopping-at-the-Grove montages will it take to find out?
To its credit, the film makes getting the boy a bonus rather than the be-all end-all. Singer Yasmin overcomes stage fright with the encouragement of a cute guy (Ian Nelson) who happens to be deaf, and Jade's science lab partner (nicely played by Chet Hanks) turns out to be a key ally.
McNamara ("That's So Raven," Beyond the Break) is most inspired in the set pieces, in particular a plot-point food fight set to Strauss. Bernadene Morgan delivers a profusion of spirited costumes, and production designer Rusty Smith balances institutional drab with effusive off-campus sets.
BRATZ
Lionsgate
Crystal Sky Pictures in association with Avi Arad Prods.
Credits:
Director: Sean McNamara
Screenwriter: Susan Estelle Jansen
Story by: Adam de la Pena, David Eilenberg
Producers: Isaac Larian, Steven Paul, Avi Arad
Executive producer: Benedict Carver
Director of photography: Christian Sebaldt
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: John Coda
Choreographer: Kishaya Dudley
Co-producer: Kyla Kraman
Costumer designer: Bernadene Morgan
Editor: Jeff W. Canavan
Cast:
Yasmin: Nathalia Ramos
Jade: Janel Parrish
Sasha: Logan Browning
Cloe: Skyler Shaye
Meredith: Chelsea Staub
Avery: Anneliese van der Pol
Quinn: Malese Jow
Cameron: Stephen Lunsford
Bubbie: Lainie Kazan
Principal Dimly: Jon Voight
Dylan: Ian Nelson
Dexter: Chet Hanks
Bethany: Sasha Cohen
Running time -- 102 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
- 7/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lionsgate is getting into the Bratz business.
In a twofold deal announced Thursday, the studio has acquired U.S. distribution rights from Crystal Sky Pictures to the first Bratz live-action theatrical feature, based on the popular Bratz dolls from MGA Entertainment. The indie studio also has signed a distribution deal with MGA for future animated Bratz direct-to-DVD features.
Financed by Steven Paul Crystal's Sky Pictures, Bratz: The Movie is to be directed by Sean McNamara (Raise Your Voice) and written by Susan Estelle Jansen (The Lizzie McGuire Movie). MGA CEO Isaac Larian, Arad Prods.' Avi Arad and Paul Will produce the picture, with Crystal Sky president Benedict Carver executive producing. The film, which centers on four teenage girls from diverse backgrounds who use their friendship to discover their individuality, is set to begin production in February. Casting has not been announced.
Lionsgate also has signed a deal with MGA that provides the studio with exclusive North American rights to future Bratz animated and direct-to-DVD features. Under that deal, Lionsgate will release Bratz Fashion Pixies on DVD in the spring.
Since 2004, MGA has produced five Bratz direct-to-DVD animated movies, which 20th Century Fox had distributed. According to MGA, the deal with Fox ended with the two DVDs that currently are in the marketplace.
"There is no company that has a better pulse on what today's girl is looking for than MGA," Lionsgate president Steve Beeks said. "It's amazing to realize that 'Bratz' is only five years old considering its incredible popularity and penetration in the marketplace."
The Bratz live-action film marks Lionsgate's second partnership with Arad, who paired with the indie studio on The Punisher in 2004 and the direct-to-DVD Marvel Animated Features series.
"We're very excited about working with Arad Prods. and Crystal Sky Pictures to create the definitive 'Bratz' live-action feature film," Larian said. "We consider Lionsgate an ideal partner for our 'Bratz' live-action theatrical film and animated features and welcome the company's innovative marketing technique."
For the direct-to-DVD component of the deal, MGA will support each film with all-new lines of dolls and other toys based on each of the movies.
In a twofold deal announced Thursday, the studio has acquired U.S. distribution rights from Crystal Sky Pictures to the first Bratz live-action theatrical feature, based on the popular Bratz dolls from MGA Entertainment. The indie studio also has signed a distribution deal with MGA for future animated Bratz direct-to-DVD features.
Financed by Steven Paul Crystal's Sky Pictures, Bratz: The Movie is to be directed by Sean McNamara (Raise Your Voice) and written by Susan Estelle Jansen (The Lizzie McGuire Movie). MGA CEO Isaac Larian, Arad Prods.' Avi Arad and Paul Will produce the picture, with Crystal Sky president Benedict Carver executive producing. The film, which centers on four teenage girls from diverse backgrounds who use their friendship to discover their individuality, is set to begin production in February. Casting has not been announced.
Lionsgate also has signed a deal with MGA that provides the studio with exclusive North American rights to future Bratz animated and direct-to-DVD features. Under that deal, Lionsgate will release Bratz Fashion Pixies on DVD in the spring.
Since 2004, MGA has produced five Bratz direct-to-DVD animated movies, which 20th Century Fox had distributed. According to MGA, the deal with Fox ended with the two DVDs that currently are in the marketplace.
"There is no company that has a better pulse on what today's girl is looking for than MGA," Lionsgate president Steve Beeks said. "It's amazing to realize that 'Bratz' is only five years old considering its incredible popularity and penetration in the marketplace."
The Bratz live-action film marks Lionsgate's second partnership with Arad, who paired with the indie studio on The Punisher in 2004 and the direct-to-DVD Marvel Animated Features series.
"We're very excited about working with Arad Prods. and Crystal Sky Pictures to create the definitive 'Bratz' live-action feature film," Larian said. "We consider Lionsgate an ideal partner for our 'Bratz' live-action theatrical film and animated features and welcome the company's innovative marketing technique."
For the direct-to-DVD component of the deal, MGA will support each film with all-new lines of dolls and other toys based on each of the movies.
- 11/10/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MGA Entertainment, Avi Arad Prods. and Crystal Sky Pictures are getting dolled up. The three companies are teaming on a live-action Bratz movie, with a targeted production start of late fall in Los Angeles. John Doolittle will pen the film's screenplay, tentatively titled Bratz. Under the deal, Crystal Sky Pictures will finance the film based on the international toy phenomenon. MGA's Isaac Larian, Avi Arad and Crystal Sky's Steven Paul are producing, while Crystal Sky's Benedict Carver is executive producing.
- 5/16/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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