Neil Gaiman and Freemantle Studios Sign TV and Film First Look Deal
Great news for Neil Gaiman fans and lovers of quality tv and movies. He’s just signed a first look deal with FreemantleMedia Studios.
Neil Gaiman just signed a first look deal with international distributor Freemantle Studios. What does that mean for you and me? We can look forward to quality TV and film adaptations of his books and comics. This is a win-win-win situation all around. Neil can depend on a major player to distribute his on-screen projects. FreemantleMedia gets to distribute what are sure to be the hottest properties of the 21st century. And we get to watch them!
The Possibilities
A bunch of Neil Gaiman’s works have made it to the screen in various ways, but it’s only recently that he has been allowed creative control. Weird (and not good weird) things happen when authors do not have creative control. Now that he does, we have a much better chance of seeing his books and comics come to the big or small screen. In this golden age of TV, this is a perfect match. So maybe we can look forward to a Chu’s Day series, or an animated Odd and The Frost Giants movie.
Chus Day books (Images via Neil Gaiman and HarperCollins Publishers)
Just the thought of a Graveyard Book feature film makes me want to run around in circles with glee. But then I think about a multimedia Mr. Punch movie (it would have to be multimedia like Mirrormask, right?) and I want to hide under my covers. You guys, that comic is freakin’ terrifying. Gah, puppets! Mr. Punch is going to be the best horror film of all time, mark my words!
Neil Gaimans Mr Punch (Images via Victor Gollancz Ltd, Vertigo, and Bloomsbury Publishing)
FreemantleMedia Studios
FreemantleMedia is the international distributor for all of Jamie Oliver’s Fresh One Productions, in addition to Lifetime’s Project Runway, A&E’s claustrophobia-inducing Storage Wars, and BBC Children’s Danger Mouse. They’re also the distributor for the most British-est show possible, BBC’s Great Railway Journeys. A very British man (who has been, among other occupations, BBC journalist, member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister) explores the UK’s history and present using the 19th century Victorian Railway Guidebook.
What’s a Distributor?
So what does FreemantleMedia do? They aren’t the producer, director, or author, who are responsible for the show’s content and how it gets made (if the author is lucky, that is.) The distributor markets the show or movie. Basically, what book publishers are to writers, distributors are to film and TV. They’ll do the advertising and marketing — before, during AND after everyone else is making the show. And that is how your entertainment is born!
What’s a First Look?
FreemantleMedia’s first look deal (a.k.a., right of first refusal) means that they’re giving Neil Gaiman an advance on shows or films he hasn’t yet made. So he gets some cash for his projects up front, and after he finishes said project, Gaiman won’t have to go shopping around for someone to distribute it. Freemantle automatically gets to be the distributor, unless they look at it and don’t want it. They aren’t required to take it up, but this is not some rando they’re taking on here. In 2017, Neil Gaiman is a very good bet. And he totally fits in with their quirky catalog.
Next: Gaiman Announces Neverwhere Sequel: Seven Sisters
Freemantle is the distributor for the TV adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, which premieres on Starz this April.