The announcement was made today by David Imhoff, New Line's Senior Executive Vice President of Worldwide Licensing and Merchandising.
The companies will create a full range of officially licensed The Golden Compass toys designed to embody the strong themes of the story. The
innovative product line will focus on playability, fantasy, role-play and collectibility. The Golden Compass product line will be unveiled at
the upcoming Hong Kong Toy Fair in January and will be showcased at the London, Nuremberg and New York Toy Fairs throughout January and
February.
"We are incredibly excited to have been chosen by New Line as worldwide toy partner on the forthcoming movie, The Golden Compass," says Darren Epstein, CEO of Cards Inc. "The movie will finally bring Philip Pullman's novels to the big screen and will introduce millions of new
fans to the story. Having read the novels some three years previous, we have maintained contact with New Line with a view to become involved.
With the movie now underway, we feel sure that this license is a perfect fit for us. Our planned range of products will immerse consumers into
this exciting fantasy world and appeal to all sectors of the market including mass retail and the specialty collector beginning in October
2007."
New Line's Imhoff adds, "After seeing Master Replicas and Cards Inc.'s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix toy line this past summer we
knew that the combined companies could deliver a truly innovative toy line for The Golden Compass. Their toy plans for The Golden Compass
include truly groundbreaking products that capture the magic of the story."
"Cards Inc , Master Replicas, . demonstrated a true passion for the project," states Leslye Schaefer, Senior Vice President, Marketing and
Consumer Products, Scholastic Media. "Given their expertise in the field, we are confident that they will deliver a line of toys that will
inspire consumers to explore the wondrous realm of The Golden Compass time and time again."
Based on author Philip Pullman's bestselling and award-winning novel, The Golden Compass tells the first story in Pullman's His Dark Materials
trilogy. The Golden Compass is an exciting fantasy adventure, set in an alternative world where people's souls manifest themselves as animals,
talking bears fight wars, and Gyptians and witches co-exist. At the center of the story is Lyra, a 12-year-old girl who starts out trying to
rescue a friend who's been kidnapped by a mysterious organization known as the Gobblers - and winds up on an epic quest to save not only her
world, but ours as well.
The Golden Compass stars an ensemble cast that includes Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, and Ian McShane. The film is written and
directed by Chris Weitz (About A Boy, Antz) and produced by Deborah Forte, President, Scholastic Media, and Bill Carraro (Frequency). It is
executive produced by Andrew Miano and Paul Weitz (In Good Company) and features an all-star production team that includes Oscar-winning
production designer Dennis Gassner (Road To Perdition, The Truman Show), Oscar-nominated costume designer Ruth Myers (L.A. Confidential), and visual effects supervisor Mike Fink (X2, Constantine) among others. The Golden Compass is scheduled for a Nov. 16, 2007 release.
About Master Replicas:
Master Replicas Inc. is an industry leader in movie and television prop replicas. With an extremely experienced executive team, Master Replicas
leverages an attractive combination of professional business management with extensive prop replica experience. Other licenses include Star
Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Disney,Pirates of the Caribbean, Spiderman and Marvel. Master Replicas produces only officially licensed products with extreme attention to product authenticity, product quality, and customer service.
About Cards, Inc.:
The Cards Inc. Group is a leading manufacturer and distributor of pop culture collectibles, gifts, and toys in the Europe based in Watford, United Kingdom. Cards Inc. has recently announced that it has been appointed the Master Toy Licensee for Europe for Harry Potter, and has licenses for merchandise that include Star Wars, Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean. It will also in 2007 be organizing, under license from Lucasfilm, the Star Wars Celebration Europe.
About New Line Cinema Corporation:
Founded almost 40 years ago, New Line Cinema is the most successful independent film company in the world. Its mission is to produce
innovative, popular and profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. In addition to the production, marketing and distribution
of theatrical motion pictures, the fully-integrated studio has divisions devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, merchandising
and an international unit. In 2005, New Line partnered with HBO to form Picturehouse, a new theatrical distribution company to release
independent films. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line's Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most
successful film franchises in history. New Line is a division of Time Warner, Inc. (TWX).
About Scholastic Media
Scholastic Media (SM) is the entertainment and media division of Scholastic (NASDAQ: SCHL), the global children's publishing, education,
and media company. A proven leader and innovator in the children's entertainment landscape and award-winning licensor and marketer of
children's properties. |
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