LOS ANGELES – (December 1, 2005) – Platinum Studios, an entertainment company that controls the world’s largest independent library of comic book characters, and Blue Star Pictures have inked a deal with directors Danny and Oxide Pang to direct the upcoming feature film, “The Darkness”, based on the popular comic book published by Top Cow Productions, Inc. Platinum Studios will finance 50 percent of the production. Platinum, Blue Star and the Pang Brothers are jointly looking for a writer.
“The Darkness” is also currently being produced as a video game for the next generation systems and is one of the only comic book adaptations currently announced for the new Xbox 360. Published by Majesco Entertainment (NASDAQ: COOL), the video game is being developed by Starbreeze, creators of the critically acclaimed “The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay.” The Darkness game is scheduled to be released early 2007.
Danny and Oxide Pang, twin brothers best known for their acclaimed action movie “Bangkok Dangerous” and the horror classic, “The Eye,” recently finished another Blue Star feature, “The Messengers”, starring Dylan McDermott, John Corbett, and Penelope Ann Miller, for Mandate Pictures and Sony/Columbia.
In “The Darkness,” mafia hitman Jackie Estacado discovers he is the heir to a formidable mystical force called the Darkness and he is the only one who can stop a supernatural power bent on enslaving humanity.
“The Pang brothers’ unique horror style suits this project very well,” said Platinum Studios chairman, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. “This is an opportunity to develop one of Platinum’s many horror-genre properties with two of the best horror-directors available.”
Platinum Studios will finance half of The Darkness, which is at Miramax with a progress to production clause through January 2006.
Rosenberg, who brought the “Men In Black” franchise to Sony, founded Platinum Studios in 1997. Known for its comic-to-film adaptations, Platinum Studios signed a pact with Top Cow in 2004 to develop Top Cow’s comic library for film, television, and other media. Platinum Studios and Top Cow’s comic books are set up at most of the major studios, including “Cowboys and Aliens” at Sony, “Unique” at Disney, “Mal Chance” at Miramax, “Wanted” at Universal, “Inferno” at Warner Brothers, “Rising Stars” at MGM and “Fathom” at Fox, as well as a multi-picture pact with financier Gold Circle.
“The Darkness,” created by Marc Silvestri, Garth Ennis and David Wohl, is one of today’s hottest comic book properties, with print sales topping $25 million. Its huge popularity has even prompted inter-company crossovers, teaming up and fighting against such icons as Marvel’s Hulk, DC’s Batman and, most recently, Superman.
“When we first approached Danny and Oxide with the idea, we found out they were already fans of the book,” says Blue Star partner William Sherak. “The ideas they started coming up with were exactly in line with what we and Platinum had already discussed. We knew right then they were the only ones who could do this.”
Blue Star Pictures is a full service production company with a first-look deal at Revolution Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Under the banner, Sherak and his partner Jason Shuman produced the 2003 hit horror film “Darkness Falls”, as well as the 2004 romantic comedy “Little Black Book” with Brittany Murphy and Holly Hunter. This year, the company produced its first television movie, the Emmy-nominated “Dawn Anna”, starring Debra Winger, which aired on the Lifetime Network.
Rosenberg will produce for Platinum, with Director of Development Aaron Severson and Director of Production Jay Burns as co-producers. Top Cow founder and “The Darkness” creator Marc Silvestri will serve as Executive Producer and Top Cow president Matt Hawkins as co-producer. Rhiannon Meier will oversee development for Blue Star Pictures. Platinum’s Rich Marincic will also be working on the project.
Danny and Oxide Pang are repped by Ramses Ishak and Michael Sheresky of the William Morris Agency.
About Platinum Studios (www.platinumstudios.com)
Platinum Studios is an entertainment company that controls the world’s largest independent library of comic book characters, which it adapts and produces for film, television and all other media. With more than 2,500 characters that have appeared in hundreds of millions of comics in 25 languages and more than 50 countries, its library is continually expanding through Platinum’s comics acquisition and publishing program. Platinum has film and television projects set up at every major Hollywood studio, including Disney, DreamWorks SKG, MGM, Miramax, New Line Cinema, Sony, and Universal, and is recognized as a leader in comics-based entertainment. Television successes include the 35-hour maxi-saga, Jeremiah, a science-fiction TV series running on Showtime. In 2005, Platinum entered into a deal with Gold Circle Films for the development of multiple feature films budgeted at $20 million each, the first four of which have recently been announced. Platinum has also recently signed a multi picture theatrical CG animated slate with The Shop, an independent feature-film production company specializing in creating, developing, and producing computer-animated content. Feature pictures with the Shop include the 50 million copy selling Dylan Dog, the multi-million selling graphic novel series Storm & Ember and other projects.
About Blue Star Pictures
William Sherak and Jason Shuman are the founding partners of Blue Star Pictures, a full-service production company with a first-look deal at Revolution Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Under the banner, Sherak and Shuman produced the 2003 hit horror film Darkness Falls as well as the 2004 romantic comedy Little Black Book with Brittany Murphy and Holly Hunter. This year, the company produced its first television movie, the Emmy-nominated “Dawn Anna”, starring Debra Winger, which aired on the Lifetime Network. They are currently in post-production on The Messengers, a supernatural horror film directed by The Pang Brothers for Mandate Pictures and Columbia Pictures, to be released next year. The duo’s other producing credits include Comic Book Villains for Lions Gate and the independent films The Hard Easy and Four Dogs Playing Poker. Next up for the duo is the horror western entitled The Burrowers, with writer/director J.T. Petty, for Lions Gate, and Bangkok Dangerous, a remake of the hit Hong Kong action film, to be directed by the Pang Brothers for Revolution Studios. They also have dozens of projects in development, including a remake of the popular Bachelor Party franchise, the medical drama Unfinished Country, to star Sam Jackson, and the broad comedy Mr. Lucky, with Cedric the Entertainer.
