HUAYI BROTHERS MEDIA CORPORATION,
BATMAN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER MICHAEL USLAN
TO PARTNER ON TREASURED
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. AGENTS FRANCHISE
Veteran Producer & Originator of Batman Film Franchise to Lead
Major Chinese Studio’s Initial Foray into Super Hero Movies, TV, Gaming
Using Celebrated 50-Year Comic Book as Centerpiece
NEW
YORK, NY – October 10, 2015 – The sky was clear at New York Comic Con,
yet T.H.U.N.D.E.R. dominated the news of the day as Huayi Brothers Media
Corporation and Michael Uslan, originator and executive producer of the
Batman film franchise, and producer David Uslan announced the
first-ever branded super hero franchise to be backed by and developed
with a major Chinese media company – T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.
To the delight of a capacity crowd celebrating the 50th Anniversary T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
panel within New York Comic Con at the Javits Center, the Uslans and
Huayi Brothers Media Corporation President James Wang made the
announcement to expand the treasured franchise beyond comic books and
into films, television, gaming and a host of other entities.
The T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
major motion picture is expected to hit theaters worldwide in 2018.
Also present for the announcement was franchise producer David Uslan,
who along with Michael Uslan have formed the production company,
SHANGHOLLYWOOD, LLC; T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents executive producer David M. Matthews and the film’s screenwriters
Ben Lustig & Jake Thornton; and representatives of the CEA Group, a
partner in the franchise with a minority stake who arranged the deal
between the Uslans and Huayi Brothers.
“The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves – aka T.H.U.N.D.E.R. – Agents
has a 50-year history of enthralling stories of true international
heroes,” said Michael Uslan, executive producer of every Batman film
since Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989.
“This
franchise has an unending canon of tales that work perfectly in
live-action and animated entertainment of every form,” added David
Uslan. “These are great stories that need to be told.”
“T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
relates an important, timely message of global unity, understanding and
teamwork, told with an action-packed perspective perfect for life
beyond comic books, ” said Wang. “We have every intention of expanding
the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents universe into film, television, gaming, theme parks and branding in every appropriate medium.”
Uslan, noted builder of branded franchises, has (aside from Batman films) been involved over the years in such projects as The Lego Movie, National Treasure, Constantine, and Emmy Award-winning series Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?. Uslan’s memoir, "The Boy Who Loved Batman," is published by Chronicle Books.
The
versatile producer/writer Matthews has had a presence on the
entertainment scene since the late 1980s with credits on numerous
primetime series, including the Cedric The Entertainer vehicle The Soul Man, For Your Love, The Nanny, Half & Half, Living Single
and more. In addition to producing and writing, Matthews has also
composed music for several projects, winning a Daytime Emmy Award in
1989 for music direction/competition on The Young and the Restless.
Lustig and Thornton have been charged with elevating T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents’ comic
book roots to big screen adventures. The writing duo have been a hot
topic in Hollywood circles in 2015 as Sony Pictures has inked them to
script a pair of high-profile films – Winter’s Knight, a Viking-mythology-based St. Nick tale, and the H.G. Wells adventure, The Wells Initiative. Lustig and Thornton have already presented a full treatment for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents’ maiden voyage on film.
The
Uslans and Wang paid compliment to the United Nations for its essential
role in ensuring the sanctity of the partnership, and the proliferation
of this unique franchise. The initial T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
movie will be filmed both domestically and in China, as well as other
select international locations. David Uslan alluded to a possible
announcement of an A-List director during the American Film Market next
month in Santa Monica.
Celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2015, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents still stands as the first and only truly international comic book super hero group set up to work for the United Nations. Created in 1965 by the legendary comic book artist, Wally Wood (Mad; EC Comics; designer of Marvel's Daredevil costume), T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
has featured the work of some of the greatest artists in comic book
history, including Steve Ditko (co-creator of Spider-Man and Dr.
Strange); Gil Kane (co-creator of Green Lantern and The Atom); Mike
Sekowsky (original artist of Justice League); Dave Cockrum (co-creator
of the new X-Men) and many more. T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents was
published by DC Comics for a number of years in a series recognized for
its cutting-edge, contemporary, dark graphic story-telling; today, IDW
Publishing helms the franchise’s hardback and trade paperback book
collections.
For comic book fans growing up in the 1960s, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
was considered to be the new alternative to DC Comics and Marvel super
heroes. It combined the darkness of DC with the fun of Marvel within a
story of a United Nations secret black ops organization that recruited
secret agents from everyday people in ordinary life, assigned them a
code-name, and gave each one a device that provided him or her with one
super-power. But with each super-power came a grave moral dilemma. Each
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent represented a different United Nations country, and
that offered inherent internal conflicts within the team based on
polarizing differences in cultures, religions and politics. But when
faced with a greater threat, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents found a way to work together as one family for the benefit of all mankind.
About CEA Group:
Founded
in 1973, CEA is a leading provider of investment banking services and
private equity to the global communications, media, entertainment, and
information technology industries. With a team of highly experienced
personnel worldwide, CEA has an unequaled depth and breadth of industry
knowledge, expertise and long-standing industry relationships. CEA has
completed over 900 transactions totaling $45 billion in 60 countries.
CEA and its affiliates also managed, co-managed or participated in a
worldwide family of private equity funds with committed capital of
approximately $1.15 billion for private equity investments in the
industries CEA serves. CEA’s reputation and track record of success are
built on delivering innovative, value-added solutions and services to
clients worldwide. CEA Atlantic Advisors, LLC is a FINRA Registered
Broker-Dealer and a member of SIPC.
About Huayi Brothers Media Corporation:
HUAYI
BROTHERS MEDIA CORPORATION is one of China's largest and most
successful media and entertainment companies. Founded in 1994 by
brothers Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei, the company began with feature
film production and distribution, and has since then expanded into
television production, talent management, cinema, music, new media,
gaming, and theme parks. After being listed on the Shenzhen stock
exchange, Huayi closed a major slate financing deal in 2014 with Robert
Simonds’ STX Entertainment, highlighting the growing business between
Hollywood and China.
About SHANGHOLLYWOOD, LLC:
With
it's very name representing the revolutionary changes taking place in
the motion picture and television industry today, SHANGHOLLYWOOD and its
principals, Michael and David Uslan – The Uslan Boys – have devoted the
past few years to building relationships and nurturing friendships in
China to bring global creative content to the world across multiple
platforms.
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