Award-winning independent producer Moi j’aime la télévision (MJTV) is heading to MIPCOM 2011 with a brand new live action series Switch, new hybrid live action/CGI animation show Bleep and new partners on board for its Genie in the House movie.
Press Release from Moi j’aime la télévision
Paris/London 15 September 2011. Award-winning independent producer Moi j’aime la télévision (MJTV) is heading to MIPCOM 2011 with a brand new live action series Switch, new hybrid live action/CGI animation show Bleep and new partners on board for its Genie in the House movie.
Canal J in France has commissioned a first season of 26 episodes of Switch, with Estelle Lafoy from Happy Audience handling international sales. The live action series is in pre-production with filming starting next Spring and delivery in Autumn 2012. The show is created by Genie in the House Head Writer Grant Cathro, screenwriter Lee Presman (Genie in the House, Shaun the Sheep, Rastamouse) and producer/director Phil Ox. Grant and Lee are Head Writers of the series.
Magic and music combine with comedy in this fresh, school-based show powered by realistic stories about teenage lives lifted out of the ordinary by a dash of fairytale magic and a splash of pop and dance. School boy Jack fancies himself as a bit of a genius musician on his way to pop stardom but right now, he is just another 16-year-old trying to survive High School. That is, until a young Witch and a teenage Fairy come crashing into his life!
Switch will be a 360° television property with the trio at the heart of the series performing as a real dancing and singing pop group, recording music videos and talking part in live performances.
Caroline Mestik, Head of Programming at Canal J says: “Genie in the House has been a spectacular success on Canal J, and has sold to 110 countries, but Switch is our next big thing, built to be our signature show next year with a fantastic casting of characters, comedy, romance, music, dance and a lot of special effects. We are the channel of choice for 8-12 year olds and this show connects ideally with Canal J’s audience.”
MJTV’s Phil Ox adds: “Switch is a great family show - it’s funny, it has slapstick, but it can also be touching and real, balanced in tone between comedy and soap. It's exciting television for 2012 and beyond.”
Estelle Lafoy comments on the international potential for the series: “We have had fantastic response to Switch and I look forward to a very productive MIPCOM, talking to further potential partners for the series. Further deals will be announced soon and we are currently talking with major broadcasters across Europe and the world. Switch is our brand new show and we have high hopes due to its fantastic production values and the backing of the Genie in the House creative team.”
At MIPCOM, Moi j'aime la television will be also be debuting its new animated TV series Bleep, created by writer Grant Cathro and producer/director Phil Ox. Bleep is a fantastic shape-shifting robot who stars in this new ground-breaking hybrid show that mixes live action and CGI characters.
Built by a super-advanced civilization as a multi-tasking home help, Bleep is mistakenly delivered to Charlotte Martin, a 14-year-old Earth girl. Made in another galaxy, dispatched to the wrong planet, an alien robot is about to disrupt the life of Charlotte and her family in zillions of unexpected ways.
Happy Audience is handling international sales and will be looking to secure broadcast partners for the new series at MIPCOM.
In further MJTV news, two new partners have come on board Genie in the House – the Movie, based on the hit TV series. French theatrical distributor Gebeka (Kirikou I and II, My Neighbor Totoro) will put the stereoscopic 3D feature in the French theatres; while German producer Scopas Medien (The Sandman and the Lost Sand of Dreams) will coproduce and handle German speaking rights for the movie.
The Genie in the House movie has been developed in the UK by Phil Ox's company Moi j'aime la television, along with award-winning Spanish producer Maestranza Films (La Voz Dormida).
Producer Phil Ox says: “We are delighted to welcome our new partners Marc Bonny and Jan Bonath, two leading European specialists of the family entertainment. Gebeka has released "Kirikou" and the work of Miyazaki in French cinemas, while Scopas has valuable experience at producing quality family fare for film and television.”
Genie in the House – The Movie has a 10 million Euro budget and be shot in summer 2012.
Moi J’aime la télévision (MJTV) and Helion Pictures are the award-winning producers of hit series Genie in the House, co-produced for Nickelodeon UK and Canal J in France.
After a career as a film and music journalist, Phil Ox has been an ‘avant-garde’ producer for Canal+, director and creator of controversial BBC cartoon show Popetown, and Nickelodeon UK live action sitcom Genie in the House. His company Moi j’aime la television has offices in Paris, London and Madrid and focuses on fiction with high production values for the international market. All special effects and post production are produced in-house.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
