Nickelodeon’s Full Of Turtle Power
Viacom have shelled out (excuse me) $60 million for what Variety are calling one of the most successful franchises of the past quarter-century – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
As the trade mag has pointed out, given the sheer number of TV series, films, videogames and toy lines based on the famous foursome it’s no wonder that the global rights to the property demand such a high price tag, especially as there has been so much online love for a big screen reboot!
Viacom purchased the rights from the Mirage Group who have owned the property since 1984 and Paramount are now gearing up to go full-green-ahead for a big screen outing by 2012. Scott Mednick (Where the Wild Things Are) will produce the film along with Galen Walker, the producer behind 2007’s computer-animated “TMNT” movie, the most recent installment in the franchise. In a statement about the purchase, Paramount President Adam Goodman said:
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a property that maintains a very passionate global fan base, is rich with opportunity for a tentpole movie and is exactly the right property for us to work together on with Nickelodeon.”
Yes Nickelodeon, the subject matter of our title, will work alongside Paramount to produce a brand new CG-animated TV series of the franchise which is expected to also air in 2012 to compliment the film’s release.
Given the months of rumour, speculation and cynicism, it’s nice to finally be able to have a clear view of where this franchise is going – and I can guarantee I’ll certainly be queueing for the movie, come 2012!
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