Universal Consumer Products Group doesn’t want to be a one-hit wonder anymore.
“We used to do one big picture a year, but now we want to broaden our program,” says executive vp-creative and marketing Jill Jones, who heads to this month’s Licensing Show in New York City with a quartet of big-event properties to pitch. “We’re no longer waiting until shooting [of a film] is wrapped. You need to begin as soon as you have something tangible.”
Here’s a rundown of Universal’s major properties for next year:
The Flintstones: Viva Rock Vegas. The sequel to the 1994 film that brought in more than $100 million at the box office (and $70 more from video) despite poor reviews is set for a spring release. The script includes much of the same Stone Age-slanted wordplay found in the 1960s TV series, which Jones hopes will lend itself well to tie-ins. (Shale Oil, anyone?)
Universal developed a turn-key promotion kit for the film targeting specific categories – with programs already spelled out. “We want people to be able to customize, but this helps them visualize” what they can do with a tie-in, she explains. The strategy is geared more toward potential partners overseas than the savvier marketers here in the U.S., she notes.
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle. A summer 2000 release (see Reel Deals on page 110 for details). The film contains “lots of gadgets” suitable for toys and premiums. Helping Universal’s effort is the fact that the property already has 42 licensees marketing products based on the classic Jay Ward TV series. Involvement from a “Fearless Leader” named DeNiro doesn’t hurt either.
Untitled Universal/ILM CGI Monster Project. UCPG publicity director Debra Jackman says she hopes this project will have a more manageable title by Licensing Show. The all-digital, fall 2000 release will be the first effort from the new Universal Pictures Animation and Visual Effects division (George Lucas’s Industrial Light & Magic is creating). The movie will leverage monster properties the studio has had since the 1930s – Frankenstein, the Wolfman – and introduce new merchandise-minded creatures.
Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The buzz over this Thanksgiving 2000 release has been huge since Jim Carrey signed on to star. The movie will mark the first time anyone has gained the rights to produce promotions based on a Dr. Seuss property, which has Universal phones “ringing off the hook,” says Jones. The studio is planning both holiday-specific and year-long programs.
While most partnerships are still open, it won’t be a surprise if Dodge or Coca-Cola gets involved in any or all of the properties. The two brands inked long-term, corporate-wide deals with Universal recently (PROMO, March ’99) that give them first-refusal rights for tie-ins. “We’ll look to Dodge and Coke first in their categories,” says Lisa Berlin, senior vp-worldwide promotions.>CNHot Properties>TIREEL DEALS>BYPROMO STAFF>TXCHARLIE’S ANG ELS (Sony Pictures) Estimated Release Date: Summer 2000
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz
Top Line: A contemporary version of the legendary 1976-1981 TV series about three glamorous females working for a never-seen wealthy mystery man who runs a detective agency.
CHICKEN RUN (DreamWorks SKG) Estimated Release Date: Summer 2000
Starring: The voices of Mel Gibson, Miranda Richardson, Julia Sawahla.
Top Line: A comedy set in 1950s England about the romance between Rocky and Ginger, chickens planning to escape from the farm before they get fried. The tale will be told using unique clay animation.
FLAWLESS (MGM) Estimated Release Date: December 1999
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Top Line: A tough, conservative security guard (DeNiro) suffers a stroke during a bank robbery. His recovery requires voice lessons from his drag queen neighbor (Hoffman). The unlikely pair learn to look beyond their differences to find a common ground in friendship.
ROCKY & BULLWINKLE (Universal Pictures) Estimated Release Date: Summer 2000
Starring: Robert DeNiro, Jason Alexander, Rene Russo, Randy Quaid
Top Line: Featuring Jay Ward’s characters in a combination of live action and computer-generated imagery. Rocky and Bullwinkle must stop the evil Fearless Leader (DeNiro) and unemployed spies Boris (Alexander) and Natasha (Russo) from brainwashing the world through bad TV.
For more Hot Properties, check out the
L.A. Office Web site at www.laoffice.com.
Beth Goss moved over from the recently sold PolyGram Films to join Universal Pictures as vp-national promotions.
Universal Consumer Products Group named Jill Jones executive vp-creative and marketing. She takes the marketing reins from Jim Wilson, who was named senior vp-general manager to oversee the new Universal Interactive Studios, which will develop and license interactive games based on Universal properties and continue the licensing programs around existing franchises.
Trimark Pictures restructured marketing duties after the resignation of David Elzer, who was head of worldwide marketing. Responsibilities for theatrical marketing will be handled by creative advertising vp Erin O’Neil, while a new exec will be added to oversee home video and international chores. Elzer’s departure was “a mutual decision based on differences of opinion,” chief administrative officer Cami Winikoff said in a statement.
Warner Bros. Consumer Products tapped vp-worldwide p.r. and publicity Karine Joret to head up a new Live Events business unit that will leverage the studio’s property library. She retains her previous duties.
John Cywinski joined McDonald’s Corp. as a vp, and will spend the company-standard year learning the business before receiving his official assignment. Cywinski was president of Disney’s Beuna Vista Pictures Marketing. Before joining Disney, he was head of U.S. marketing for Burger King. O
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