Longtime producer and media executive Erik Feig has launched his new media company Picturestart, which will be focused on creating, co-financing, and producing “discovery of voice” content for worldwide engagement across all platforms. Feig has also attracted a wave of investors that include Warner Bros. Pictures, Endeavor Content and Scholastic.
“Discovery of voice” is a central theme in Picturestart’s content and storytelling. The phrase is meant to speak not just to youth culture but to a broader sense and purpose of establishing identity and telling diverse stories with diverse creatives in film, television and digital productions across all distribution platforms, channels, and markets. The company’s content is designed for broad audiences and also deep fandom communities, and it has enlisted a group of key executives to shepherd its slate of film and television projects.
Picturestart is backed by equity investments from a group of companies and individuals in the film, television, digital, and broader media space, and is supported by an array of strategic agreements for film, television, digital, and publishing through these associations.
Popular on Variety
Warner Bros. Pictures had provided a significant equity investment, which is also accompanied with a first look arrangement for co-developing, co-financing, and distribution of feature films with Picturestart.
Nordic Entertainment Group, the Nordic region’s leading entertainment provider, will receive first look Nordic rights to select Picturestart television productions as part of its equity investment, which also creates co-financing and development opportunities and expands Nent Group’s presence in the US market.
Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, will provide Picturestart access to its IP for development into other forms of media, bringing new life to stories and characters known for capturing the hearts and minds of young people for generations. Scholastic and Picturestart’s creative partnership also promises to cultivate select opportunities for new content – whether through media or books – as a result of their collaboration.
Endeavor Content will serve as co-financier and strategic advisor on select Picturestart projects. Endeavor Content’s primary goal is to empower artists and content creators by providing them with more ownership and creative freedom as they navigate the media landscape.
Bron Ventures, the equity investment division of Bron Media Corp., was created to form strategic partnerships with ground-breaking content driven production companies. Bron will serve as a co-producer/co-financier on select projects.
Picturestart also received investments from a multitude of top media investors from gaming, music, technology, and finance industries as well as from Feig himself, indicating his full commitment to the venture.
The company has quickly brought on a group of executives including Ryan Lindenberg, Lucy Kitada and Jessica Switch, to help bring in and shepherd a diverse and growing slate of film and television projects.
Lindenberg joins as Picturestart’s executive vice president of production from Berlanti Productions, which he helped turn into the most prolific television production company in the industry and where he directly oversaw and produced “You,” the smash hit for Netflix; and “Riverdale” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.”
Kitada will also serve as a exec VP of production for Picturestart, and joins from Michael De Luca Productions, where she packaged and oversaw “The Babysitter’s Club” reboot for Netflix and “Long Way Down” for Universal.
Switch will serve as the company’s VP of production, coming from Studio 8 and Lionsgate, where she worked with Feig on “Nerve.”
Ziffren Brittenham, Venable and The Raine Group advised Picturestart on the transaction.
