Below is a selection of articles from around the internet which feature news, commentary and information about Nickelodeon:
Nickelodeon brand new hauntingly good original comedy series "The Haunted Hathaways" is full of ghostly gags and super silly spookiness, but we bet you didn't know that Nick stars Benjamin Flores Jr. and Breanna Yde, who play Louie Preston and Frankie Hathaway on the hit Nick show, are huge on practical jokes behind the scenes, too! Nick USA is reporting on their
official Nick Stars blog that this pair of pranksters just can't stop pulling hijinks on their co-stars. In an interview with ChelseasChannel, Benjamin spilled the deets on one of the duo's biggest pranks, ever. "The best prank we pulled, we put cream cheese in Chico's deodorant," he said. "We put cream cheese in it and took the deodorant stick out, and he used it! We saw him use it 'cause we were in his trailer." Cheesy pits are no laughing matter... unless they belong to someone else! But in order to be a REALLY good prankster, you need to think ahead. Breanna chimed in with some future shenanigans they have in the works."We're gonna put glue inside [Amber Montana's] gumball machine so her gumballs get all stuck together." Well, now we know that these two are serious when it comes to silliness. Benjamin and Breanna are professional pranksters!
Entertainment Weekly is reporting that former Nickelodeon Star "Michelle Trachtenberg" ("The Adventures of Pete & Pete", "Harriet the Spy") will guest star in an action-packed holiday special episode of "NCIS: LA" which is set to air Tuesday 17th December 2013 on CBS! She will play a character named Lily, a smart and witty environmentalist/ private chef who is the victim of a home invasion that "turns her life upside down", according to a casting description.
The Huffington Post has unveiled a exclusive interview they recently held with "Deadtime Stories" Writers Annette and Gina Cascone, which you can read
here on huffingtonpost.com! Plus, be sure to check out the Interviews with David and Scott Hillenbrand,
Part I and
Part II, for more inside details of Nickelodeon's Deadtime Stories.
Nickelodeon Star Ariana Grande has revealed that her favorite era was the 1950's and 1960's, according to
Female First! "My favourite era was the 50s and 60s - the Chiffons, the Shangri-Las. My grandparents played it and I fell in love with it, because it was more about romance and love, and less about getting drunk and going home with someone you don't know." And Ariana looks up to British songwriter Imogen Heap more than her pop peers Miley Cyrus or Selena Gomez and dreams of installing her own studio in her California house, so she can emulate her favourite singer. She added: "I'd love to be like her (Imogen Heap)."
The Guardian is reporting that during Ariana Grande's
recent European tour, a adoring fan was busy with a black marker pen on the pavement outside a designery hotel in Soho, London. "Follow me, Ari," they've written in elaborate letters, encircling the words with a heart.
Ariana Grande has also
talked about her body image in a recent interview. "There's no pressure to do anything," she said. "I dress the way I dress." Speaking about the way Miley Cyrus has been represented in the media, she added: "They're criticising her so unfairly. She's just being Miley". "Just let her do what she wants. If it's not for you, don't look. Shut up".
Global entertainment company DQ Entertainment has
announced in their latest financial press release that the firm has recently made deals across its portfolio of properties in recent months have been completed with partners such as Nickelodeon, France Television, Disney Channel Productions, Sky Italia, Universal Music, Discovery Kids and Rai TV to help pave the way to monetise its intellectual properties and co-produced content.
The Express is reporting the exciting news that Spanish Hollywood actor Antonio Banderas will star as a pirate in the eagerly awaited sequel to Nickelodeon Movies hit "SpongeBob SquarePants Movie", "SpongeBob 2"! Currently in production, Nickelodeon recently filmed a few scenes for the upcoming brand new "SpongeBob" flick, which has a reported release date
of Friday 13th February 2015, in Georgia, Savannah. Season 10 of "SpongeBob SquarePants" is expected to premiere on Nick USA in 2014.
Nickelodeon Deutschland has shared a photo on their official Facebook profile page a photo collage of how Nickelodeon Stars Jennette McCurdy and Ariana Grande, the stars of Nick's hit sitcom "Sam & Cat", looked like when they were children!:
Zap2It's 'From Inside The Box' TV news and buzz blog is reporting the fantastic Nickelodeon Star news that "Sam & Cat" star Ariana Grande won the 'Favorite New Artist of the Year' award at the "2013 American Music Awards" on Sunday 24th November 2013! Congratulations, Ariana!!!! A very well deserved award!! You can watch a video clip of Ariana Grande giving her acceptance speech on receiving her latest prestigious award at the 2013 AMAs
here at zap2it.com! Ariana also received a standing ovation after a rousing performance of her song Tattooed Heart from her album Yours Truly. Cambio is also reporting that Ariana Grande debuted a brand new blonde hairstyle at the AMA's, and that Ariana has released a snippet of her all-new Christmas song
called "Love Is Everything"! FemaleFirst.co.uk also reports that after her acceptance speech at the 2013 AMA's, Ariana Grande quickly returned to Twitter to
thank her fans! Earlier that night, Ariana also Tweeted about arriving for a sound check and how how nervous and excited she was for the AMAs!
Fresh from her AMAs 2013 win, the Nick celebrity flew into New York from Los Angeles on Monday 25th November 2013 to join Santa Claus to flip the switch and light up the Empire State Building in festive fall colours to kick off the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! The singer took in the 87th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on Thursday 28th November 2013 by singing a selection of her hit songs,
including her new Christmas single, a R&B version of Last Christmas, for her fans on Nickelodeon's "Dora The Explorer" Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade float! Dora the Explorer and Ariana Grande will be joined by fellow Nickelodeon megastar "SpongeBob SquarePants", whose Thanksgiving balloon also debuted a brand-new holiday-themed makeover for the parade! Donning a holiday-themed ensemble for this year's celebration, millions of fans will watch as SpongeBob takes to the sky for his ninth consecutive procession down the streets of Manhattan! You can view a special photo gallery of Ariana Grande's New York style and AMA style
here on the official Daily Mail website!
Ariana Grande has also released her
first Christmas single, a cover of Wham!'s classic 1984 Christmas song "Last Christmas", which you can listen to below! The song is part of Ariana Grande's brand new holiday EP which will be released over the next month! Ariana Grande debuted her cover of "Last Christmas" on Tuesday 19th November 2013. You can download Ariana Grande's version of "Last Christmas"
here on iTunes!
Den of Geek has, to celebrate the UK launch of "Sanjay and Craig", unveiled a article which explains why you should be watching the brand new NickToon, Nickelodeon's brand new hit animated series which follows two best buddies who are in The Best Friends Hall of Fame*! Toon Zone has also unveiled a
review about the brand new NickToon "Sanjay & Craig"!
* There is no Best Friends Hall of Fame, they made it up!
Digital Spy is reporting the exciting news that former Nickelodeon Star Jamie Lynn Spears ("All That", "Zoey 101") has premiered her brand new debut single 'How Could I Want More'! The self-penned country track - which is available now in the US and UK - sees Spears return to the spotlight after the birth of her daughter Maddie in 2008. Spears put her acting career on hold after becoming a mother but has now chosen to pursue music. Her acting credits also includes a small role as a younger version of sister Britney Spears's character in "Crossroads" in 2002. Jamie Lynn Spears and her sister Britney Spears recently recorded a collaboration 'Chillin' With You', which features on the tracklisting for Britney's eighth studio album Britney Jean, which is now available to stream in full on iTunes ahead of its release next week. Listen to Jamie Lynn Spears new track "How Could I Want More"
here on DS!
Special Feature: Today's kids have an endless array of entertainment choices. From Nickelodeon, Disney, and Turner Broadcasting TV channels to films, music videos, social media and console & casual gaming, there's enough compelling content out there to occupy them 24/7. Is there a place for factual programmes in that mix?
TBI Vision investigates. The feature also includes a small interview with television executive Linda Simensky, who began her career working for nine years at Nickelodeon, where she helped build the animation department and launch the popular original Nicktoons series "Rugrats", "Doug", and "The Ren & Stimpy Show". The article also talks about Nick Jr.'s "Dora the Explorer" and PBS Kids and Nick Jr. UK's "Dinosaur Train", a popular CG-animated preschool series created by Craig Bartlett, the creator of the popular Classic Nickelodeon original animated series (Nicktoon) "Hey Arnold!".
HorticultureWeek is reporting the exciting Nickelodeon UK News that Nickelodeon UK, United Utilities And Southern Water's water efficiency initiative,
Gabi The Rapping Camel, has won the Sustainable Water Industry Group (SWIG) Award in the Communications Category, in joint first place with "Water Sensitive Urban Design", a Landscape Institute animation, which, commissioned by the Landscape Institute (LI) and construction industry membership organisation CIRIA and viewed nearly 10,000 times on YouTube, promotes the creation of water sensitive cities. GabiH2O is a London-based eco-brand which campaigns to promote water efficiency to children across the UK, which includes Gabi the Rapping Water-Saving Camel, who appears in GabiH2O's water-saving initiative interstitials on Nickelodeon UK and Ireland and a
dedicated campaign website on Nick UK's official website, Nick.co.uk.
The Lancashire Telegraph is reporting the exciting news that Nick Jr. UK superstar Poppy Cat visited Blackburn, UK on Thursday 21st November 2013 to celebrate the Blackburn Christmas Lights Switch, where she gave lucky attendees a exclusive performance in King William Street! Poppy Cat was joined by "X Factor" 2010 winner Matt Cardle, who flicked the switch in the town centre in front of hundreds of people who were also treated to performances from Re-Connected, former "X Factor" contestant Jonjo Kerr and Giles Potter. Boomin and "Fame Academy"'s Carolynne Poole and B-minor who joined in with the festivities.
C21Media is reporting that the UK broadcaster ITV has picked up the broadcast rights to the animated series "Digimon Fusion", the latest installment in the Japanese animé franchise. ITV in the UK will air the 30 minute x 30 episode sixth season of "Digimon" from Spring 2014 following a deal with the shows owner Saban Brands and distributor MarVista Entertainment. Saban Brands acquired the franchise in 2012 and a broadcast partnership with Nickelodeon to air "Digimon Fusion" in the US soon followed. The new episodes follow a human boy who is transported into the digital realm and must team up with the Digimon in order to protect the earth from destruction.
Licensing.biz is reporting that a brand new "Peppa Pig" live show has been enjoying impressive advance ticket sales in the UK and Australia! The UK show experienced 'biggest advance ticket sales to date' while the Australian show sold out after three days on sale. "
Peppa Pig's Big Splash" recently opened in both Australia and the UK in November 2013, and both have experienced incredibly high demand. Production company Fiery Angel in the UK has seen its biggest advance ticket sales to date for the new production "Peppa Pig’s Big Splash". The show has just launched its UK nationwide run that will include a fourth consecutive West End Christmas season. "Peppa Pig's Big Splash" will tour until October 2014, a run which makes it the longest running "Peppa Pig" stage show to date. Andrew Carley, head of global licensing at Entertainment One said: "The appetite for Peppa Pig live entertainment continues to rise and the demand for tickets on both sides of the globe has been truly overwhelming". "Initial reactions to the shows have been tremendous and the positive impact the added exposure will have on sales of licensed merchandise cannot be underestimated." In Australia, Life Like Touring has added extra dates to its theatrical tour of Peppa Pig’s Treasure Hunt after tickets sell out within three days of going on sale. Shows in Hobart and Canberra have been added to the schedule to meet the consumer demand. Anton Berezin, producer at Life Like Touring Australia added: "We sold-out the entire first national tour of Peppa Pig Live! Treasure Hunt in a just a few days. It was an amazing response to a fantastic show. "In 20 years of producing family theatre, I've never seen such an overwhelming response from audiences. One of our ticketing partners compared the response to an on-sale day for Pink or Radiohead". "We are working with venues to secure new dates and shows all around Australia, and we are being petitioned by fans all over the country to bring Peppa Pig Live to their town. We have a lot of work ahead of us, and our team are working flat-out. It's Peppa-pandemonium out there."
Licensing.biz is reporting the exciting news that Entertainment One Family's "Peppa Pig" has come first in 2013's Licensing.Biz Power List Character and Entertainment category! The winners were revealed at a launch party in Kensington's Hand and Flower during October 2013. "Peppa Pig", which airs on Nick Jr. UK and Ireland, beat brands such as Hello Kitty (2), Moshi Monsters (3), Angry Birds (4), and Skylanders (5) to the top spot. The Power List is published in association with miEvents, and sponsored by MyBrandEmail and Counterpoint Systems, and lists leading 100 brands across four categories. You can find lists of the top 5 names in the other categories of
Licensing.Biz's 2013 Power List here!
Additionally, Toy News is also reporting that Character Options has been granted the rights to create a range of "Peppa Pig" Weebles figures and playsets by Hasbro! In a multi-territory deal, the Weebles toys will be available to buy in shops from Spring 2014 with the first in the range being Peppa Pig, her brother George and her friends. The launch line-up will include a train, car, feature playsets and Peppa Pig Weeble figures 'that will wobble but never fall down'.
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that US President Barack Obama recently visited a fundraising event at the home of Haim Saban and his wife, Cheryl, during a two-day trip to Southern California. Saban introduced the president by praising his record on foreign policy and taking a jab at the nation's top radio host. "Some so-called fair and balanced media and charmers like Mr. Rush Limbaugh have been having a field day with the technical glitches on the Obamacare website, and this has clouded some of the most remarkable achievements of this administration," said Saban, the multibillionaire co-creator of "Power Rangers". Guests at Saban's mansion, where each couple paid $32,400, included Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Paul Reiser and Netflix chief content officer (CCO) Ted Sarandos.
Toy News is also reporting that a mother has hit out at Leeds airport security when her five year old boy's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" toys were confiscated by airport security staff.
The Express reports that Emma Hardy was travelling with her son, Alfie Waine from Leeds Bradford International Airport to Dublin when the toys were seized from the child's suitcase. A Leonardo plastic sword and Donatello staff were removed from Waine's luggage by the strict security staff. The items were removed alongside a plastic light up laser gun, as the officials claimed they were 'bound to confiscate any items which could be seen as a replica weapon.' The five year old was reportedly left devastated by the incident. Hardy, 31, a customer service manager from Leeds, said: "He was really upset as they're his favourite toys. "He was especially upset when we were told they were going in the bin. I'm all for security but you have to assess what the risk is. I can't imagine how this is a risk to security." Responding to the alleged security breach, security manager, Andrew Shaw told The Express: "We are directed through legislation that anything that looks like or replicates a firearm or weapon must be confiscated." "All passengers are given the option to take these items back to their car or post home. We confiscate a vast quantity of items and liquids in our daily operation and ultimately these items are disposed of by Leeds Bradford Airport." A spokesperson for GP Flair, Andrew Brown has since commented: "The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Combat Set and Stealth Sword are immensely popular with boys who love to act out Turtles inspired adventures. "The turtles range does not include toy guns. The toys are incredibly toy like in the way they look and feel and cannot, in our opinion be mistaken as real weapons." "Airport rules and policies however, are there for a reason and we would advise that any parent who has a Little Ninja that wants to take his combat toys on a plane should check with the airport before travelling."
Nickelodeon and "Sam & Cat" star Ariana Grande recently exclusively revealed to MTV News UK that she's finished a track for her currently-untitled sophomore album! Earlier this year, the "Almost Is Never Enough" singer announced that she had started working on the follow-up to her hugely successful debut LP "Yours Truly", which reached No.7 in the UK charts earlier this year. When quizzed about her forthcoming record, Grande told us: "[...] I’m really excited about it. I don’t know too much yet, we just started working on it." "I just have one song that I’m very excited about so far that’s kind of done. I’m really excited about it because so much has happened in the last few months… It’s been crazy and I feel like I’ve learnt a lot and grown a lot as a person so I have a lot to write about." When pressed further on the track that she's already finished, Ariana admitted: "It's called Ridiculous, I’ve never said that before. It’s a great song – I love it. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to keep it or not because there’s a little string sample in it, but I want to take all the music out and do something different anyway. So I’m going to change that." The 20-year old Nick celebrity went on to describe the song as "really crazy" and "a bit all over the place", before concluding: "It’s interesting melodically… It’s more like gymnastics. It's like a weird melody and jumpy."
Planet Nick Airways! UKZAMBIANS is reporting that with the summer break fast approaching, young travellers from Zambia will have more entertainment choices than ever, thanks to Emirates, which flies daily from Lusaka to Dubai and Harare. The airline has announced it will boost the children's content on its award-winning in-flight entertainment system, "ice Digital Widescreen" (information, communication, entertainment) in time for the busy travel season. From new release movies and Disney classics to a massive selection of TV programmes, December will be a great month to fly Emirates with the family. Children on an Emirates flight in December 2013 have more than 50 hours of kid-friendly TV waiting for them. New features on "ice Digital Widescreen" include Nickelodeon featuring "Bubble Guppies", "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Team Umizoomi", plus new and updated channels dedicated to "Thomas & Friends", Nick Jr.'s "Dora the Explorer", "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", "Austin & Ally", and "The Gruffalo". This is in addition to the BBC's CBeebies, pre-school channel Disney Jr., Cartoon Network and over 15 channels of top children's television. "ice Digital Widescreen"'s movie line-up is also guaranteed to keep just about any child occupied with new releases for kids headed up by "Despicable Me 2" and the smash hit, "One Direction: This is Us", just two of 15 recent movies that children will love including "The Smurfs 2", "Planes", and "The Croods". Many of these movies are available in up to seven different languages and close to half offer closed captions for the hard of hearing.
Meanwhile, singer Katy Perry has praised newcomer Ariana Grande, saying she loves her and believes she has "the best female vocal in pop music today". Perry stopped by Sirius FM on Monday 14th October 2013 to promote her latest album "Prism", but got to talking about the 20-year-old Nickelodeon star. The "Roar" singer revealed: "I love her. I think she has the best female vocal in pop music today." The 28-year-old superstar continued: "She has literally the best voice, the best voice live. She kills it. She's so good." Katy also admitted that she had given Grande, whose album "Yours Truly" went to no. 1 in the Billboard charts, some friendly advice about finding her way in the music industry. She said: "I got to hang out with her and listen to her record before it came out because I wanted to reach out to her and be like, 'Hey girl, you're just about to go through a whirlwind. Let me give you some tips if you ever need anything - a hairstylist, makeup artist, whatever.'" Perry added: "She's the sweetest girl and I just wish her the best." On Tuesday 15th October 2013, Ariana took to Twitter to thank the "Wide Awake" singer, linking to the interview and writing: "Thank you so much
@KatyPerry for being a true friend & an inspiration to me i love you." Grande is currently working on a sophomore album to be released early next year (2014). And, following the news that Miley Cyrus wrote a song for Grande, Ariana added that she's "so excited" to hear what Mi-Cy has to offer, stating: "I love her. I think she's a genius."
The Oklahoma Daily has praised Ariana Grande for her single “Yours Truly”.
The official website of ABS-CBN, a commercial television network in the Philippines, is reporting that a growing number of Filipino kids are learning how to be money-smart through a animated musical cartoon called "Cha-Ching", which has been co-created by internationally recognized children's education specialist Dr. Alice Wilder, who was also head of research for Nickelodeon Preschool's hit Nick Jr. series "Blue's Clues". "Cha-Ching" is Prudential Corp. Asia's (PCA) early financial literacy program, which was launched in seven Asian markets - Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in 2011. Cha-Ching, which airs on Cartoon Network, tackles four core money concepts - earn, spend, save and donate - in a fun and entertaining way. Through a series of animated music videos about a band of kids with different money-spending habits, children can learn practical money-smart skills. In the Philippines, PCA's local unit Pru Life UK has introduced the "Cha-Ching Money Smart Kids" program to several public and private grade schools. The Philippines was the first country to integrate "Cha-Ching" in the grade school curriculum, via a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Education. As part of the article, Dr. Alice Wilder talks about how she created "Cha-Ching", recalling how she first talked to kids before starting the project to find out what they know about money. "When I started to talk with kids, I wanted to find out what are the questions and what they think about money. One 10-year-old said to me, 'Does money really grow on trees?' There was another kid who said, 'When you go to the ATM, the money is printed there'... Once we started to understand what they were thinking, we could figure out how to actually teach them," she said. Wilder noted that much of what kids see about money is invisible, so they had to figure out how to show these concepts in a concrete way. "What kids often see related to money is spending. Saving is invisible. Using a credit card is invisible... So if what they're seeing is spend, how can we use the medium to make the content more concrete. So we created the four pillars - earn, spend, save and donate," she said. The key factors for Cha-Ching's success, Wilder said, are the story, repetition of concepts, technology and music. Wilder was impressed by the program's success in the country. "I'm thrilled to see how Cha-Ching has developed over the past years into something that lives beyond the screen. Each character and story was carefully designed to both entertain and leave a lasting impact in kids' lives, and it is extremely rewarding to see children learning and using the core money concepts," she said. So far, the Cha-Ching program is having a positive effect on the students in participating schools in the Philippines. A third party assessment by NGO Knowledge Community has shown grade 2 students in the participating schools have grasped lessons on financial literacy over a 10-month period. "The students understood and practiced the concepts of proper spending, savings, effective budgeting, and being money-conscious with special emphasis on creating a distinction between ‘need’ and ‘want.’ With the positive outcome, we expanded to more schools,” said Pru Life UK senior vice president and chief marketing officer Belle Tiongco. PCA estimates over 42,000 children and educators have benefitted from the Cha-Ching school programs in the 7 Asian markets. Now on its third season, Cha-Ching expands on the money concepts which can be applied in real life situations. The new episodes will air on Cartoon Network during weekday afternoons and weekend mornings. A new episode, "Big, Big Waste of Money,” shows kids the folly of wasting money on unnecessary purchases, while another episode "So Yesterday," encourages children to question passing fads and trends. Pru Like UK and PCA emphasized their commitment to helping a new generation of kids in Asia and the Philippines grow up to be money savvy. "Our commitment to financial literacy, to the Cha-Ching program, is coming from a deep desire to aid in building our nation. Imagine what a financially literate generation can do for our country: money-smart kids developing into money-smart adults, more adept at financial management. We dream of a day wherein saving, investing and financial protection are basic practices for every Filipino. And this is our way of making that dream come true,” said Pru Life UK President and CEO Antonio de Rosas.
Toon Zone has unveiled a wrap up of Nickelodeon's "The Legend of Korra" 2013 New York Comic Con panel, which was attended by series co-creator Bryan Konietzko and Co-producer Joaquim Dos Santos, in addition to three members of the voice cast: Janet Varney (Korra), P.J. Byrne (Bolin) and Steve Yeun, who in the upcoming two-part episode "Beginnings" is the voice of Wan – the very first Avatar. Additionally,
Toon Zone News have also unveiled a exclusive interview they recently held with some of the cast and crew from Nickelodeon's "The Legend of Korra" at NYCC 2013: actor P.J. Byrne (Bolin), executive producers Joaquim Dos Santos and Bryan Konietzko!
Licensing.biz is reporting that HIT Entertainment has agreed deals with two new health based licensees for global pre-school property "Thomas & Friends" at Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) 2013. DTP has signed up for a range of vitamins and Darsham Drinks for beverages. The "Thomas & Friends" vitamins range will include a selection of four different branded packs of vitamins and were made available at retail in October 2013 in both the UK and US. Darsham Drinks will release a collection of branded drinks including spring water, juice drinks and smoothies, across the UK and Eire in early 2014. The "Thomas & Friends" brand now has over 250 global licensees following the recent announcement of six new North American licensees in Dr Fresh, Dynacraft, Innovision, Kurt Adler, Planet Sox and Step 2. "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends" airs on Nick Jr. UK and Ireland.
Licensing.biz is also reporting that, following the success of Nickelodeon USA's brand new animated pre-school series "Peter Rabbit" on CBeebies, Silvergate Media is to partner with Immediate Media to publish a four-weekly standalone Peter Rabbit magazine. The title will launch with a special "All About Peter Rabbit" in spring 2014, followed by a regular four weekly Peter Rabbit magazine priced at £2.49 with bumper issues available at £2.99. "Peter Rabbit" is already featured in Immediate's CBeebies Weekly with a "Peter Rabbit" feature and cover mount (free toy gift) planned for December 2013. The deal was announced at BLE 2013.
Variety is reporting that Following a strike threat, the Writers Guild of America has reached an agreement with Nickelodeon for the network to pay $11 million in residual payments and interest for writers who work on Nick shows. The payments were disclosed in an email to members by WGA West president Christopher Keyser and exec director David Young, who said that the guild had pursued arbitration claims against Nickelodeon an "egregious" ongoing failure to pay residuals on a timely basis. “The guild's efforts culminated this spring with a demand that Nickelodeon post a multi-million-dollar bond to cover future residuals on its shows,” the missive said. "We warned the company that if it failed to post the bond, the Guild would be forced to issue a stop work order for writers on Nickelodeon shows. That got their attention." Keyser and Young said that during the six months that followed that demand, Nickelodeon worked with the WGA to remedy the situation on all 22 shows on which residuals were owed and paid the full amount of interest due under the minimum basic agreement at the rate of 18% per year for the late payment of those residuals. "All told, since the guild brought its claims, Nickelodeon has paid writers on these shows more than $10 million in residuals and almost $1 million in interest," Keyser and Young said. "The last of this money is now being distributed. Just as important, Nickelodeon appears to have changed its practices and is currently making efforts to pay residuals on time." Nickelodeon issued a statement in response: “We have the utmost respect and admiration for all of our writers, and have worked very hard with the WGA over the past months to ensure all residual payments have been made. As the Guild notes, we have now completely remedied the situation, and we look forward to a continued excellent working relationship with our writers.”
gamershell.com is reporting that Ynnis Interactive has developed a brand new "Mysterious Cities of Gold" video game based on the popular French/Anime manga of the same name that aired on Nickelodeon USA from the mid-1980s to the early 1990's and on the BBC in the UK. "Mysterious Cities of Gold: Secret Paths" is now available for Nintendo Wii U and PC, and was also released on the iOS on Wednesday 27th November 2013 and Nintendo 3DS during early December. The video game is based on the all-new second season which is currently airing in France's TF1. You can watch the video games' trailer
here on gamershell.com.
Nickelodeon Alumni News
AdWeek is reporting that former Nickelodeon UK presenter and executive
Malcolm Bird (
Nick UK's very first live presenter, who presented Nick's "Dawn Patrol" breakfast show) has created and launched a brand new start-up video/social media property aimed at kids 8 to 13 called
Viddiverse, which will sport a mix of syndicated children’s shows and kid-produced videos. The site will also blend elements of Facebook, Instagram and Vine. Like other social nets, children will be able to build profiles, amass followings, chat with friends and share content. And all in a safe, kid-friendly fashion. A parent/guardian has to approve sign up and the site cannot be used to share names, phone numbers or email addresses. Once signed in, kids will be able to upload videos to Viddiverse, where they can professionally edit clips, apply cool filters, and import other images and music. Since leaving Nick UK, Malcolm Bird ran AOL's now-shuttered kids business KOL. Viddiverse has raised $700,000 and aims for $5 million to $8 million in financing leading up to a launch in the first quarter of 2014. A beta test kicks off in a few weeks.
The Independent has unveiled a biography of the American writer Suzanne Collins the creator of the popular "The Hunger Games" trilogy of science fiction novels (which consists of the books "The Hunger Games", "Catching Fire", and "Mockingjay"), and a former writer of Nickelodeon's "Clarissa Explains It All", starring Melissa Joan Hart as a feisty, precocious teenager struggling through adolescence. Though Clarissa's circumstances were somewhat less violent than Katniss's, she was nonetheless a groundbreaker: the Nickelodeon network’s first female protagonist. Suzanne Collins also work on Nickelodeon's "The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo", "Little Bear", and "Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!", in which she juggled the writing of with the writing of "The Hunger Games".
Marketing and communications agency Madhouse Associates has appointed former Reading Room business development director Farooq Ansari as head of digital strategy, to focus and expand on the agency's digital capabilities. Farooq has over eight years experience working in the digital industry having held senior positions within global organisations including the BBC – where he worked in Multiplatform Productions as Senior Development Producer. During his time at the BBC, Farooq was part of the team which created the online Dragon’s Den website through which budding entrepreneurs can apply to appear on the show via video pitches, which are reviewed by ‘online dragons’ Shaf Rasul and Julie Meyer. Farooq then went on to hold senior positions at digital agency Reading Room and Zodiak Media, during which time he formulated digital strategies and managed complex digital projects and delivered a range of websites, apps, and games including "Waybuloo" (CBeebies), "Tickety Toc" (Nickelodeon) and "Being Human" (BBC Three).
Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, has named former Nickelodeon executive Julia Pistor as producer and executive producer of feature films at Playground Productions, Mattel's new division that will create original creative storytelling content for multiple platforms. While at Nickelodeon,
Julia Pistor served at Vice President (VP), Senior Vice President (SVP) and Executive Vice President (EVP) of Nickelodeon Movies. Julia also established Nick's branded movie division to maximize existing franchises and create new Intellectual Properties (IP), and oversaw development, production and release of over 15 Nickelodeon Movies in 10 years including "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie", "The Rugrats Movie", "Rugrats in Paris", "Rugrats Go Wild", "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events", "Snow Day", "Charlotte's Web" and "Nacho Libre". First up for Playground is the development and launch of the new animation "Team Hot Wheels: The Origin of Awesome", which will debut in 2014. Mercury Filmworks has joined the project in a story that delivers new Hot Wheels-inspired stories in three formats including a 22-minute origin story for spring, 11 two-minute shorts for summer and a 74-minute direct-to-video movie for the fall. The plotline features daredevil kids who live in the fictional town of Hilly Woodlands. The four main characters alongside iconic Hot Wheels vehicles including the Bone Shaker and Twin Mill must team together to catch a mysterious car wreaking havoc on their town. Additionally, Mattel’s own financial story is remaining positive, with Q3 global sales rising 6% to US$2.21 billion.
TBI Vision has unveiled a special feature about the American actor, film director, film producer, television director and television producer, the founder of AwesomenessTV and a production executive on the Nickelodeon movies "Good Burger" and "Fred: The Movie" and the hit Nickelodeon series "Kenan & Kel", "All That", "Cousin Skeeter", "The Amanda Show", "The Nick Cannon Show", "Fred: The Movie", "Supah Ninjas" and "AwesomenessTV".
The Bookseller is reporting that Harlequin has acquired two women's fiction novels by former Nickelodeon UK presenter Jemma Forte, for its MIRA list. Harlequin MIRA editor Sally Williamson bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Madeleine Milburn at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film agency. The first title, "If You're Not The One", tells the story of a young mother who sees what her life would have been like had she made different choices along the way. Forte, who has appeared on Nickelodeon, the Disney Channel and The National Lottery, has previously published two books, "Me and Miss M" and "From London with Love", with Penguin. "If You're Not The One" will be published in February 2014, with book two scheduled for release in 2015.
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