Nelvana Announces Development Deal With Grey Matter And United Talent Agency For New Preschool Series

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February 14, 2017

NELVANA ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT DEAL WITH GREY MATTER AND UNITED TALENT AGENCY FOR NEW PRESCHOOL SERIES 

Inspired by Iconic Pop Artist Romero Britto and Written by Emmy Award-Winning Writer Judy Rothman Rofé, Happy Art Happy Life Introduces Children to the World of Visual Arts and Boundless Creativity 

Nelvana’s New Deal with Miami-Based Britto Unveiled at Kidscreen Summit

Children of the World, Romero Britto

Toronto, Canada – Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, announced today at Kidscreen, a new development deal with Grey Matter and United Talent Agency (UTA) to produce vibrant preschool series, Happy Art Happy Life (working title), inspired by the brilliant and bold works of world-renowned, Miami-based artist, Romero Britto.

“We are thrilled to work with Grey Matter and UTA to share Romero Britto’s signature and dazzling visions with young audiences,” said Athena Georgaklis, Head of Development, Nelvana Studios. “His inspirational art serves as a profound reminder of the limitless world of creativity, and we’re proud to show children that art lives and breathes everywhere – especially from within.”

Produced by Grey Matter’s Lawrence Grey and Ben Everard, and written by Emmy Award winner Judy Rothman Rofé (Madeline), the character-driven sketch show blends live action, animation, and remote videos to introduce young audiences to the colourful world of the visual arts, while celebrating diversity and promoting inclusiveness through spirited, dynamic, and relatable characters.

“I hope my story and my colors can inspire kids and families to make the world a better place,” said Romero Britto. “I’m excited to bring my art to life on screen and share it with children around the world.”

Happy Art Happy Life follows Romero, a cool and sharp-dressed bulldog (Britto’s alter ego) who lives, paints and sculpts in an exotic art studio. Alongside Romero is an animated ensemble of friends, all of whom are all budding artists in various disciplines, such as finger painter, paper maché sculptor, found object designer, and street muralist. Each 11-minute episode presents an array of inspiring and visually stunning standalone segments created to empower kids through art.

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About Nelvana
Nelvana is Canada’s premier animation company and a world-leading producer and distributor of children’s content. Nelvana has delighted audiences around the globe for more than 40 years with a vast library of more than 4,000 episodes from original, award-winning series like Babar and Franklin. Nelvana’s content is distributed in more than 160 countries worldwide and broadcast across Corus Entertainment’s suite of leading kids networks. Nelvana Enterprises, the global licensing and merchandising arm of Nelvana, manages the organization’s portfolio of in-house and third party brands with offices in Toronto and Paris. Nelvana Studio, with offices in Toronto and Montreal employs more than 300 Canadian artists working with local and international producers to create premium children’s content for a global stage.  For more information, visit www.nelvana.com

About Corus Entertainment Inc.
Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B) is a leading media and content company that creates and delivers high quality brands and content across platforms for audiences around the world. The company’s portfolio of multimedia offerings encompasses 45 specialty television services, 39 radio stations, 15 conventional television stations, a global content business, digital assets, live events, children’s book publishing, animation software, technology and media services. Corus’ roster of premium brands includes Global Television, W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Canada, HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY®, Showcase, National Geographic Channel, Q107, CKNW, Fresh Radio, Disney Channel Canada, YTV and Nickelodeon Canada. Visit Corus at www.corusent.com.

About Romero Britto
With an iconic style that The New York Times described, “exudes warmth, optimism and love”, Romero Britto is an international artist that uses vibrant, bold and colorful patterns to reflect his optimistic view of the world around him. His playful themes and hard‐edged compositions, combined with his unique talent, unshakable resolve and belief in his art, have granted him worldwide recognition, with exhibition in galleries and museums in over 100 countries and counting. The artist’s pop sensibility has leant itself to collaborations with global brands such as Audi, Bentley, Coca‐Cola, Walt Disney, Evian, Hublot, and Mattel, to name a few. Britto’s work evokes happiness and hope using a visual language all its own and is, simply, relatable to all.

About Grey Matter
Grey Matter produced the summer sensation LIGHTS OUT, starring Teresa Palmer and Maria Bello, which grossed nearly $150M worldwide on a $5M budget as the feature debut of director David Sandberg. A sequel is in active development. Grey Matter also has the prestigious UNTITLED BRUCE LEE biopic with the daughter of Bruce Lee, Shannon Lee, as well as the UNTITLED PANAMA PAPERS project, based on the forthcoming book by Pulitzer prize winning journalist Jake Bernstein, with Stephen Soderbergh attached to direct. Other upcoming projects on the Grey Matter film slate are the MI6 formation story “Section 6” (Universal), which Joe Cornish will direct; the Santa Claus origin story “Winter’s Knight” (Sony), which will be directed by “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg.

About UTA
One of the biggest talent agencies in the world, United Talent Agency represents many of the world’s most acclaimed figures in every current and emerging area of entertainment and media, including motion pictures, television, music, digital, broadcast news, books, theatre, video games, fine art and live entertainment. The agency is also globally recognized in the areas of film finance, film packaging, branding, licensing, endorsements and representation of production talent. UTA additionally provides corporate consulting, venture funding and strategic advisory services to companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. In 2015, UTA acquired The Agency Group, the world’s largest independent music agency, to form UTA Music, a leading music touring and representation practice. UTA has offices in Los Angeles, New York, London, Nashville, Toronto, Miami and Malmo, Sweden.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Laura Berkenblit
Corus Entertainment
416.860.4225
Laura.berkenblit@corusent.com

Michelle McTeague
Corus Entertainment
416.860.4226
Michelle.mcteague@corusent.com