Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment has teamed with former IDW Entertainment President David Ozer to launch Landmark Studio Group. The new company will be focused on the ownership, development and production of entertainment franchises in both TV and film. Ozer will serve as CEO for the company, which will be headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles.
Landmark content will be funneled through outlets such as Crackle, which Chicken Soup took majority control of last spring in a new arrangement with Sony. The company also owns Screen Media, which will distribute Landmark titles.
Landmark will develop, produce, distribute and own all of the intellectual property it creates. The studio will be independent, having the ability to sell its content to any network or platform, while hanging onto worldwide rights.
Cole Strategic Partners will co-fund Landmark with Chicken Soup for the Soul. “We are thrilled to join forces with Bill [Rouhana] and David to launch Landmark, which we anticipate will become a major force in the entertainment industry,” said Simon Misselbrook, president of Cole Strategic Partners.
Landmark has set several television and film projects in development including The Fix, a scripted drama series based on the book by Declan Hill, docuseries The History of Gangster Rap, based on the book by Soren Baker, and Safehaven, a supernatural horror series based on the graphic novel, directed by Brad Turner (Homeland, 24). See details below. Landmark will also be producing various stand-up comedy specials and animated series.
“All of us at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment are thrilled to be in business with David Ozer. He has the ability and talent to turn Landmark into a high-volume content production operation that we anticipate will provide an additional revenue stream for our company while mitigating production risk,” Chicken Soup for the Soul CEO Bill Rouhana said. “We expect Landmark to provide valuable original content to Crackle and the other six AVOD networks that are part of our Crackle Plus subsidiary, as well as our other Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment divisions.”
“It’s incredible what Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is creating in the AVOD space, and I’m excited to launch Landmark as an important studio operation for tomorrow’s media consumers,” said Ozer. “With the support of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, we are poised to become a significant player in the global content marketplace.”
As Landmark CEO, Ozer will spearhead its content development and production operations. During his time at IDW Entertainment, he was credited with the independent mini-studio’s expansion, and the success of its two most prominent series, overseeing the development and production of three seasons of Wynonna Earp for Syfy, and two seasons of Dirk Gently for BBC America. He also oversaw the development of Locke & Key and V-Wars for Netflix.
Ozer has also previously held executive level positions at multinational media corporations including Starz Media, RHI Entertainment, Sonar, DIC Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television.
Landmark’s television projects in development:
THE FIX – A scripted drama series that explores the most explosive story of sports corruption in a generation based on the book by Declan Hill. The Fix is written by David Dilley and produced by Calamity Jane’s Ellen Pompeo and Laura Holstein.
THE HISTORY OF GANGSTER RAP – A documentary series based on the bestselling book by Soren Baker, who serves as producer along with Jorge Hinojosa and Ice-T, and features Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and many others.
SAFEHAVEN – Directed by Brad Turner (Homeland, 24), Safehaven, a supernatural horror series based on the graphic novel about a female comic book artist whose drawings come alive to haunt her. Safehaven is produced by Turner, Thomas Vitale (Pandora), Jessica Petelle (V-Wars, Hawaii Five-0), James Seale (30 Below), Kevin Duncan and Michael Bay’s 451 Media.