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LOS ANGELES: Reveille and Jack Black’s production company Electric Dynamite have entered into an exclusive TV production deal. Electric Dynamite will set up offices at Reveille, with Priyanka Mattoo, formerly an agent at WME, joining Black and partner Ben Cooley …

LOS ANGELES: Engine Entertainment and Ben Silverman’s Electus have signed a deal to co-produce the U.S. format for the interactive treasure-hunt game show Thumb Wars. The reality competition format will be packaged for the U.S. market to involve network, advertising …

LONDON/NEW YORK: Vamped Out, a new original series for Babelgum’s Comedy Channel, marks the directorial debut of actor Kevin Pollack. The first of six episodes of Vamped Out will go live on April 12, and additional episodes will air each …

SILVER SPRING: Discovery Channel is partnering with Wild Horizons and Keith Scholey to produce a seven-part documentary that will focus on the continent of North America. International pre-sale opportunities are still available for Wild Planet: North America through Discovery’s international …

MONTREAL: Almost 40 Canadian firms and 130 international outfits have signed up to participate in the Connect with Canada session at MIPTV, one of Telefilm Canada’s initiatives to help companies from the country boost their worldwide activities. During the session, …

LONDON/NEW YORK: Six new deals have been secured on MTV Networks International’s (MTVNI) format catalogue, with titles headed for adaptation in markets such as Australia, France, Italy and Spain. In Europe, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila has been …

SANTA MONICA/VANCOUVER: The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) will hold a hearing on April 26 on Lionsgate’s shareholder rights plan—the indie studio’s attempt to fend off a hostile takeover bid by Carl Icahn. Icahn is seeking to buy out the …

LONDON: Through the signing of an exclusive deal, Endemol is to be given the first look on all of French TV’s future titles and creations, and will also handle the worldwide distribution for the content, except for in France. The …

LONDON: Paul Maidment has been upped to director of BBC Motion Gallery—BBC Worldwide’s stock-footage business—following the departure of Simon Gibbs earlier this year. Maidment joined BBC Motion Gallery in 2003 as business development director and, alongside Gibbs, helped to launch the company. Today, …

NEW YORK: TLC, which posted double-digit growth year-on-year in 2009, has more than 47 new and returning series for its 2010-11 grid. Kate Gosselin maintains a spot on the network in a new series, Twist of Kate, where she steps into …