Starz Media Preps MIPCOM Offerings

BURBANK, September 29:
Starz Media will bring its largest ever slate, which will include animated
horror, romantic comedy, documentaries and children’s animation, to MIPCOM.

Programming includes the
sci-fi horror feature film Dead Space: Downfall, which follows the crew of a deep-space mining
ship who recover a ancient religious artifact that unleashes a long-dormant
alien race. Table for Three is
a romantic comedy about Scott, who thinks his recent run of bad luck is over
when he invites Ryan and his longtime girlfriend Mary to move in but soon finds
they are completely disruptive. The recently acquired Christmas Proposal is a holiday feature about a lawyer trying to save
her mountain town from a developer who wants to turn the tiny hamlet into the
next five-star ski resort.

Starz Media’s MIPCOM slate
also features the comedy Z-Rock,
a semi-scripted half-hour series loosely based on the real lives of three New
York-based musicians, who by night star in a rock band, but by day serve in a
kids’ party band. The Whitest Kids U Know features a New York City comedy
troupe’s take on politics, gender relations and pop-culture. Head Case stars Alexandra Wentworth as a judgmental,
unconventional psychiatrist whose days are filled with a who’s who client list
from the world of entertainment, sports and music. Hollywood Residential centers on an under-achieving actor and inept
carpenter who, with his co-host, takes his home repair show to the houses of
Hollywood celebrities. Martin Lawrence Presents First Amendment Stand-Up features edgy up-and-coming comedy talent in the
U.S., as well as star comics performing before a live audience.

The Starz Inside
documentaries include In the Gutter,
which takes viewers inside outrageous comedies that push the boundaries with
objectionable material and questionable taste. Fantastic Flesh—The Art
of Make-Up EFX looks at the world
of special effects, and Comic Books Unbound examines how some of Hollywood’s biggest
blockbuster successes have been adapted from comics and graphic novels.

Rounding out Starz Media’s
slate is the animated series Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!, now back with its second season. Wubbzy and his
best friends Widget and Walden and new pal Daizy live in the fanciful town of
Wuzzleburg, where they discover the importance of honesty and friendship. The
program airs in the U.S. on Nick Jr.

“This slate represents
several product categories—movies, series, docs and animation—and
offers buyers a diverse portfolio from which to choose,” said Gene George, the executive VP of worldwide distribution for Starz Media. “We are
extremely focused within these genres, which will allow our international
partners to turn to us to fill a range of programming needs. Interest in our
robust programming slate has been great, and in fact we’ve already finalized
several international licenses. Based on this early activity, we expect a busy
and productive market.”

—By Jackie Stewart