Foundation Media Partners, Simon & Schuster Ink Children’s Film, TV Deal

Foundation Media Partners, the firm behind Build-A-Bear’s entertainment expansion, has set a deal with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing to develop and produce film and television projects mined from Simon & Schuster’s library, spanning 100 years of publishing. Foundation will focus on developing and adapting a multi-title slate from Simon & Schuster’s Little Simon chapter books and graphic novels as animated and/or live-action properties for film and television.

The deal with Simon & Schuster builds on Foundation Media Partners’ track record of converting literary IP to film, including the adaptation and production of the animated feature, “Bad Guys,” based on Aaron Blabey’s best-selling children’s book franchise, for Dreamworks Animation and Universal Pictures. It also adapted and produced Blabey’s “Thelma the Unicorn” book franchise as a feature film for Netflix. Foundation’s Patrick Hughes is executive producing “Bad Guys 2” with Dreamworks Animation and Universal.

Additional projects have included the first Build-A-Bear animated Christmas film based on best-selling holiday plush collection, “Glisten and the Merry Mission,” which the company released in theaters via a deal with Cinemark, as well as a new premium animated series, “Kabu,” which is in production with animation partner, Laughing Dragon.

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“The creative team at Simon & Schuster are as passionate about storytelling and franchise-building as we are at Foundation and together we’re looking to create a new standard for how stories are told and experienced by young audiences,” says Patrick Hughes, founder, chief executive officer, Foundation Media Partners. “Having access and first-look rights to one of the most prominent and voluminous libraries on the planet is a rare opportunity with endless possibilities.”

“Each book we’ll adapt and develop with Simon & Schuster will be distinct in its own way but share emotion, comicality and sense of discovery that we love to reflect in children’s properties we bring to the screen,” says Amy Wilson, vice president of development and production, Foundation Media. “This is an enormous creative exercise we’re all looking forward to very much.”

“We’re thrilled to be able to partner with Foundation Media to bring great characters and series to life in a new dimension for our avid readers,” says Valerie Garfield, senior vice president, publisher of licensed, novelty and branded publishing, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division. “We believe great content can co-exist across many platforms, and each one will enrich the storytelling experience.”

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