Tag Archives: Jeremy Zag

ZAG to unveil Melody, a new animated musical starring Katy Perry, at Licensing Expo

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Award-winning independent animation studio ZAG has partnered with Cross Creek Pictures to produce Melody, an animated musical feature created and directed by Jeremy Zag, and starring singer, songwriter and actress Katy Perry in the title role.  The announcement was made today by Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO of ZAG, and Katy Perry.

Melody will be directed by Jeremy Zag, while Katy Perry will co-write and perform the songs for the film. The feature will be produced by Jeremy Zag, Cross Creek’s Tyler Thompson, Katy Perry, and Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman), who also served as executive producer on the upcoming $US100 million+ animated film Miraculous Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie, produced by ZAG.

Jeremy Zag is best known as the creator, director and producer of the global phenomenon Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. ZAG will debut Melody to potential licensing partners at the upcoming Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

In this musical adventure, kind-hearted, insecure yet prodigious singer Melody must overcome the evil plans of Rose Stellar, a jealous wicked pop queen who has vowed to destroy her. Set against the backdrop of New York City, Melody will take audiences on an adventure of song, laughter and heroic quest. With Melody are her “Seven Dwarves”-like musical notes that help guide her moral compass in more ways than one.

Packed with magic, love and wonder, Melody is an uplifting and inspiring story of self-discovery that celebrates the importance of fulfilling one’s dreams by believing in oneself and, above all, that to love is stronger than to be loved.

“I’ve dreamed of making Melody for years with a vision to convey messages of empowerment in a wondrous world full of music and adventure,” commented Zag.  “As a popstar, Melody is adored by her fans, but as a young artist, she struggles with insecurity.  On this journey of self-discovery, she comes to realise that the key to fulfilment of her life dreams is that she must learn to love herself first. Katy Perry’s journey to stardom is personified in Melody and, given her passion throughout her career to be an inspiration to her fans, she is the perfect collaborator for our animated extravaganza.”

Katy Perry is one of the best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 143 million records worldwide. All her studio albums released under Capitol have individually surpassed one billion streams on Spotify. She has nine U.S. number one singles, three U.S. number one albums, and has received numerous accolades including four Guinness World Records, five Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, a Brit Award, and a Juno Award.  Her critically acclaimed Super Bowl halftime show performance is the most watched in history. She is also the most followed woman on Twitter with over 100 million followers.

CAA Media Finance represents the worldwide distribution rights to Melody, with Rocket Science co-representing foreign sales.

ZAG appoints former Zinkia exec Marie Doolan as Vice President of TV content

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Award-winning global independent animation studio ZAG continues to build its executive leadership team, appointing former Zinkia executive Maria Doolan, who drove the global growth for the hit Pocoyo brand, to the newly created position of VP, TV Content. She reports to Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO, and Julian Zag, EVP, Global Operations and Head of Global Consumer Products.

In this new role, Doolan will be responsible for ZAG’s global strategy of content distribution across all platforms including television, home entertainment and digital media, for select properties in the ZAG Heroez portfolio — an umbrella brand franchise that brings together the superheroes from ZAG’s animated properties. Her first priority will be focused on the company’s newest IP, Ghostforce, which was recently acquired by Disney Channels U.S. and debuted in October 2021 on Disney XD. Doolan will also work in partnership with ON kids & family (Mediawan) for the aspirational brand phenom Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir, as well as all future ZAG properties.

“Maria has an extensive brand-management background, spearheading efforts across programme distribution and consumer products, and is an expert at driving strategy, building brands and adding value,” says Jeremy Zag. “In her new TV Content role, she will work closely with our consumer products executives to craft strategies for TV placement with best-in-class partners around the globe to build strong platforms from where we can launch new TV shows under  the ZAG Heroez universe.”

“I am thrilled with the opportunity to work with Jeremy, Julian and the global team at ZAG to further drive brand growth worldwide,” adds Doolan. “This new role will allow me to utilise one of my key strengths, which is to transfer big ideas into viable business plans on a global scale, and I am excited to begin diving in on building a global strategy for the content rollout of Ghostforce.”

Doolan has over 20 years’ experience managing, marketing and selling TV and retail products and properties, spending 17 years with Zinkia Entertainment. During her tenure with the company, she served in several roles, most recently as Global Head of International TV Distribution & Co-Productions, developing partnerships with multinational players. Prior, she served as Executive Producer of the Early Learning Collaborative, securing a US Ready to Learn (RTL) grant with a local non-profit partner, becoming the first non-US brand to get an RTL grant. Twenty-three educational apps covering English-language learning and math for 3–5 year olds were developed. The grant managed a US$34 million development and marketing budget and supervised the project launch with complementary school marketing materials produced for nationwide US distribution.

In her earliest and most long-lasting role as Managing Director of Brand & Business Development, Doolan was responsible for financing, marketing and managing Pocoyo worldwide, defining the brand and product strategy and market positioning, and  developing key L&M partnerships.

Disney Channels U.S. acquires ZAG Heroez’ CGI action-comedy series Ghostforce

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Award-winning global independent animation studio ZAG has licensed its action-comedy series Ghostforce to Disney Channels U.S. Created and produced by Jeremy Zag, the supernatural series for kids aged 6–10 follows three junior-high school students who form a secret team to defend their city from the ghastly ghouls haunting it. Ghostforce premiered on 4 October on Disney XD, with new episodes debuting weekdays until October 15.

Disney Channels has licensed 52 eleven-minute episodes of Ghostforce for North America, Japan and India, adding to the existing deals with Disney Channel EMEA, Russia and the Middle East. Ghostforce had its world premiere in France on TF1 on 28 August this year, and Disney Channel has already debuted the series in Germany and Israel, with additional territories rolling out this autumn.

“Disney is the ideal home for our newest series, Ghostforce, which will be enjoyed by boys and girls alike,” says Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO, ZAG. “Ghostforce had a spectacular debut on TF1 in France with an audience share of over 35 per cent, and is already resonating with kids as we are seeing tons of activity increasing across social media channels.”

Ghostforce follows junior-high students  Liv, Andy and Mike, who with each mission transform into Myst, Fury and Krush, superheroes armed with the powers of the ghosts they capture and high-tech gadgets invented by brilliant scientist Ms. Jones. They are the only ones who have the ability to hunt down the ghosts and fight them… before they hurry back to school so they don’t miss the next science class.

Ghostforce is co-produced with De Agostini Editores S.P.A.  A toy line for the series from ZAG Lab and Playmates will be available in 2022.

 

 

Miraculous lands slate of new consumer products partners and Disney Channel US broadcast

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ZAG is seeing demand for Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir continuing to grow across the US as the studio details its latest raft of licensing partners, as well as a new broadcast deal with Disney Channel US for seasons four and five of the series.

Newly signed partners for the hit IP include Crayola who has joined for branded colour and activity books, Fast Forward for kids backpacks and lunch bags, Kids Designs for youth electronics such as headphones and microphones, Komar Kids for sleepwear, and Peachtree Playthings for crafts and activities.

This roster is joined by further US partners including Galerie for seasonal and everyday chocolate and confectionery, Inkology for stationary and activity products, Trends International for posters and stickers, and Card.com for branded debit and credit cards.

Additional partners for online retail sales are Mighty Mojo Toys for party goods and supplies and All About Vibe for sublimated pillows.

Meanwhile, Disney Channel US has confirmed that it will pick up the latest two seasons, joining Disney Channels in multiple territories around the world as previously announced.  The US broadcaster will be debuting season four in summer 2021.  

Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir is also available globally on Netflix (excluding Asia and Brazil), with Netflix US streaming seasons one through three. According to Parrot Analytics, Miraculous is the number one in demand show for kids on Netflix in the US for the period January 1 to February 28.

“We’re thankful to all of our partners, including our trusted broadcasters and streamers who make Miraculous easily accessible to our passionate fans, and our consumer products licensees and retailers who provide multiple ways for fans to engage with the brand,” said Jeremy Zag, founder, ZAG.

“The new Miraculous toy line from Playmates Toys and ZAG Labs that launched on March 21 sold out within hours at Target.com, Walmart.com, and Kohls.com, and we have many new initiatives in the works that we’ll be announcing in the coming weeks and months and cannot wait to be able to share the news.”

 The new agreements coincide with the March 21 Miraculous toy launch from Playmates Toys and ZAG Labs at Walmart.com, Target.com, Kohls.com, with Amazon.com launching on April 15.

Other products hitting retail shelves this year include leveled readers and chapter books from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (LBYR), a division of the Hachette Book Group; costumes and accessories for wholesale retailers fromInSpirit Designs,a division of lifestyle retailer Spencer Spirit Holdings that owns and operates Spencer’s and Spirit Halloween (Miraculous is the company’s number one girls costume at their owned and operated retail locations); bedding and décor from Jay Franco; underwear from Handcraft Manufacturing; and Bentex Apparel Group for sportswear, tees and sleepwear.

Also coming up in 2021 is the theatrical $100M+ movie, Miraculous Ladybug And Cat Noir ‘The Awakening,’ which begins to roll out holiday 2021 and spring 2022.

Ian Lambur named EVP production and distribution at ZAG

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The global independent animation studio ZAG has promoted Ian Lambur to the post of executive vice president, production, distribution and co-production, reporting to CEO and founder Jeremy Zag.

Lambur joined ZAG in November 2018, serving as SVP, global distribution and co-productions. He will now oversee the company’s TV productions, including several series under the Zag Heroez brand, including Ghostforce, Power Players, and Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Alongside this, Lambur will continue to lead global distribution and co-production strategy of content to all platforms, including television, home entertainment, and digital media.

“Over the past eight-months, Ian has made a substantial contribution to the growth of ZAG, building on his network of extensive relationships and keen understanding of current and future media distribution platforms,” said Jeremy Zag.

“Adding oversight of production is a natural progression given Ian’s oversight of co-productions to date.”

Lambur said: “2020 is a pivotal year for ZAG with three series on air around the globe and two new series that we anticipate being greenlit in the coming months.

“We have tremendous co-production partners on board for each of our properties with a collective commitment to prioritise creativity and deliver series that we believe in, all featuring theatrical level animation that we are known for.”

Lambur joined ZAG from The Jim Henson Company, where he served as SVP of global distribution.  Previously, he held positions based in London UK at Disney Channels EMEA, serving as acquisitions manager and as director of sales at Guru Studios.