Brian Damage
02-16-2010, 11:30 PM
The Toy Fair 2010 is underway in NYC, ergo this announcement that there are plans for yet another movie franchise based on a toy. The indie Helix Films announced today an exclusive partnership with Meccano Toy Company to develop a 3D feature film based upon the Erector Set brand of kiddie construction toys. The deal represents the first time Meccano has licensed film rights to their toys but Tv and video games also are contemplated. While details of the story are being kept under wraps, the film will be "a family fantasy/adventure".
“The three partners of Helix Films all grew up playing with Erector Set toys but in different countries — Kevin Foo in Australia, Gaukhar Noortas in Kazakhstan, and me and my brother Robert in the U.S. — so our partnership with Meccano is very personal, as well as exciting,” said Steven-Charles Jaffe (Ghost, Star Trek IV, Strange Days) of Santa Monica-based Helix Films. “We believe the iconic Erector brand offers generational appeal with global reach, providing a tremendous platform to create a thrilling film franchise that boys, girls and adults will all adore.”
Added Michael Ingberg, CEO of Meccano Toy Company: “It’s perfect for a film franchise as it is certain to entertain but also stimulate creativity and imagination as the Erector toy system has done around the world for nearly a hundred years.”
Invented in England by Frank Hornby in 1901, Meccano was conceived as a model toy construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. The toy has sold under the “Erector Set” brand in the U.S. since 1913, and Meccano/Erector set toy products are currently sold in more than 80 countries.
http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/
“The three partners of Helix Films all grew up playing with Erector Set toys but in different countries — Kevin Foo in Australia, Gaukhar Noortas in Kazakhstan, and me and my brother Robert in the U.S. — so our partnership with Meccano is very personal, as well as exciting,” said Steven-Charles Jaffe (Ghost, Star Trek IV, Strange Days) of Santa Monica-based Helix Films. “We believe the iconic Erector brand offers generational appeal with global reach, providing a tremendous platform to create a thrilling film franchise that boys, girls and adults will all adore.”
Added Michael Ingberg, CEO of Meccano Toy Company: “It’s perfect for a film franchise as it is certain to entertain but also stimulate creativity and imagination as the Erector toy system has done around the world for nearly a hundred years.”
Invented in England by Frank Hornby in 1901, Meccano was conceived as a model toy construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. The toy has sold under the “Erector Set” brand in the U.S. since 1913, and Meccano/Erector set toy products are currently sold in more than 80 countries.
http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/