Companies partner to develop and produce premium scripted content

LOS ANGELES – December 12, 2017 –  In it’s commitment to partnering with world-class creative talent, global independent studio Entertainment One (eOne) has entered into a multi-year overall television first-look deal with Emily Mortimer and Alessandro Nivola’s King Bee Productions. Under the deal, eOne will serve as the studio and will control worldwide rights to television projects developed and produced with King Bee Productions.

“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to work with John, Pancho and the team at eOne.  King Bee is now at a moment where we are ready to grow and eOne is the perfect partner for our slate of projects which are being developed in both the US and the UK.  We are delighted to have a globally-minded studio to help us reach worldwide audiences and who appreciates our particular sensibility,” said Mortimer and Nivola.

Through King Bee Productions, the husband and wife team of Mortimer and Nivola produced two seasons of the fan favorite and a critical smash half hour comedy series Doll & Em for HBO. King Bee now has a full slate of projects in development at various studios including Amazon and TruTV, and is currently in post-production on the independent feature To Dust starring Geza Rohrig (star of the Academy Award winning Son of Saul) and Matthew Broderick.

“Emily and Alessandro have distinguished themselves not only in front of the camera, but also as producers of critically-acclaimed and personal stories that resonate with audiences. As producers, they bring a strong sensibility that shines through in both drama and comedy.  We’re thrilled to be joining forces with them,” said Pancho Mansfield, eOne’s President, Global Scripted Programming, Television.

Emily Mortimer is an award-winning actor, writer and producer with a diverse creative portfolio on both sides of the camera.   She will next be seen starring opposite Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep in Mary Poppins Returns and recently completed production on Mary starring opposite Gary Oldman. Throughout her career, Mortimer has worked with some of the top directors of our era including Martin Scorsese, Rob Marshall, Paolo Sorrentino and Woody Allen. Mortimer’s collaborations with Scorsese include Hugo, which received 11 Academy Award Nominations®, and the box office hit Shutter Island in which she performed opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.  Other notable credits include Woody Allen’s Match Point; Nicole Holofcener’s Lovely and Amazing for which she won an Independent Spirit Award; Lars and the Real Girl opposite Ryan Gosling; Dear Frankie opposite Gerard Butler; and David Mackenzie’s Young Adam, for which she earned nominations for Best British Actress at the Empire Awards as well as Best British Actress in a Supporting Role at the London Film Critics Circle Awards.  On the small screen, Emily recently starred in two critically acclaimed HBO series' Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom, opposite Jeff Daniels, as well as Doll and Em, which she created with her childhood best friend Dolly Wells. 

Actor and producer Alessandro Nivola has won and been nominated for a host of awards over the course of his varied film and stage career. Highlights include winning a SAG Award for American Hustle, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Laurel Canyon, a Tony Nomination for his performance opposite Bradley Cooper on Broadway in The Elephant Man, and winning best actor at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. In addition, he has starred in many films including Barry Levinson’s Emmy nominated The Wizard of Lies opposite Robert DeNiro, John Wu’s Face/Off, Jurassic Park 3, A Most Violent Year, The Neon Demon, Coco Before Chanel, Junebug and Selma. His upcoming films include Sebastian Lelio’s Disobedience opposite Rachel Weisz, The Red Sea Diving Resort with Chris Evans, You Were Never Really Here with Joaquin Phoenix, and The Art of Self Defense opposite Jesse Eisenberg.

The partnership was spearheaded by Polly Williams, VP, Scripted Development and Carolyn Newman, SVP, Scripted Programming for eOne. King Bee joins eOne’s growing network of bold first look partners, which includes Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Wren Arthur’s Olive Productions; Brad Peyton and Jeff Fierson’s ASAP Entertainment; and StoryBy Entertainment, among others.

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About Entertainment One

Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE:ETO) is a global independent studio that specialises in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. The Company’s diversified expertise spans across film, television and music production and sales, family programming, merchandising and licensing, and digital content. Through its global reach and expansive scale, powered by deep local market knowledge, the Company delivers the best content to the world.

Entertainment One’s robust network includes film and television studio The Mark Gordon Company; newly-launched MAKEREADY with Brad Weston; content creation venture Amblin Partners with Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Studios, Participant Media, and Reliance Entertainment; leading feature film production and global sales company Sierra Pictures; unscripted television production company Renegade 83; world-class music labels Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang; and award-winning digital agency Secret Location.

The Company’s rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 100,000 hours of film and television content and approximately 40,000 music tracks.

For more information:

Owen McCorquodale

Entertainment One

416.646.2400 x 4166

omccorquodale@entonegroup.com