by Voyage | Jun 16, 2020 | Audience, Blog post
We had an incredible time at our IGNITE 5.0 workshop and Investor Gala in October! At IGNITE, we hosted over thirty special storytellers and producers in Hollywood to collaborate and create market-ready projects. And here’s a picture of our amazing investors who attended the Investor Gala that same weekend… It’s always a joy to connect with our current clients and build relationships with new faces. We’re always astounded with what comes out of those special weekends! Welcoming A New Head of Originals: Robert Mitas. Robert Mitas is a film producer and screenwriter. He ran Furthur Films, the production company of the Academy Award-winning actor/producer Michael Douglas from 2010-2017. With projects like FLATLINERS, BEYOND THE REACH, WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE, and RATCHED under his belt, Robert has been a great addition to the team and has provided exceptional guidance to our pool of Originals. He has brought many new and refreshing ideas to the table at Voyage Media. One that we are most excited for, is the concept of ‘Labels’. These Labels will classify projects as they enter the pipeline, move through development, match them with specific financing/distribution partners, and finally output them into production. Current labels include: “Her” – Inspiring movies of women overcoming obstacles “Series” – One-hour drama and half-hour comedy series for network, cable or streaming “True” – Reality/Documentary programming “Edge” – Edgy, dark horror, thrillers and indies that skew toward a male audience “Studio” – Big budget movies that require global distribution “Family” – Family friendly and kids projects (think Disney, Dreamworks, etc) “Faith” – Movies that capitalize on the growing Christian and faith markets “Cine” – Indie dramas with a focus on sophistication, stars, and...
by Voyage | Apr 8, 2020 | Audience, Entertainment Business
Voyage Media’s community is stacked with talented producers and writers. They’ve been hard at work producing content and developing incredible projects. We are pleased to share our producers’ and writers’ impressive successes! Voyage Producer Dan Bemamor recently joined the writer’s room on the Netflix Original Series, ROMAN EMPIRE: CALIGULA: THE MAD EMPEROR. Dan Bemamor also wrote the indie feature film Spare Room, which stars Martin Sensmeier (The Magnificent Seven) and Skyler Sameuls (Scream Queens). Spare Room has just completed post-production. Additionally, Dan adapted Voyage client Jan Hurst’s novel into the film SUNRISE IN HEAVEN, starring Corbin Bernsen. The film came out this year and has since secured a deal with Hallmark. Bonnie Solomon became the first Story Analyst to oversee all projects in development at DreamWorks Animation. While at DreamWorks, she was responsible for writing and reading detailed coverage on all screenplay and manuscript submissions. She is currently shopping an animation feature that she wrote herself. Voyage Producer Daniel Schnider has experience in projects of all genres and has been a producer and executive within the film and television industry for the last 20 years. Although he has spent a great chunk of time on the producing side, he also has experience creating short form content for digital platforms and theaters. He recently sold a limited series for television with Academy Award nominated writer Alan Wenkus to Alcon Entertainment. Additionally, as the Head of Originals at Pongalo, Daniel recently sold to Discovery-backed company, Vix. Diana Wright, a Voyage producer that specializes in smart and wacky writing, produced a feature film in development with Jennifer Todd Productions. With a knack...
by Voyage | Feb 15, 2020 | Audience, Blog post
Our producers’ and writers’ experience covers everything from children-friendly animations to sci-fi. Our incredibly talented community of producers and writers continue to be successful within the entertainment industry. Now, let’s take a moment to acknowledge some of the exceptional recent work of our producers and writers… Fox: Voyage Producer Kathleen Mclaughlin’s pilot turned series, THE RESIDENT, that she coproduced with Phillip Noyce (SALT, THE BONE COLLECTOR) is now airing on Fox! Freeform: Voyage’s SVP of Originals, Brad Luff, is executive producing SIRENS, which was just picked up for a second season. CAA: Voyage producer Dan Benamor recently signed with CAA, as his pilot SAVAGE, NEBRASKA currently makes the rounds. Lifetime: Voyage Producer Regina Lee sold a TV movie in the supernatural thriller genre to Marvista Entertainment/Lifetime Movie. Pongalo: A digital media company, where Voyage Producer Daniel Schnider is the GM, raised nearly ¾ quarters of a million dollars on equity crowdfunding platform SeedInvest. Apple TV: Voyage Producer Aaron Mendelsohn was recently hired to write for a TV show on Apple. Details cannot yet be released. DELIVERED: Brad Luff, SVP of Originals, is producing this feature film with Shaun Redick (GET OUT, RED SKY). Toby Oliver (GET OUT, INSIDIOUS) is set to direct and they entered production the first quarter of 2019. Netflix: Voyage Producer & Writer Dan Benamor wrote on the second season of the Netflix Original Series ROMAN EMPIRE: REIGN OF BLOOD. The Hallmark Channel: Voyage Producer Aaron Mendelsohn’s movie LIKE CATS AND DOGS aired on the Hallmark Channel in the spring. Check it out on a TV near you! CHANCE: Voyage producer John Crye’s feature film CHANCE, starring Matthew Modine, Tanner...
by Voyage | Jan 23, 2020 | Blog post, Entertainment Business
Our Success is Your Success! We are proud to announce that the number of your projects becoming Originals and signing deals continues to grow and has reached an all time high! Take a look at some recent wins, all of which originated from you, the storytellers in our community: UPON A FIELD OF GOLD A Romantic-Comedy feature based on the novel by Voyage client Richard Strack in collaboration with Producer and Voyage’s Head of Originals, Robert Mitas. Noah (22), a man in the modern day, experiences flashbacks to a previous life of Joshua (22), a young Union soldier in the American Civil War. Driven by a search for meaning, Noah embarks on a journey to retrace the tragic life of the unknown soldier while jeopardizing his present-day relationships. COOL JELLYBEANS A Children’s Animated Edu-tainment Series by Voyage client JenJen Francis in collaboration with producer Annie Girard. A team of five knowledge-hungry kids protect the town of Jellybean from the machinations of Sir Ignoramus with the power of STEAMIE (science, technology, engineering, art, math, innovation and entrepreneurship) in this POWER RANGERS meets THE MAGIC SCHOOLBUS edu-tainment show. SUNRISE IN HEAVEN Feature based on the book by Voyage client Jan Hurst and written by Voyage’s own Dan Benamor. After its initial theatrical and VOD release, the project secured a TV deal with Hallmark! The story: After the death of her husband, a woman finds solace in her faith and a widow’s group. PET SEMATARY Based on the book by Stephen King, and starring actors Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz and John Lithgow, this film was released in theaters April 5th of 2019. Within three weeks, the movie grossed $98,322,944...
by Voyage | Oct 25, 2019 | Audience, Entertainment Business, The Expert Network
Voyage Media, with the help of our talented producers, writers, and storytellers, has built out incredible projects into films and television shows. Our projects have been written about by well-known media outlets, such as Variety and more. Check out our projects in the news below! In addition to the Voyage story in Variety, our platform has been featured quite a bit in the news, including on Broadcasting Cable News and Student Filmmakers! We’re also proud to announce our new joint venture with Impossible Dream Entertainment & Fortress films to develop and finance prestige independent films from the Voyage community. The partnership pairs Voyage’s extraordinary development track record with the production prowess of IDE’s Shaun Redick (GET OUT, THE BLACK KLANSMAN[i2] , BAND AID) and Fortress Films’ Patrick Rizotti (MALICIOUS, THE SUPER). Both IDE and Fortress have private equity backed financing. Finally, we had an incredible time at our IGNITE! 4.0 workshop, hosting thirty special storytellers and producers to collaborate and create market-ready projects. At our charity gala dinner, we raised money for our non-profit partners, Young Storytellers, which uses the timeless techniques of mentoring, collaboration, and performance to provide public school students with an opportunity to write stories and see them brought to life. A big and wonderful surprise came out of our IGNITE! weekend: an anonymous donor established the first ever Voyage scholarship, that provides deserving storytellers with financial assistance to gain access to high level mentor-ship and develop their stories for market. We’re always astounded with what comes out of those special weekends and what’s possible when you connect like-minded people all working toward a common goal! All...
