Ultimate Dolph

FremantleMedia Enterprises Reboots Universal Soldier as Global Television Property

MIPCOM, 3 OCTOBER, 2011: FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), the commercial and brand extension arm of FremantleMedia, today announced it has acquired the rights to Universal Soldier, the hit movie franchise, rebooting it as a major new global television property. It will be written by Damian Kindler (Stargate, Sanctuary) and produced by FremantleMedia North America.

David Ellender, Global CEO, FremantleMedia Enterprises, said: “Universal Soldier is FME’s first foray into the sci-fi action genre, further diversifying our growing drama portfolio and underlining our reputation as one of the industry’s leading developers, co-producers and distributors of globally popular, high-quality scripted content.”

Allen Shapiro and Craig Baumgarten, who will executive produce the series, said: “We’ve long wanted to come up with a bold new way of updating Universal Soldier. We’re thrilled to team up with FremantleMedia and are sure that the millions of fans who loved the movie will now welcome it into their living rooms”.

FremantleMedia Enterprises, which acquired the rights to Universal Soldier from The IndieProd Company and Craig Baumgarten, will now take the project to international buyers.

Allan Shapiro is Chairman of TV Guide Network and TVGuide.com, which are part of a joint venture of Lionsgate, the leading next generation studio. He was also a Founder and President of Mosaic Media Group, a talent management, production and investment company. He previously served as President / CEO of The IndieProd Company, which produced numerous films and TV shows, including Universal Soldier, Air America, Blue Streak, L.A. Story and Roxanne.

Craig Baumgarten is a highly successful independent producer, whose films include Hook, Shattered Glass, The Order, Never Back Down and Universal Soldier. Prior to forming his own production company, he served as Vice President of Paramount Pictures, Executive Vice President of Columbia Pictures, a President at Lorimar and Executive Vice President at Twentieth Century Fox pictures. Some of the films he supervised during this period were the hits 9 Weeks, The Karate Kid, St Elmo’s Fire, The Abyss and Endless Love. Among his TV credits is the multi award-winning production of A Streetcar Named Desire; the highly-acclaimed CBS series Michael Hayes, starring David Caruso; and TNT’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, starring Salma Hayek and Richard Harris.

Baumgarten, speaking to Variety from Hawaii, said: "What appealed to us about this venture is the new model for global TV productions.

"This allows shows to be made that go straight to series backed by big budgets. As a result you can produce action shows for TV that have genuine high-production values.

"In the past we would have been reluctant to commit to a TV project like this because there was a risk it would end up looking cliched and limited -- and therefore be of limited appeal.

"But the intention is to make a high-end action series that reflects the ambition of the feature films."

It is hoped to begin filming a 13-part series late next year with a cast of mostly unknown young actors, according to FME's Jeff Tahler, senior VP, acquisitions and development, Americas.

One possibility is that the movie's original stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren will appear in the TV show as special guests.

The TV version of "Universal Soldier" is likely to be made in Canada, where tax breaks are available to film producers.