UCLA Film and Television Archive
and Tulip Media
Announce Major Television Production Initiative
March 31, 2000: The
UCLA Film and Television Archive and Tulip Media Ltd. have today announced
a major new production and distribution initiative that will bring a wealth
of Archive newsreel footage into mainstream commercial television exposure.
In consort with Tulip Media Ltd., Los Angeles based media packager and
financier, the Archive will be producing and distributing a distinctive
series of television programming. For its primary source material, the
Archive will draw on the esteemed Hearst Metrotone Newsreel Collection,
one of the world’s richest sources of audiovisual history. The joint
announcement was made by Tim Kittleson, Director of the UCLA Film and
Television Archive, and Todd P. Leavitt, Managing Director of Tulip Media.
The Hearst Collection represents one of the largest and
best organized sources of primary moving image documentation in the world.
For more than half a century, the Hearst Newsreels chronicled daily events
in all areas of life and from all parts of the globe. The entire library
of newsreel footage was donated to UCLA in 1981 by the Hearst Corporation,
which was founded by the legendary William Randolph Hearst. The Collection
provides a compelling record of the Twentieth Century, encompassing over
27 million feet of film and representing over 5,000 hours of original
source material spanning the period 1915 - 1971, most of which has never
been seen by the general public.
In the past years, the Archive has licensed footage used
in motion pictures (FOREST GUMP, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, MALCOLM X, etc.) and
in programming on all major networks and most PBS and cable stations.
The Archive’s new partnership with Tulip Media will present for the
first time the material in thematically oriented series for television,
video and multimedia presentation. The first several projects undertaken
in this new initiative will include:
IF YOU WERE IN TIME- A six-part mini-series exploring
the everyday life of children at various points in our history. Two contemporary
teenagers will take viewers on a journey where they actually "jump"
into newsreel scenes. Recent A.C.E./ Eddie award winning director Alan
Holtzman (REMEMBER OUR DAYS; OLD MAN RIVER) is attached to direct
and produce.
THE WOMAN’S CENTURY- A 13 part series providing
a fascinating look at the female personalities and feminist events that
shaped the 20th Century. The Series features interview footage
with extraordinary role models including Amelia Earhardt, Eleanor Roosevelt
and Marian Anderson.
THE TABLOID TIMES- Using the sensational footage
that Hearst Metrotone was renowned for, this 26 half-hour syndicated series
will present a parade of the shocking, the fascinating, and the hilarious
news events of the day that have proven to be compelling viewing while
characteristic of the American experience and personality.
PRELUDE TO WAR- A major documentary undertaking,
this vast series will explore the economic, political and cultural factors
which shaped the decade of the 1930’s. Included will be vast amounts
of never-before-seen footage.
The program initiative has commenced development on all
programming strands, as well as material for home video release in multiple
formats and interactive CD-ROMS and expects to have the first episodes
available for the broadcast and cable community in 2001. The Archive has
previously produced a number of successful CD-ROM
titles utilizing the Hearst material.
In commenting on the new initiative, Kittleson noted:
"This partnership will use material from this unique
resource to produce first-rate historic and entertaining programming.
The revenue from these efforts will be used for preservation of the Hearst
Collection, much of which is on fragile 35mm nitrate stock."
Leavitt stated:
"It is indeed a privilege for Tulip Media to be involved
with the UCLA Film and Television Archive and to be charged with the responsibility
of bringing these unique images of our film heritage to the audiences
of the world. The program strands we are developing are designed to attract
a wide variety of end-users and to result in entertaining applications
on many platforms. Ultimately, it is our goal to make the Archive name
one which immediately calls to mind high quality, entertaining programming
with strong historical roots."
The UCLA Film and Television Archive is the largest university-based
collection of motion pictures and television programs in the world. Its
holdings comprise more than 200,000 feature length, short subject and
animated films, television shows, news programs and the entire 27 million
foot collection of Hearst Metrotone Newsreels. The Archive is internationally
acclaimed for its painstaking work in film preservation, and has led the
archival field in such areas as color, tinting and sound restoration.
It is equally known for its commitment to making the collection accessible
to the public through its services to students and scholars, and its ambitious
year-round screenings of the best in American and international cinema.
Tulip Media Ltd., the Los Angeles based film and television
packaging boutique was founded by Todd P. Leavitt in 1998. Mr. Leavitt
was previously a senior entertainment industry executive and served in
such positions as Executive Vice-President of NBC Studios and Chairman
of Alliance Television.
Tulip has most recently been responsible for the financing
of the major Lifetime Television event presentation THE COURAGE TO
LOVE, a two-hour telefilm starring Vannessa L. Williams, and has had
packaging involvement in the Nickolodeon telefilm VIRTUAL MOM
and the VH-1 original film presentation THE TWO OF US. Among the
multi-national clients of Tulip Media are NewStar Television, Gullane
Pictures, Catalyst Entertainment, Inc., The Britt Allcroft Group, Zenith
Productions, Winchester Entertainment, and enteraction tv (formerly The
Mirror Group).
-- END --
CONTACT:
Claudette Duffy
Tulip Media Ltd.
(310) 475-3506
tulipmedia@prodigy.net
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