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NASA teams up with 20th Century Fox to encourage girls to get into Stem subjects
Executing its part to encourage girls to get into subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathametics (STEM), NASA has launched an educational virtual tour for students that show the careers of seven women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths.
NASA’s Modern Figures tour, created in partnership with the 20th Century Fox film Hidden Figures, is the space agency’s first themed career guide.
Available on Google’s free expeditions app and viewed using Google Cardboard, the tour includes a 3D-virtual look at a 100,000-square-foot aircraft hangar, simulated Martian landscape, a space flight operations facility among many others.
The women from the tour work as material scientists, launch directors and software engineers.
The release of the tour follows a 2016 Space Act Agreement between NASA and Google to improve education and public engagement. More such tours are expected follow that would include a 3D one of the International Space Station and one of NASA’s Juno Mission to Jupiter.
This isn’t NASA’s first attempt to reach girls through play. Just last week, Lego announced a partnership with the space agency to release a Women of NASA set.
Madame Tussauds New York and London open a new viewing experience of Kong: Skull Island
Madame Tussauds New York and Madame Tussauds London, in partnership with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, have opened Kong: Skull Island, a new experience based on the upcoming film.
The Kong: Skull Island experience is now open to the public in the wax museums at New York and London. Moreover, the experience will remain as a permanent addition in the New York wax museum.
The new attraction will see visitors entirely immersed in the jungle of Skull Island, where they’ll have to journey through bamboo, foliage and vines before encountering the first wax likeness from the film, Tom Hiddleston as his character Captain James Conrad. Visitors will also come face-to-face with an 18-foot animatronic Kong head.
“Madame Tussauds is famous for providing the most authentic, thrilling and fun experiences for our guests. So, we are excited to launch our largest ever animatronic today as part of Kong: Skull Island,” said Anna Domingo, general manager, Madame Tussauds New York.
“We worked closely with Legendary Pictures to ensure our animatronic head is made to the exact film-scale, so visitors really will come face-to-face and feel the power and scale of the Kong depicted on the big screen,” he added
Kong: Skull Island will release in theatres all over the world this Friday.
Halo taps Buckle-Down to develop Halo-themed products
Halo Consumer Products, the licensing arm for the Halo video game series is expanding the franchise across apparel, accessories, home wares and more. Hit video game franchise, Halo is regularly on the move to expand its efforts in the licensing industry with a new set of partners.
The push focuses on the US and Canadian markets with select lines hitting the UK and Ireland.
Leading the charge, Halo has tapped Buckle-Down to develop a line of Halo-themed belts, suspenders, pet collars and leashes, guitar straps, mobile cases and ID cases.
Elsewhere, Forbidden Planet is launching a line of apparel, tote bags, travel passes, mugs, coasters, aprons and more for the UK and Ireland.
Hybrid Apparel will develop a boys’ apparel collection for the US and Canada, while Just Funky has been called on for beverages, dishware, tableware, décor and more.
Underboss will develop women’s underwear, sleepwear, robes and leggings for both men and for the US market while Union Kids will launch boys’ apparel in Mexico.
John Friend, head of Halo Consumer Products, said: “We’re proud and excited to continue to expand our consumer products offerings to provide more great toys, collectables and gear for boys and Halo fans around the world.”
WB and Turner come together to launch SVOD service in the US this spring
Time Warner-owned Turner and Warner Bros. have come together to launch a new standalone Boomerang premium Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) service that will launch in the US this spring.
Spanning more than 5,000 titles, the service will include the entire Hanna-Barbera, Loony Tunes and MGM animation content libraries. Also streaming would be classic franchises like Scooby-Doo, Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny and The Jetsons, the US$5-monthly Boomerang service will provide access to brand-new original series too.
“There’s a high volume of episodes. We’ll launch with 1,000, and roll out over time with more and more content,” says Christina Miller, president of Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Adult Swim.
The ad-free toons on the service, available initially on Boomerang.com, iOS and Android devices, are designed to appeal to all ages of consumers.
As for original content, the first series to launch on the Boomerang SVOD will be Warner Bros. Animation’s Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, which follows Dorothy on her adventures as a feisty princess protagonist in Oz. That will be followed by Wacky Racers, a reboot of the classic Hanna-Barbera slapstick comedy series.
For now, there are no plans to add any Cartoon Network or Adult Swim content to the SVOD, and Boomerang will still continue to run as a linear 24/7 channel.
The SVOD will also offer family profiles, personalised recommendations, download-to-go content and Spanish audio and interactive features. It is developed by DramaFever, a Warner Bros. Digital Networks company.
Following the spring launch, it will expand to other platforms including Amazon, Roku and Apple TV as well.
CPLG in strategic alliance with Tycoon Group
DHX Media-owned CPLG (Copyright Promotions Licensing Group) has got into a strategic alliance with Latin America’s largest licensing network Tycoon Group.
The partnership is expected to strengthen both companies’ regional licensing activities. It will also maximize key brand opportunities across a combined network of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), North America and Latin America by offering one-stop-shop solutions to brand owners and retailers in content, brand development, retail management, sourcing, branded promotions and live events.
With more than 40 years of licensing experience working with popular brands like Teletubbies, Sesame Street and Felix the Cat, CPLG has been busy over the last few years expanding from its core European base into North America, the Nordics, Central and Eastern Europe, Greece, Turkey and MENA.
It currently has offices in the UK, Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Poland, the Middle East, Greece, Turkey and the US.
Mondo TV in for a global licensing and merchandising deal with Panini for 3D-animated series
Mondo TV Suisse’s new 3D-animated series YooHoo & Friends is going in for a global licensing and merchandising deal with Panini.
Under the agreement, Panini will produce branded stickers, trading cards and photocards and will launch at retail stores in early 2018.
Launching this year, YooHoo & Friends is based on the Aurora World line of plush toys, 80 million of which have been sold since its global debut in 2007.
The series follows five friends who help endangered animals, and is co-produced by Mondo TV Suisse and Aurora World Corporation. Previous seasons of YooHoo & Friends featured 2D animation.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and Lego Group launch Lego Worlds
Following in the popular open-world game franchise Minecraft, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and The Lego Group have officially launched their own explorative title Lego Worlds.
Currently available for Sony PlayStation4, Microsoft’s Xbox One and online entertainment platform Steam, Lego Worlds lets players embark on a creative adventure to become a Master Builder.
The game lets users imagine, build, paint and shape a variety of fantastical environments, while also interacting with and helping other Lego characters along the way.
Other features include online multiplayer functionality and assorted of vehicles and creatures, which range from gingerbread men riding elephants, to cave women scaring polar bears.
In addition, PlayStation 4 will offer an exclusive Lego Agents pack featuring new characters, vehicles and weapons for a limited time.
Lego Worlds will also be available on Nintendo’s newly launched portable console hybrid Switch later this year.
Lego has also seen continued success on the software front with its toys-to-life Dimensions brand, which was the only property to deliver year-on-year growth in the US computer and video games industry’s accessories category in 2016, according to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and market researcher, the NPD Group.
Bruce Lee Enterprises signs exclusive representation agreement with Beanstalk
Bruce Lee Enterprises has signed an exclusive representation agreement for advertising licensing with Beanstalk.
The new partnership will aim to extend the personality rights of the world famous martial artist for use in advertising, long-term brand associations and select product opportunities.
Lee created a new martial art called Jeet Kune Do that incorporated mind, body and spirit while as an actor, his stardom redefined the perception of Asian Americans.
Today, Lee’s legacy of self-expression, equality and pioneering innovation continues to inspire people around the world.
Martin Cribbs, VP, brand management of Beanstalk’s Icon Representation service said,“We feel privileged to work with the Bruce Lee family, who takes great care to preserve and share his philosophical teachings and entertainment legacy.”
Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter and CEO of Bruce Lee Enterprises, added, “We look forward to working with Beanstalk to spread my father’s message of mastery, hope and action across the world.
“Martin and the team at Beanstalk really understand and respect what we are trying to do, and we are excited to have their help and expertise in spreading the Bruce Lee love,” she added.
Spielberg teams up with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep for The Post
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg will be joining hands with actors Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep for The Post, a film that will center on the Washington Posts publication of the 1971 Pentagon Papers.
While Spielberg will direct the film, Hanks and Streep will also star in it, it is reported. Hanks would play Bradlee while Streep will be seen as Graham.
The Pentagon Papers made headlines prior to the article’s publication when the newspaper’s editor Ben Bradlee and publisher Kay Graham challenged the federal government over their right to publish them..