Industry

Media

Company Type

Film Development & Production

 

Size

$25 million

Investment Type

Equity

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Overview

Extended


OVERVIEW


STANDING OUT FROM

THE CROWD

 

  • Access to Academy, Emmy, Golden Globe, Grammy, Platinum, Pulitzer Prize, Gracie award-winning and/or nominated playwrights, directors, screenwriters, actors, actresses, artists, and musicians

  • Sickmeier is a member of the diversity program known as the Stars Collective, with access to a $100 million film fund provided by Starlight Media, the production company known for producing Crazy Rich Asians , Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Midway

Meraki Films, is a film development and production company seeking $25 million to adapt and produce feature films from plays, musicals, and music albums


Act as the main creative producers forming the stories, content, and teams


Independent studio leveraging the power of major studios through exploitation and distribution


Established intellectual property and/or award-winning or nominated writers and musicians to attract A-list screenwriters, directors, and actors, which in return fuels box office returns


Management team and advisory council comprised of award-winning and highly accomplished producers with experience across screen, stage, and music


Meraki Films has a feature film play adaptation in development from a Gracie award-winning showrunner, playwright, and screenwriter that has all their stories produced and distributed by major studios or streaming platforms


Meraki Films is developing a historical musical drama with music from a Platinum Award-winning musician, plus a Grammy & Emmy Award-nominated composer


The U.S. Media and Entertainment industry is the largest in the world ($660 billion of the $2 trillion global market)


Intellectual property crossing over among screen, stage, and music is at an all-time high with success stories from West Side Story, Hamilton, Straight Outta Compton, Rocketman, Mamma Mia!, Once, Moonlight, Beasts of the Southern Wild, August: Osage County, Once and others. All these properties were source material from plays, musicals, or music albums and adapted into feature films


Increased opportunity as subsidiary film rights can be purchased by other studios


Properties are reproduced and repurposed within other entertainment spaces such as Broadway, music albums, live events, merchandise, and other media


Music publishing rights available for certain properties

 


OPPORTUNITY




SOLUTION/STRATEGY


Meraki Films is uniquely positioned as a conduit among screen, stage, and music with experience with Disney, 20th Century Fox, Universal Studios, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Sony Pictures, Open Road Films, CBS Films, eOne Films, Broadway, Off-Broadway, West End, Warner Music, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, and Island Records


By obtaining established intellectual property from award-winning or nominated writers, artists and musicians with powerful narratives audiences know and love, Meraki Films expects to achieve success and outstanding box office


Meraki Films will partner with the top talent agency in the world, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for packaging talent, co-financing productions, as well as sales & distribution


Meraki is the Greek word used to describe when you leave a piece of yourself: your soul, creativity, or love into your work – this is exactly how Meraki Films will approach each production

 



MANAGEMENT


Tara Sickmeier, CEO

Tony Award-nominated producer, story creator, writer, director, and entrepreneur.


Co-founded HIPZEE, a Brooklyn-born entertainment company specializing in edgy, boundary-pushing storytelling for stage and screen. Produced Josh Groban’s Broadway debut Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812, which was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and most of the 2017 Broadway season. Other credits include the Off-Broadway and West End hit, Heathers: The Musical, which is rated in the top five licensed shows worldwide K – 12th grade. Feature film credits include Above The Shadows,­ available on Hulu and stars Amazon Prime’s #1 TV Series Reacher’s Alan Ritchson, Olivia Thirlby, Emmy Award-winning comedian Jim Gaffigan, Maria Dizzia, Megan Fox, and UFC Champion Tito Ortiz. Produced the 1091 Media released feature film Feral, directed by Andrew Wonder.


Currently on the producing team to the Untitled feature film with Academy Award-nominated writer, Paul Schrader. Co-Producer to Pulitzer Prize winning, Tony Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated writer, Tony Kushner and Brad Pitt’s Academy Award-winning production company Plan B’s upcoming feature film, He Wanted the Moon, starring Brad Pitt. Co-Producer to an Untitled feature film with Academy Award-winning production company, Cross Creek Pictures.


Founded and is content director and producer to the creative, PR and social media agency, Emerald Green Media Inc. Worked on top media and marketing campaigns with budgets up to $75 million for Sony Corporation of America, Sony Pictures, Sony Music, Sony Electronics, Sony PlayStation, Open Road Films, FX, FOX, MTV, CBS Films, FOX Sports Net, CBS Sports, CMT, LogoTV, and Food Network. Served as Chief Business Development Officer to StarMetrics, a SaaS analytics platform that measures talent and content for entertainment. Member of the Stars Collective, a diversity program with access to top executives and talent with a $100 million film fund financed by Starlight Media. On the Advisory Council to the leading data-driven and global media agency Media Storm, owned by Merkle Group Inc. Proud member of The Producers Guild of America.


Academy Award-nominated and Multi-Emmy Award-winning producer.


Heads content for Baobab Studios and has served as executive producer for the immersive studio’s groundbreaking works directed by animation luminary Eric Darnell, including 2017 Emmy Award winner Invasion! featuring Ethan Hawke, 2018 Emmy Award winner Asteroids! featuring Elizabeth Banks and 2019 Emmy Award and Annie Award winning Crow: The Legend, starring John Legend and Oprah Winfrey. Serves as producer of the studio’s VR immersive theater multisensory narrative, Jack, directed by Mathias Chelebourg, the first part of which premiered to great acclaim at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.


Focused on the intersection of technology and media. Masterminded the first-ever adaptation of VR IP (Invasion!) into a traditional feature film. With new technology mediums, IP is usually adapted the opposite way, from Hollywood to new medium, but Roth Kirschenbaum Films (Maleficent, Alice in Wonderland) signed on to partner with Baobab to bring Invasion! to the silver screen. Lead producer of 20th Century Fox’s feature film based on the Academy Award-nominated short, The Dam Keeper, and is on producing teams for projects ranging from The School for Good and Evil at Universal Pictures to Frozen’s writer/director Jennifer Lee’s The Way Between to the international award-winning children’s series Spooksville. Was Vice President of Development and Production for Jane Startz Productions and worked on Horton Hears A Who!, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Robots for Blue Sky Studios.


Advisor in interactive media for the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.


MANAGEMENT


Kane Lee

Producer

Advisory Council

 



MANAGEMENT


Jane Startz

Producer

Advisory Council

 

Multi-Emmy-winning producer.


President of New York-based film and television  production company Jane Startz Productions, Inc., which acquires, develops, and produces high quality intellectual properties for children and family audiences across all media platforms.  Was co-founder and Executive Vice President of Scholastic  Productions, the film and television division of Scholastic Inc. Among credits are the major  theatrical releases: Ella Enchanted, Tuck Everlasting, The Indian In The Cupboard, The Mighty, The  Baby-Sitters’ Club and the upcoming feature films School for Good and Evil, Sneakerella, and The  Tiger’s Apprentice.


Developed and served as Executive Producer on the multi-award-winning animated television series, The Magic School Bus, which became a major franchise and the longest running science series in broadcast history. Served as Executive Producer on the pre-school series adaptation of Anna Dewdney’s popular book series, Llama Llama, and is the creator of the  book series, Amigas. Produced over 100 award-winning television shows adapted from high-profile literary material for children.


Serves as the media consultant to Penguin Random House Books for Young Readers.  Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Writers Guild and the Producers Guild of American, and frequent speaker on the subject of producing media for children and book to film adaptation.  


Accomplished finance and operations executive in the entertainment, performing arts, and commercial production industries with over 15 years of experience.


Corporate leadership roles from CFO to Managing Director in forward-thinking, fast-expanding, privately held companies. CFO at commercial production company Tomorrow, overseeing all FP&A, Human Resources, Business Affairs, and Union/Guild procedures for the company. Collaborated with such brands as Ford, Nissan, Apple, DoorDash, Mirror, Lowe’s, and Maybelline. Led and consulted from inception to final delivery on over 150 individual productions, including national commercials, feature films, streaming series, domestic and foreign commercial theatre productions, music videos, and media and press campaigns.


Previously co-founded HIPZEE, a Brooklyn-born entertainment company specializing in edgy, boundary-pushing storytelling for stage and screen, where he produced Josh Groban’s Broadway debut Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812, which was nominated for twelve Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Other credits include the Off-Broadway and West End hit, Heathers: The Musical. Feature film credits include Above The Shadows, starring Amazon Prime Reacher’s Alan Ritchson, Olivia Thirlby, Jim Gaffigan, Maria Dizzia, Megan Fox, and Tito Ortiz, plus the 1091 Media released feature film Feral, directed by Andrew Wonder. Currently on the producer team of Tony Kushner’s upcoming feature film, He Wanted the Moon, starring Brad Pitt.


Previously at Sundance Productions – led all FP+A, production budgeting, financial reporting, and business affairs. Currently sits on the Board of Crew Me Up, the first industry-tailored mobile platform that connects filmmakers in real-time.


MANAGEMENT


Rob Baunoch III

Producer

Advisory Council

 


  Team has experience with 250 productions combined


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Ken Margolis | Managing Partner Castle Placement, LLC
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