Leaf Deal Sows Pop Culture Seed With FremantleMedia

FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has announced the signing of an exclusive first-look deal with award-winning writer, director and producer, David Leaf.
The deal with Leaf, who is best known for his work on feature documentaries, music-variety, event specials and pop culture retrospectives, grants FME a first look on all television, DVD and ancillary rights worldwide (excluding North America) on his company’s non-fiction production, and is the latest in a string of first-look and development deals FME has clinched with some of the industry’s top talent.
Commenting on the deal, David Ellender, CEO, FremantleMedia Enterprises said: “The pop culture genre is really taking the world by storm and continues to be a key staple in our portfolio. David Leaf is one of the most pre-eminent writer-director-producers of his time in the music world and very much has his finger on the pulse, knowing how to cause quite a stir both on the small screen and the big screen. We’re delighted to be partnering with him on his upcoming projects and we’re certain that his unique story-telling style will prove to be a hit with audiences the world over.”
David Leaf added: “It is a pleasure working with David Ellender and Dan Allen, who share a similar sensibility in regard to the style, content and ambition of the projects we’re developing and I’m thrilled to formalise what has already been a very rewarding creative relationship. And as many of the subjects my projects focus on are the pop heroes I grew up ‘idolizing’, I can’t think of a more perfect home than FremantleMedia.”
Under his newly-formed David Leaf Productions banner, LA-based Leaf will work with FME to focus on bringing the stories of iconic figures and events to the screen. Last year, Leaf co-wrote, directed and produced the acclaimed feature documentary, The U.S. vs. John Lennon, which premiered at the 2006 Venice Film Festival.
Leaf’s credits include writing and directing the Grammy-nominated feature length documentary, Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of SMiLE (Showtime) and being one of the Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning writers on the landmark all-network US telethon, America: A Tribute To Heroes. Leaf was a producer of the Emmy-nominated Billy Joel: In His Own Words (A&E) and also for A&E, co-wrote, produced and directed The Bee Gees: This Is Where I Came In. He wrote and produced You Can’t Do That, a documentary on the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night (Disney), was consulting producer on A&E’s Live By Request and has written U.S. network specials such as The Kennedy Center Honors (CBS), for which he won a WGAW award, Farm Aid (CMT), The Billboard Awards (FOX), The Television Academy Hall Of Fame (NBC), Gilda Radner (ABC) and Elvis: The Tribute (ABC).
(SP)