Starlight partners on girls fantasy property

February 15, 2011 by Kate Calder

New York-based transmedia production company Starlight Runner Entertainment is teaming with L.A. and London, UK-based startup Witchfactory Productions to create a new transmedia franchise called Adore.

The deal marks Starlight Runner’s move into the development and production of original and independent intellectual properties.

Adore is an urban fantasy story involving fairies and their enchanted friends who live in the shadows of the technologically advanced human species. The fictional universe is based on the artwork of Jasmine Becket-Griffith, which has generated more than US$12 million in gross revenue from merchandising lines in the US and Canada, including licensed merchandise available at trend retailer Hot Topic and collectibles sold through the Bradford Group and at fantasy conventions such as Comic Con.

“Young girls between the ages of five and nine will be hypnotized by the images,” says Starlight Runner president and CEO Jeff Gomez, noting the roundness to their shapes, the elaborate wings and Halloween feel that the characters embody. He adds that he was drawn to working on a property that was not only girl-skewing, but was also slightly incomplete in terms of its mythology and ripe for creative imagining.

Gomez and Starlight Runner’s other principal Mark Pensavalle have set to work on generating a sophisticated mythology for Adore that is primed for a multi-platform rollout. Gomez says Starlight plans to build upon the edgy and gothic appeal of the characters through publishing and social media in order to cultivate a following before launching animation. He says future installments of the franchise will also eventually include TV, film, video games, mobile, merchandising and live events. Still in the early stages of development, Starlight Runner and Witchfactory have started production and are currently raising financing for the project.

Tags: Adore, Jeff Gomez, Starlight Runner, transmedia, Witchfactory