Kojo, Silverman target Aussie IP for int’l

The international division of South Australia-based Kojo Entertainment has agreed a strategic partnership with the former president of Warner Bros Pictures.

Greg Silverman

Kojo and Greg Silverman’s Stampede Ventures in the US have partnered to develop a slate of feature films and television series for the international market.

The projects will be fully produced in Australia with a focus on Australian IP with Australian writing, creative and directing talent, Kojo and Stampede said.

The companies have already begun work on their combined slate offering and will look to announce several new projects through the partnership in 2020.

Kojo’s post-production studios have worked on 60 feature films and 10 TV series including recent titles Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai and Netflix’s I Am Mother.

Silverman is former president of Warner Bros Pictures and has overseen some of the most popular and profitable movies of all time including the Harry Potter and Lego Movie franchises and the Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Interstellar and Crazy Rich Asians.

The company’s lead investor and co-chairman is Gideon Yu, former chief financial officer of Facebook and YouTube, and co-owner of the San Francisco 49ers.

“Australia is rich with talented storytellers and media artists. We’re privileged to spend time here and build a new content stream alongside them,” said JP Sarni, head of international content and worldwide content acquisitions at Stampede Ventures.

“We see this alliance as a major opportunity for our company, but also our Australian producing partners, creatives and production crews who we have worked with for the past 28 years. Australia has a wealth of highly skilled talent and we are committed to taking our stories, creativity and production skills to markets globally,” added Dale Roberts, group MD, Kojo.