SOLUTIONS
businesswire | March 31, 2023
Curiosity Inc, a leading global factual media and entertainment company, is announcing its 2023 spring and summer slate of original films, series, and specials coming to its flagship streaming service, Curiosity Stream. High-octane adventures showcase compelling stories from the real cowboys of the American West and an Egyptian queen who crushed a powerful priesthood, to the prehistoric behemoths of the African Savannah and history’s most intriguing – and unsolved – crimes.
Every thriller needs a ticking clock, and there’s none more compelling than the melting of the world’s cryosphere. Premiering April 20th, the Curiosity original series Lift The Ice follows six field-leading experts as they climb, dive, rappel, ice axe, and tunnel their way to the heart of a rapidly-evolving global warming story. This 6-part adventure explores one of the greatest mysteries on Earth today -- what will be revealed when we lift the ice?
The 5-part original natural history series GIANTS takes humanity’s obsession with size into the animal kingdom. Premiering May 18th, wildlife filmmaker Dan O’Neill leads an adventurous team around the globe to find the biggest beasts that walk our planet and unlock their evolutionary secrets like never before. Watch the GIANTS trailer here.
And this summer, Grammy Award-winning musician and bard Dom Flemons takes us on a riveting ride through the history of early America in The Real Wild West. Beyond the gunslingers and lawmen, meet the diverse pioneers -- black and Hispanic cowboys, female homesteaders, immigrants, and tribal leaders -- who shaped a country.
Curiosity Stream’s original films, series, and specials coming soon:
Lift The Ice
We’ve long suspected that the frozen parts of our planet are hiding life-changing scientific discoveries, historical mysteries, rare viruses, and possibly even the key to the search for alien life. Follow a team of fearless scientists and explorers on a journey to the end of the Earth, as they make ground-breaking discoveries and solve scientific puzzles that could radically reshape the future of humanity. A 6-part series produced by Beach House Productions and Curiosity Studios.
GIANTS
GIANTS combines the latest science and cutting-edge CGI to connect the dots among the behemoths that roam our natural world, both past and present, and to explore how to protect their habitats for the future. Filmmaker Dan O’Neill leads a team of field biologists, bioengineers, and animal behaviorists to explore how these formidable creatures managed to achieve such massive proportions and what processes drive such extremes of nature. A 5-part series produced by Off the Fence and Curiosity Studios.
Queens Of Ancient Egypt
Cleopatra is the most famous of all the ancient queens, but history is revealing extraordinary new details about the other matriarchs who presided over the birth of ancient Egypt. These are the incredible, untold stories of Egypt’s female monarchs, many of whose names and stories are all but forgotten… until now. Drawing on fascinating new discoveries and cutting-edge research, explore how these women became standard bearers for their sex long before the modern era. A 3-part series produced by Tile Films and Curiosity Studios.
Unearthed: Ancient Murder Mysteries
Homicide detective Rod Demery and famed scientist Professor Turi King team up to investigate history’s most intriguing murders using modern investigation techniques. Demery visits crime scenes and interviews archaeologist witnesses, while King, best known for leading the DNA verification of Richard III of England, examines the latest forensic evidence. Unearthing a list of suspects for each murder, Demery and King use their extensive experience to predict the killer’s identity. A 6-part series produced by Off the Fence and Curiosity Studios.
The Real Wild West
The famed wild west – where outlaws rampage and lawmen become legends – is a great story. Cowboys and native Americans are eternal archetypes, but the real history of the American West is filled with rich tales of diverse pioneers, unprecedented opportunity, ambition, fortune, and technological marvels that change the country and the world. This is the definitive story of the American West. A 4-part series produced by Roller Coaster Road Productions and Curiosity Studios.
Zombie Fungus Attack
The next breath you take is loaded with fungi spores. While most are not harmful, it’s time for viruses to step aside and give fungal infections the attention they require. Dive into the world of dangerous fungi that are a threat to humans and get an in depth look at the war between ants and fungi. Produced by Curiosity Studios.
Normandy: Land of Warriors
From the Viking invasions to William the Conqueror to the great sieges of Richard the Lionheart, the history of Normandy is an incredible military epic spanning more than 300 years. Take a deep dive into the great armed conflicts that made the Normans one of the world’s most powerful dynasties. A 3-part series produced by ZED Studios and Curiosity Studios.
History: The Interesting Bits
Factual really can be funny! Take an irreverent look at some of history’s biggest happenings through some of its fruitiest facts. History: The Interesting Bits rambles across centuries, making connections, checking out the weird people and strange events – and most importantly -- editing out the boring stuff -- to explore the mad, epic, salacious, and frankly unbelievable parts of our past that don’t always make it into the history books. An 8-part series produced by Impossible Factual and Curiosity Studios.
Nature’s Hidden Miracles
Humans may think they are the smartest, most evolved lifeforms on the planet. But science says… not so. Explore the natural world through the latest cutting-edge science as it leads us deeper into the workings of evolution, going far beyond what we thought we knew. From the lush greenery that covers our planet to the microorganisms invisible to the naked eye, be prepared to experience our world in a brand-new light. A 3-part series produced by NHK and Curiosity Studios.
Breakthrough: Jupiter’s Moons and the Search for Life
We’ve known about them for centuries and have been photographing them for decades, but now a new pair of missions will be launching to bring us closer than ever to Jupiter’s icy moons: Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede. Will the missions finally find the answer to astronomy’s biggest question… do the conditions for life exist beyond Earth? Produced by Curiosity Studios.
About Curiosity
Curiosity Inc is the entertainment brand for people who want to know more. The global media company is home to award-winning original and curated factual films, shows, and series covering science, nature, history, technology, society, and lifestyle. With approximately 23 million paying subscribers worldwide and thousands of titles, the company operates the flagship Curiosity Stream SVOD service, available in more than 175 countries; Curiosity Channel, the linear television channel available via global distribution partners; Curiosity Now, a free, ad-supported channel; Curiosity Audio Network, featuring original content and podcasts; and Curiosity Studios, which oversees original programming. Curiosity Inc. also owns and operates One Day University, which provides access to engaging talks and lectures from leading university and college professors. Curiosity Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CuriosityStream Inc. (Nasdaq: CURI).
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TECHNOLOGIES
WildBrain | April 03, 2023
WildBrain Ltd., a global leader in kids' and family entertainment, has signed an agreement to acquire House of Cool, one of the top pre-production companies in the global animation industry. A strategic extension of WildBrain's focus on creative excellence, the acquisition significantly expands and enhances the Company's pre-production capabilities for premium animated series, specials and features.
Under the agreement, WildBrain will acquire full ownership of House of Cool. Closing consideration for the acquisition will consist of $15.5 million, with $10.25 million through the issuance of 4,479,406 WildBrain shares (the "Share Consideration") and $5.25 million in cash (less any debt existing on closing and subject to customary working capital adjustments and holdbacks). Additionally, there is an earn-out of up to $6 million based on collection of tax credits earned up to closing.
Toronto-based House of Cool is a highly regarded industry leader in pre-production, an essential early planning stage in the life of a feature or series during which the story is developed and creative choices are made to establish the look, feel, style and pacing of a project, creating the blueprint for the launch of full production. Bringing their deep experience and creative expertise, House of Cool executives and co-founders, Wes Lui and Ricardo Curtis, will be joining the WildBrain Studios senior management team in the newly created roles of Co-General Managers of House of Cool, reporting to Josh Scherba, President of WildBrain, who heads up the Company's content and studio business.
Josh Scherba stated: "This acquisition is an investment in creative excellence. House of Cool is recognized as one of the very best pre-production companies in the global animation industry. We're delighted to welcome Wes, Ricardo and their team on board at WildBrain, a combination of talent that will immediately broaden and deepen our collective creative strengths. Their expertise is highly complementary to our existing business, expanding and enhancing our pre-production capabilities, not only for WildBrain's proprietary content but also for third-party projects. The acquisition also establishes a new entry point for IP owners to engage with WildBrain's 360-degree offering across production, distribution and consumer products licensing."
Wes Lui said: "House of Cool's mission is simple: bring audiences together through the artful telling of unique stories. WildBrain shares our enthusiasm for storytelling, and from the moment they first approached us, we were ecstatic about combining forces and leveraging their 360-degree approach and our expertise in story and preproduction to develop, produce and distribute premium content. We will also further be able to offer more top-level creative services for all our clients."
Ricardo Curtis added: "As a fiercely independent operator for the last two decades, it would require something special for House of Cool to join another studio. WildBrain is that special. WildBrain has industry-leading expertise in production, distribution and licensing, and its reach on multiple platforms greatly expands our ability and scope to connect with audiences. Mixed with their deep catalogue of properties—many I grew up with—hitching House of Cool's wagon to WildBrain allows us to collaborate in previously unavailable ways on the premium content we are known for."
Collaborating closely with WildBrain's award-winning animation studio in Vancouver, House of Cool will maintain operations at its Toronto facility, where their team of pre-production experts will be joining the Company. Adding House of Cool more than doubles WildBrain's pre-production capacity, building on its existing pre-production team of approximately 80 based in Vancouver. The House of Cool brand, which is widely recognized and respected in the animation industry, will be maintained as a distinct identity under the WildBrain banner.
Founded in 2004, House of Cool has worked with top studios, platforms and IP owners across the industry on some of today's most recognizable animated features and series for kids and families as well as other demographics. They have worked on over 20 theatrical films, which have grossed over US $6.23 billion of box office receipts, providing a variety of pre-production services, including storyboarding; conceptual and visual development; character, environment and prop design; and the creation of animatic test videos. Notable past feature projects include Despicable Me for Illumination; The Angry Birds franchise for Rovio and Sony Pictures Animation; and The Peanuts Movie, Ferdinand, and the Ice Age and Rio franchises for 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios. Notable series include What if…? for Marvel Studios; Gravity Falls for Disney; Maya and the Three, The Magician's Elephant, Trollhunters, and Dragons: Race to the Edge for Dreamworks and Netflix; and Pretzel and the Puppies for HarperCollins Productions and Apple TV+.
About WildBrain
At WildBrain we inspire imaginations to run wild, engaging kids and families everywhere with great content and beloved brands. With approximately 13,000 half-hours of filmed entertainment in our library—one of the world's most extensive—we are home to such treasured franchises as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Inspector Gadget and Degrassi. Our integrated, in-house capabilities spanning production, distribution and licensing set us apart as a unique independent player in the industry, managing IP across its entire lifecycle, from concept to content to consumer products.
At our state-of-the-art animation studio in Vancouver, we produce award-winning, fan-favourite series, such as The Snoopy Show; Snoopy in Space; Sonic Prime; Chip and Potato; Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City; Carmen Sandiego; Go, Dog. Go! and many more. Enjoyed in more than 150 countries and on over 500 streaming platforms and telecasters, our content is everywhere kids and families view entertainment. WildBrain Spark, our AVOD network, has garnered over one trillion minutes of watch time on YouTube, offering one of the largest selections of kids' content on that platform. Our leading consumer-products and location-based entertainment agency, WildBrain CPLG, represents our owned and partner properties in every major territory worldwide. Our television group owns and operates some of Canada's most-viewed family entertainment channels.
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TECHNOLOGIES
Casio America, Inc | March 13, 2023
Casio America, Inc. has recently announced a new collection of four watched as an inspiration from the digital-age culture of the Gamer’s RGB collection. With colorful designs and a cyber-tech touch, DW6900RGB-1, GA100RGB-1A, GA2100RGB-1A, and GA700RGB-1A complete the G-SHOCK collection.
The bezels and bands of each watch have a glossy black finish with two different face displays, another inspiration from gaming devices. The DW6900RGB-1 and GA100RGB-1A watches have a unique rainbow vapor display on the dial face for a cyber-inspired coloration. It resembles the illumination of gaming on a PC. The GA2100RGB-1A and GA700RGB-1A have a subtler look, along with multicolored highlights. These highlights have bases of matte black color, including fluorescent yellow, blue, and red accents. It gives the watch’s intricate design a gaming-device vibe.
The Gamer’s RGB collection maintains the aesthetics of the gaming industry in the watches, which makes them the perfect wrist accessory at home, in local arcades, or while hanging out or gaming with friends. Its unique design complements the gaming device for real life or on-screen adventure in the virtual world. It prevents internal components of the watch from direct shock through urethane protection and suspended timekeeping modules inside the watch structure.
The silent features of these watches with G-SHOCK technology and innovation are:
• 1/100s Stopwatch (24 hr.)
• 200M Water Resistance
• Countdown Timer
• Date/month display swapping
• Full auto Calendar
• Multi-function alarms
• Shock Resistance
About Casio America, Inc.
Headquartered in Dover, New Jersey, Casio America, Inc., a computer and electronics manufacturing company, specializes in calculators, electronic keyboards, digital pianos, G-SHOCK, and watch manufacturing. It is the subsidiary company of Casio Computer Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, established in 1957. Its products are G-SHOCK, Baby-G, Edifice and Pro Trek timepieces; Casiotone, Celviano and Privia electronic keyboards and graphic, fraction & scientific pianos, basic and printing calculators, and electronic products. It markets calculators, keyboards, mobile presentation devices, watches, cash registers and disc title and label printers. It strives for creativity and contributions to the industry through innovation and imagination. It offers original and useable products for society.
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