Random House Children's Screen Entertainment to Raise $100 Million

Nikki Finke reports that Random House Children's Books is moving forward to obtain funding for its new media venture, Random House Children's Screen Entertainment (RHCSE), which will produce movies and other projects based on Random House Children's Books.

This March, UK-based Kommixx Entertainment, the film and television production company backed by Swiss venture fund EAM Private Capital, intends to go out into the market for RHCSE in March. It may yet approach an existing film and television financier such as Aramid Capital to help it raise the money. The $100M will be used to develop cartoons and live-action films and television series based on RHCB properties, as well as video games and toys. The deal includes authors like Jacqueline Wilson, whose Tracy Beaker character is already a hit for the BBC, The Golden Compass author Philip Pullman; and Terry Pratchett, whose Discworld novels are enormously popular with UK readers. Children's illustrators on Random House’s books include Quentin Blake, Shirley Hughes and John Burningham.

Random House Children's Screen Entertainment is a full-service production house. It is now looking to raise $100 million in funding to move forward with its programming plans. So long as the capital markets like the idea, it shouldn't be a problem. Why wait around to see if a studio will film one of your books when you can just raise the money and do it yourself?