News

HBO has signed an exclusive deal with independent producer David Kennedy to develop programming for the premium network across all genres.

Kennedy was president of Dan Curtis Prods. from 1997-2006, executive producing such TV movies as Saving Milly for CBS and the Emmy-nominated Our Fathers for Showtime. Following the death last year of his partner Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, War and Remembrance), Kennedy formed his own company, Kennedy Films.

"As a producer, David has a fantastic track record," HBO Films & Miniseries senior vp Kary Antholis said. "His creative instincts and his perseverance in pursuing great material will be important assets to HBO, and we look forward to working closely with him as we continue to develop new programs for the network."

Added Kennedy: "No one uses the art form of television like HBO. They are fearless, they provoke, they educate and they entertain. The opportunity to develop programming exclusively for HBO is a producer's dream come true."

Kennedy also has served as senior vp programming and sales at Taft Entertainment Co.

LONDON -- Transmedia Pictures, a recent arrival on the British independent distribution scene, has picked up all U.K. rights to a trio of pictures, including John Daly's The Aryan Couple, starring Martin Landau. Set up and run by chairman and CEO Simon Caplan, who has a long-established career as a film tax specialist, Transmedia also has acquired the rights to Dan Curtis' Our Fathers from Peace Arch Entertainment and Australian-born writer-director Tania Meneguzzi's The Run from AV Pictures. The Aryan Couple, also acquired from AV Pictures, will be Transmedia Pictures' first theatrical outing in the U.K. Caplan said the company is planning to launch the picture at an Oct. 10 premiere before rolling it out across the U.K. beginning Oct. 13.