Studio Approach To Licensees Puts Quality Before Quantity - motion picture merchandising

DSN Retailing Today, June 4, 2001 by Doug Desjardins

"'Star Trek' remains as strong as ever for us, especially now that we have a new TV show coming out this fall and a new 'Star Trek' movie scheduled for 2002" said Pamela Newton, vp of licensing and marketing for Viacom Consumer Products. Viacom is also rolling out a new line of bowling-related merchandise that ties in with "Ed," its TV show about a big city lawyer who moves to a small town and operates his practice out of a bowling alley.

Artisan Entertainment has put together a quirky licensing package for "Reservoir Dogs," the 1992 cult classic that made director Quentin Tarantino a star. Artisan Consumer Products has more than a dozen licensed products ready to hit stores this summer, including T-shirts, hats and a line of "Reservoir Dogs" action figures from Mezco Toyz.

"There's been a lot of bootleg stuff out there for years, but this is the first time any officially licensed merchandise has been released," said Ferrell McDonald, vp of consumer products for Artisan. "The actors and other people connected with the movie are happy because they're finally going to get their share."

With the coming of a massive media blitz for its animated film "Shrek," DreamWorks SKG is already at work on its next animated feature "Spirit," which will feature the adventures of a magical horse. Brad Globe, head of DreamWorks Consumer Products, said the film is scheduled for release around Memorial Day 2002 and will have a broad family appeal slightly skewed to young girls.

"We're already working on the Spirit collection, which includes collectible toy properties for girls," said Globe. "We're hoping to do for horses what 'Jurassic Park' did for dinosaurs from a merchandising point of view."