© Available by Variety
Audible has signed an exclusive multi-project development deal with Plan B Entertainment, the production company led by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Klein, for a series of original audio recordings.
As part of the international deal that marks Plan B's entry into the audio entertainment market, the production company will produce Audible's original lineup. It's the latest deal between Amazon-owned Audible and top Hollywood talent to create exclusive audio products.
Plan B's first project for Audible was Summer Love, directed by cinematographer Bradford Young. Currently in active development, A Summer Love Thing is about a woman who leaves her successful singing career behind and returns to her southern hometown to pursue her first love, a blue-collar worker, for a second time. Plan B and Audible describe the project as "logical, lyrical and ethereal like all of Bradford's work" and uses "Southern sounds to evoke a sense of space, place and time".
"We are excited to work with the dynamic Audible team, who are at the forefront of this space and share our commitment to quality storytelling that inspires audience discovery and engagement," Plan B's Peet, Gardner and Kleiner said in a joint statement. .
Audible Studio Head Zola Mashariki commented, “We're excited to work with Plan B as they move into audio. Brad, Dede and Jeremy have dedicated themselves to the art of storytelling and production, and we can't wait to hear the magic they create."
Plan B co-chair Kleiner will discuss the new development deal with Variety editor-in-chief Brent Lang during a fireside chat at the studio's Variety Interview Audible at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, Jan. 22. Variety x Audible Cocktail and Conversation Piece. Actor, director and producer Daniel Dae Kim, who recently signed a deal with Audible, will also attend the event.
Over the past several years, Audible has entered into several development agreements with leading creative partners to differentiate itself in the rapidly growing podcast space. These include President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground, George Clooney and Grant Heslove's Smokehouse, Goop's Gwyneth Paltrow, Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajini's Hillman Grad Productions, Laura Dern and Jamie Lemons' Jaywalker Pictures, and Queen's Flavor Lau. Broadway Video, Kevin. Heartbeat Productions and Springhill were founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter.
Recent audio originals include the best-selling audio series The Sandman, The Sandman; Act II and The Sandman. Neil Gaiman's Act III starring James McAvoy, Kat Dennings and the rest of the cast; Jesse Eisenberg's When You're Done Saving the World is an LGBTQ comedy made for Broadway Video, with a gay cast led by Bowen Young in collaboration with Adam Goldman and Alan Cummings; Moriarty from Treefort Media; Finding Tamika, which investigates the disproportionate media coverage of missing black women and the failure of Leon Nifach. The AIDS Crisis, which examines the history of the AIDS epidemic in America.
Plan B, founded in 2001 by Pitt and his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston, completed the sale of a majority stake in European media conglomerate MediaOne in January, valued at more than $300 million.
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