Sony Pictures Television has acquired a minority stake in Eleventh Hour Films – the UK indie led by Jill Green, Eve Gutierrez, Paula Cuddy and Nicole Finnan which has been behind such productions as Foyle’s War, New Blood, Vexed and Safe House.
Under their deal, moving forward Sony Pictures Television will serve as the global distributor for Eleventh Hour Film’s slate of new productions. The investment is part of the studio’s drive to partner with established international producers to bring audiences new premium content.
“We are thrilled to be deepening our relationship with the passionate and visionary women of EHF, who are among the sharpest and most motivated producers we’ve met”, said Wayne Garvie, President of International Production for Sony Pictures Television. “We look forward to seeing their strong roster of projects develop further and helping them achieve their future vision for the business.”
Eleventh Hour Films and Sony Pictures Television already had an existing relationship. The studio green-lit, and fully funded, an eight episode adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s best-selling teen spy novel series, Alex Rider, which is being produced by the indie. They are now also working on other projects, including: Rendlesham, an eight-part Anglo/American paranormal drama series; and The Caine Mutiny, an eight-part event serial based on the novel by Herman Wouk that is being adapted by Anthony Horowitz .
“This is an exciting and natural extension of our already strong relationship with Wayne and his team”, said Nicole Finnan, Eleventh Hour Films’ Managing Director. “It will help fulfill EHF’s ambition for our content to have a truly global reach and adds greater strategic muscle worldwide. Jill Green, Chief Executive of EHF, adds: “This is an exciting growth phase, driven out of a dynamic team and great talent relationships.”
