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Exclusive: Cake has completed the acquisition of assets from rival Jetpack Distribution in a move that doubles the size of its library and reduces the kids TV sales field by one.

The agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, comes after Cake announced a deal to buy a significant number of Jetpack’s assets last month. We understand talks had been ongoing for several weeks prior to that.

Jetpack, a well-respected indie distributor, had had been hit by the tough kids TV marketplace, but its founder, Dominic Gardiner, and Cake Group CEO Ed Galton pointed to their close personal relationship as reasoning behind today’s deal. According to Companies House, Jetpack liquidated on August 21, but a deal for the assets such as Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed had been announced two weeks prior.

Galton told Deadline in an exclusive interview: “We were impressed with how Dom had built the Jetpack brand...

Mid-July doesn’t exactly constitute the dog days of summer, but for parents with kids to keep entertained it’s certainly close enough. Summer break is only half over for most kids across the United States, and that means parents have at least another month of kids with nothing but time on their hands.

To combat the boredom that can crop up during this time of year, parents should check out Sling Freestream. Freestream is, as the name suggests, completely free to all users, whether they subscribe to Sling TV’s live TV service or not. The service offers hundreds of free streaming channels, including some selections that are tailor-made for keeping children entertained.

Watch Now $0 / month sling.com What Are the Top Kids Channels Available on Sling Freestream?

Sling Freestream’s channel count has grown to over 400, and it offers more than 41,000 titles to stream on-demand as well. No...

Spain’s Lightbox, producer of the “Tadeo” franchise and “Capture the Flag,” is teaming with Austria’s Arx Anima (“Talking Tom and Friends”) to create Arxlight.

A joint venture, the partnership aims to produce an animation feature every two-and-a-half years with an around €10 million ($12.1 million) budget.

First fruit of the joint venture, animated feature “Monstrous Mia” marks the sophomore directorial effort of Verena Fels (“Raven the Little Rascal – Hunt for the Lost Treasure”).

Arx Anima has had a longterm Spanish connection with almost half of its workforce at its Vienna studio being of Spanish origin. Gustavo Liévano has been running its business development operation from Spain for many years. “We thought it would be a great idea to partner up and form Arxlight Pictures in order to create the best possible European co-production projects,” Arx Anima CEO Kris Staber told Variety.

“Monstrous Mia” frames the adventures of 12-year -old Mia Minster,...

A “Duke Nukem” movie is in the works with Gearbox Software teaming with “Assassin’s Creed” producer Jean-Julien Baronnet to adapt the video game into a feature film, Variety has learned exclusively.

Gearbox had been working on “Duke Nukem” with Paramount Studios and Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, with John Cena rumored as a possible star earlier this year. Paramount, however, is no longer involved in the project.

Duke Nukem first appeared in the 1991 eponymous video game, developed by Apogee Software, as a muscular cigar-chomping man who always wears Ray-Bans and sports a flat-top haircut as he fights aliens to save planet Earth by using enormous physical strength and his expertise in firearms. He’s appeared in 19 video games as the title character, most recently in “Duke Nukem 3D: World Tour.”

Gearbox’s Sean Haren, the company’s vice president of business development, and Baronnet from Marla Studios have been...

A “Talking Tom and Friends” movie may be heading to the multiplex as developer Outfit7 teams with “Assassin’s Creed” producer Jean-Julien Baronnet to adapt the mobile app into a feature film.

“Talking Tom,” a wisecracking cat that responds to gestures made on smartphone or tablet screens, was first introduced eight years ago. The family friendly game has more than 8 billion downloads and 350 million monthly active users of its games. An animated web series “Talking Tom and Friends” began airing in 2015.

Boris Dolenc, chief product officer for Outfit7, told Variety that the themes of friendship, listening, and tolerance have resonated with gamers.

“As one of the most globally-renowned and fastest-growing entertainment companies in the world, we have envisioned a 360-degree strategy that spans far beyond topping the mobile game charts,” he added. “To date, this includes the internationally-praised CGI-animated ‘Talking Tom and Friends’ series, strategic partnership on licensing with Alibaba...

Exclusive: Stand-up comedian and actress Maria Bamford has signed with ICM Partners.

Bamford is popular among comedy nerds but has also appeared in numerous comedy specials and TV shows. Her most recent comedy special Old Baby is available on Netflix. She Also starred in the original Netflix series Lady Dynamite which was created by Pam Brady and Mitch Hurwitz. The series is based on Bamford’s life and has drawn critical acclaim as well as controversy as it spans from light to dark topics such as suicide and psychiatric conditions.

The multihyphenate is also known for lending her distinct voice to numerous animated series including Talking Tom and Friends, BoJack Horseman, Adventure Time, Legend of Korra, Puss in Boots and the Emmy-winning PBS series Word Girl. She has also appeared in the Netflix reboot of Arrested Development as the meth addict with a heart of gold DeBrie Bardeaux. She is also known for co-creating,...