MIPCOM, October 15th 2018 – Beach House Pictures developing teen horror Mr. Midnight based on bestselling book series described as the ‘Harry Potter of Asia’.
Beach House Pictures, a Blue Ant Media production company and one of Asia’s largest indies, is internationally renowned for its award-winning factual content but is launching a slate of scripted properties including Mr. Midnight.
Mr. Midnight is a children’s horror fiction book series written by Jim Aitchison under the pseudonym of James Lee. The series is published by Angsana Books, Flame Of The Forest Publishing. There are currently 115 books in the series, including 19 Special Edition titles, with more being written and released around every two to four months. It has been translated into Burmese, Malay, Indonesian, simplified Chinese, and traditional Chinese. Mr. Midnight is often referred to as Asia’s answer to Harry Potter having sold in excess of three million copies.
The first series is currently in development and will feature new stories inspired by the books.
Leading the development team is Beach House Pictures’ Head of Kids, Susan Oliver, and Creative Director for Kids Sean Michael Masterson, who are the team behind other successful Beach House shows including Teddies and Hiccup & Sneeze. Susan said of Mr. Midnight:
“Today’s tweens deserve to experience the spine-tingling chill of true horror delivered in a non-condescending way but with a comedic cushion. The Mr. Midnight books are an exciting property because they give us the opportunity to do just that by creating a world that will have the audience diving behind the couch one minute and laughing out loud the next.”
Beach House Pictures’ Managing Director Jocelyn Little added:
“Mr. Midnight is one of a number of properties that form our original scripted slate, which we are developing as part of a strategic push into fictional content. We are extremely excited to be working with such as renowned property as Mr. Midnight and look forward to developing it into an equally renowned television show.”
Veteran Director Tony Tilse, who helmed HBO Asia Originals horror series Grace and Ash vs. Evil Dead for Starz is also attached and has been instrumental in the development process.
Mr. Midnight is just part of Beach House Pictures’ strategic push into scripted content with a slate of original productions that also includes a reboot of Singaporean super spy Cleopatra Wong, star of three cult 1970s films cited by Quentin Tarantino as “a gigantic inspiration”.
For further enquiries and interview opportunities please contact Sarah Etherden on +1 416 725 1696, email sarah.etherden@blueantmedia.com or visit Beach House Pictures and Blue Ant International at MIPCOM Booth R8.D7.
About Beach House Pictures
Beach House Pictures, a Blue Ant Media production company, is one of Asia’s largest indies. With 600+ hours of international HD, 3D and 4K content in its library, Beach House Pictures specializes in factual and entertainment programming, creating high profile series such as Ed Stafford: First Man Out, Masterchef Singapore, Frontier Borneo, Wild City, Raffles: Remaking an Icon and China from Above. The company’s other divisions include children’s production arm, Beach House Kids, which recently produced Teddies; Beach House Entertainment for reality formats and general entertainment programs like Cesar’s Recruit and Asia’s Next Top Model; Beach House Labs for digital and branded content; Beach House Academy, which offers skills training and education to established and aspiring producers throughout Asia; and Beach House Studios for Virtual Reality, animation and broadcast design. Beach House Pictures is headquartered in Singapore, with offices in Beijing and Taipei.