15th October, London, UK: UK-based film and TV financier and production company Goldfinch has announced a first look deal with podcast creators Stakhanov.
With an initial focus on documentaries and feature films, the first look deal gives Goldfinch the opportunity to develop and produce TV series and feature-length films adapted from a range of Stakhanov’s multiple podcast titles. The deal, in turn, gives Stakhanov first look to create podcasts from Goldfinch’s productions including companion pieces to run alongside productions and long-form content adapted from their documentaries and features. The collaboration also allows both Companies to jointly option and develop Intellectual Property.
The first piece of IP Goldfinch and Stakhanov have optioned is the written article about 5DIMES by David Hill, taken from award-winning New York publication Victory Journal. The deal has been secured by William Ralston, Literary Partner at Goldfinch’s new creative hub, The Koop. 5DIMES tells the thrilling tale of the rise and sudden disappearance of William Sean Creighton aka Tony 5Dimes, whose online sportsbook established him as one of Costa Rica’s most wealthy, and therefore targeted, inhabitants. Creighton’s body has been rumoured to have been found on three different occasions. But did he fake his own kidnap and death to evade the American authorities?
Goldfinch COO Phil McKenzie said “Our partnership with Stakanhov represents a continuation in Goldfinch’s strategy to find, develop and create IP with cross-media potential. Podcasts have long been an area we have enjoyed as an audience and have been looking at as both a potential distribution outlet and source of content for the group. For this to become a reality we wanted to find an industry-leading partner with a complementary skillset to us. From the very first conversation, we knew that Jon & Luke embodied this, but also a shared vision and attitude to make it happen.”
Jon Teague, CEO of Stakhanov said: “This is a really exciting partnership and marks a shift in direction for Stakhanov as well as the podcasting industry. Partnering with such a credible company as Goldfinch will enable us to showcase our range of podcast series more widely & adapt the content for viewing format purposes. Following the recent deal with Jaack Maate’s Happy Hour & Spotify, this is another example of Stakhanov’s innovative approach within podcasting, and we are excited to start working closely with Phil McKenzie and his outstanding team.”
Goldfinch, who recently announced an internal restructure of its documentary division, have also recently launched creative hub, The Koop, a talent management agency aimed at cross-pollinating artists between the creative worlds.