Wattpad and Collective Pictures Announce Float, a New Film Based on Kate Marchant’s Hit Wattpad Story
The project brings together two of the entertainment industry’s most successful innovators in fan engagement and data-backed entertainment.
Code 8 and Upload star Robbie Amell will produce and star in the project.
TORONTO - September 22, 2020 - Wattpad, the global multi-platform entertainment company for original stories, and Collective Pictures (formerly Colony Pictures), the team behind Netflix sci-fi hit Code 8, today announced Float, a new film based on Kate Marchant’s hit Wattpad story of the same name. Collective Pictures’ Robbie Amell--star of the hit Amazon Prime comedy, Upload, and #1 Netflix releases Code 8, Desperados and The Babysitter: Killer Queen--will produce and star in the project.
Kate Marchant’s Float is a massive hit on Wattpad, where the story has accumulated more than 25.5 million reads from fans all over the world, and is one of the top Teen Fiction stories on the platform.
About Float: After her parents’ messy divorce, Waverly finds herself yanked from her comfortable life in Alaska to spend the summer in her aunt’s sunny beach town. If this paradigm shift wasn’t jarring enough, Waverly quickly begins to clash with one of her new neighbors and the polar opposite of everything she represents: an arrogant, jaded, beach bum named Blake. Try as she might to avoid him, however, she finds fitting in with her new beachside community just as difficult thanks to the teeny-tiny, embarrassing secret that she can’t swim. That is until her new nemesis, who happens to be the town lifeguard, offers to teach her.
“Kate wrote such an incredibly touching and relatable love story. I hope the fans are as excited as I am to see these characters come to life,” said Collective Pictures’ Robbie Amell, Producer and star of Float.
The project brings together two of the entertainment industry’s leading innovators in fan engagement and data-backed development to produce hit films.
Collective’s Netflix hit Code 8 started with a grass-roots effort to engage with fans around the world. The company’s crowdfunding campaign raised $2.4 million from over 30,000 supporters, creating the second largest original film crowdfunding campaign of all time across all platforms. The project created a viral hit from a promotional short film that generated six million views online and led to donations from over 100 different countries. In total, the campaign had a combined social reach of 30+ million people. On release, Code 8 set the record for the highest grossing day and date release for Vertical Entertainment. After its Netflix release in April 2020, it went on to trend globally on Netflix, wining the #1 streaming spot in the US, UK, France, Finland, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Australia, Netherlands, South Africa, and many other territories.
Wattpad is known around the world for its innovative approach to data-backed entertainment, leveraging its Story DNA Machine Learning technology to find and develop standout stories among the nearly one billion uploads on the platform. The company has more than 50 projects in development around the world, including Deanna Cameron’s What Happened That Night, which is being adapted by Academy Award-nominated Children of Men screenwriter David Arata, and T.L. Bodine’s The Hound, which is being penned by Angela LaManna (Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor). The company’s ability to anticipate trends and uncover incredible stories has led to smash hits like the After series and The Kissing Booth, both of which started on Wattpad. After was one of the top-performing indie films of 2019, opening at #1 in 17 markets before going on to win three Teen Choice Awards and a People’s Choice Award. The sequel, After We Collided, opened at #1 and #2 across most of Europe in early September. The franchise’s third and fourth films have also been greenlit.
“With a global fanbase and millions of reads, Float is an incredible story that audiences everywhere will fall in love with,” said Aron Levitz, Head of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. “Like Wattpad, Robbie and the Collective team understand what it means to truly listen to audiences and leverage fan excitement to make hit entertainment.”
“Audience engagement is the key to everything we do,” said Collective Pictures’ Jeff Chan. “When fans know they’re a part of the story, they want to show up and support it in a big way. We can’t wait to team up with Wattpad to bring this story to the screen.”
Collective Pictures’ Jeff Chan, Robbie Amell and Chris Paré will produce, alongside Wattpad’s Aron Levitz and Jamie D. Greenberg. Wattpad’s Allen Lau will executive produce. Sarah Timmins of Black Birds Entertainment will also executive produce.
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ABOUT WATTPAD
Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. Wattpad’s flagship app is the world’s leading social storytelling platform, home to a community of more than 80 million people who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories. Wattpad’s Story DNA Machine Learning technology allows the company to discover stand-out stories among the nearly one billion uploads that have been written on the platform. Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and Wattpad Books are transforming entertainment and publishing, using data-backed insights to turn Wattpad stories into books, films and TV shows. Wattpad Brand Partnerships help brands build deep engagement with Gen Z consumers. In 2020, Wattpad was recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at company.wattpad.com
ABOUT COLLECTIVE PICTURES
Collective Pictures is based out of Toronto, Canada with a mission to break new ground in the way we engage audiences. Built off the success of Code 8, we work closely with filmmakers to guide projects through a verticalized pipeline. From rights and packaging to post and distribution, our streamlined approach creates a more collaborative setting between business and talent. As a proudly Canadian company, Collective is uniquely positioned to access tax credits and regional incentives, giving storytellers and filmmakers greater options and control over their work. Learn more at collectivepictures.com