Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and Screen Queensland Reunite for Development Partnership
Three titles from WEBTOON and Wattpad have been selected for adaptation pitches from Australian creatives
TORONTO AND QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA- January 10, 2024 - Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven global entertainment and publishing arm for WEBTOON and Wattpad, has again partnered with Australian state screen agency Screen Queensland for a screenplay adaptation initiative.
A continuation of the Australia-first partnership established in 2020, the Wattpad WEBTOON Studios Adaptations initiative will support three successful Queensland-based screenwriters or teams to develop film and series projects based on popular titles from the Wattpad and WEBTOON digital platforms. Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and Screen Queensland will provide valuable consultation to the participants to create their pitch, treatment and draft scripts, with a view to potentially securing production partners and marketplace backing to commence production in Queensland.
The chosen titles are the WEBTOON supernatural webcomic “School Bus Graveyard” by Red (75 million views), the horror Wattpad webnovel “Apartment 239" by Elford Alley (423K reads) and Wattpad feel-good comedy “All Good Things” by Renee Racine Kinnear (90K reads).
Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and Screen Queensland are now accepting creative adaptation pitches from Queensland-based screenwriters and teams. Applicants are encouraged to submit fresh, original ideas that will best interpret these stories and demonstrate compelling visions for the screen.
“As an international studio, we couldn’t be happier to work with Screen Queensland again on this development initiative that celebrates and uplifts creators around the world,” said Aron Levitz, President of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. ‘School Bus Graveyard,’ ‘Apartment 239,’ and ‘All Good Things’ each bring incredible storytelling and rich narratives that will be perfect for screen adaptations, so we can’t wait to see the concepts for them from Australia’s incredible creative talent.”
Dr Belinda Burns, Chief Creative Officer at Screen Queensland, said the Wattpad WEBTOON Studios Adaptations initiative brings the enormous benefits of the data-driven, world-wide platform to local Queensland creatives.
“This unique initiative offers Queenslanders a significant career boost, granting access to carefully-selected stories with well-established global audiences,” she said. “Our continued collaboration with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios will give Queensland screenwriters and producers a prestigious international connection, opening doors to market.”
The two titles from the inaugural 2020 partnership have both progressed into their next phase of development. The Wattpad webnovel “The Bro Code” (21M reads) by Elizabeth A. Seibert is being adapted by Queensland writer Dominic Morris into a feature film. Queensland writer Siobhan Domingo and producer Elizabeth Simard are developing a TV series for the Wattpad webnovel “How To Lose Weight and Survive The Apocalypse” (316K reads) by Kate J. Squires.
Wattpad WEBTOON Studios currently has more than 100 projects in development or production around the world, including some of the most unique and exciting genre fare in romance, fantasy and horror. Select upcoming projects include “Love Advice from the Great Duke of a Hell'' with Imagine Entertainment; “HAWK” with MCU screenwriter Christopher Yost based on the popular sci-fi Wattpad webnovel; A. Rasen’s nightmare-filled WEBTOON hit “Gremoryland'' with Roy Lee’s Vertigo Entertainment; Deanna Cameron’s webnovel thriller “What Happened That Night,” adapted by Academy Award-nominated “Children of Men'' screenwriter David Arata; and T.L. Bodine’s supernatural thriller “The Hound,” adapted by screenwriter Angela LaManna (Max's "Raised by Wolves", Netflix's “The Haunting of Bly Manor”). Wattpad WEBTOON Studios is also developing the animated series adaptation of Rachel Smythe’s 1.5 billion-viewed WEBTOON sensation “Lore Olympus."
Applications close March 22, 2024. For more information and to apply, visit screenqueensland.com.au.
TITLE SYNOPSES
“School Bus Graveyard” by Red
Ashlyn is an introverted loner until her class takes an overnight field trip to a haunted house. While on the tour she sees something strange and thinks it's just a hallucination until the others confirm they have seen it, too.That night, the skies turn red, everyone else vanishes, and the phantom attacks them. Now every night at midnight they wake up in an alternate dimension where they are the only humans present to fend off the phantoms that want nothing more than to kill them. They decide to build a safehouse in a junkyard filled with abandoned school buses until they can safely journey back home and break the curse.
“Apartment 239” by Elford Alley
When Abe Barrett’s family died, he started seeing ghosts. Soon he was living with three of them, and it turns out ghosts are just as eccentric as people. Abe is bothered by the ghosts constantly since he doesn’t want to solve their murders, avenge them or do much of anything. He just wants to do his job and relax. His dreams, however, have been getting darker as people in town start to disappear. Soon Abe realizes there is something hunting him, and that same threat was involved with his family’s deaths. A legacy of darkness is chasing Abe Barrett, and his supernatural roommates may not be enough to save him.
“All Good Things” by Renee Racine Kinnear
Alice’s life isn’t going to plan.She’s tied to her phone, pointlessly managing PR for a sinking corporate megalith. She’s become a bit player in her kids’ lives, and her marriage is coasting on fumes. Forcing herself into action with a rash resignation, Alice sets out to make a positive impact on the world around her. But how? Meditation leads to napping and her attempts to get closer to her teenage daughter result in the discovery of a secret that might have been best left in the closet! As the months tick by and a sense of purpose continues to elude her, Alice finds herself forming bonds with the most unlikely characters: the young woman who panhandles outside her old office; the homeless boy who sits cross-legged outside the liquor store with his ginger cat; her own dog walker who, it turns out, knows a thing or two about developing a good crema. Testing the limits of marriage, motherhood and the Toronto subway system--can Alice find her way into a purpose-driven life? Or will it all be one giant hangover?