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In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
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Disney hires ``Smallville'' team to work for Touchstone division
Friday April 18, 2003
LOS ANGELES (AP) The producers of the WB network's top-rated
show ``Smallville'' have been hired by the Walt Disney Co. to work
on projects for its Touchstone Television studio, officials said.
Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins, who run their own production
company, struck a two-year deal with Disney and have an additional
two-year option on their contract. Terms of the agreement were not
released Thursday.
``This is a good deal for us, and a great investment,'' said
Stephen McPherson, Touchstone Television president. ``These guys
have incredible taste, they're very hard working and incredibly
competitive.''
Two of the pair's pilots are being considered by executives at
ABC, which is owned by Disney. Those shows and two other pilots
ordered by News Corp.-owned Fox Broadcasting and the WB are part of
the pair's existing agreement, which expires next month, with
Warner Bros.
The new deal will allow Tollin and Robbins to sell shows to
other networks, although the focus will be on providing programs
for ABC.
The production team has made shows for the Nickelodeon channel
such as ``All That'' and ``Arli$$'' for HBO. On the big screen,
Tollin and Robbins have made ``Varsity Blues'' and ``Big Fat
Liar.''
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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