Tag Archives: Marblemedia

marblemedia and Fae Pictures partner to develop an original political drama, Salt

From a media release:

marblemedia and Fae Pictures are excited to announce they are in development on an original, primetime political family drama series Salt, from creator Abdul Malik (NBC’s Transplant, Peace by Chocolate). marblemedia acquired the project earlier this year at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Series Accelerator program.

Salt follows a young man, Mohammad “Mo” Akram, raised by a wealthy Muslim family reeling from a scandal that’s decimated America’s working class. Seeking to make amends for his father’s sins, Mo takes a job as a ‘salt’ and must infiltrate and covertly unionize an opulent international hotel chain in Chicago from the inside, making vulnerable the workers he is seeking to protect and threatening his politically-influential family.

A “salt” is defined as a labour union tactic involving the act of getting a job at a specific workplace with the intent of organizing a union. The person employed to do so is called a “salt”. This series will both entertain and expose the resurgent labour movement currently sweeping America. Today’s modern-day labour awakening will be on full display with this underlying IP as this original series will offer authenticity in a fictional world shaped by Malik’s personal insights working within the labour movement for a decade, within the worlds of salting, organizing, and storytelling.

Recently selected for Playback Magazine’s 10 to Watch, 29-year-old prolific screenwriter Abdul Malik spent a decade on the front lines of labour and environmental movements as a documentarian while he studied film. That led to co-writing the feature film, Peace By Chocolate, which premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival. He is now garnering attention as a screenwriter recently having written on NBC’s Transplant; as well as two feature films, Streams Flow from a River and Queen Tut.

“A series like this is really close to my heart. It aims to do nothing less than articulate the thrilling world of labour unions, a world I know intimately while speaking to the urgent issues and incredible uplift we’ve seen working-class people achieve over the last few years by fighting for their rights. The series explores power in all its forms, and knows the moral complexities of its world in a way that makes for rapt television,” shared Abdul Malik, series creator.

“We are thrilled to add Salt to marblemedia’s ever-expanding content slate. After meeting Abdul, hearing his story and reading his voice, we knew this was a project we needed to be a part of. The series is aligned with our mandate to share stories that are rooted in authentic voices that are bold, inspiring and have a positive impact. We are proud to develop IP about topics that provoke conversation and galvanize change, while captivating audiences who covet smart, propulsive entertainment”, says Carrie Paupst Shaughnessy, VP Scripted at marblemedia. Adding, “We are looking to attract top producing partners, international talent and a showrunner who will align with Abdul’s creative vision.”

“On our mission to decolonize Hollywood, Salt comes in as a series that shatters our expectations of a political drama featuring an affluent and influential Muslim family against the backdrop of the struggles of America’s working class,” says Shant Joshi, president of Fae Pictures.

Salt is co-produced by marblemedia and Fae Pictures. Malik is repped by META Talent Agency.

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CBC original series Race Against the Tide is renewed for a third season

From a media release:

Leading international award-winning production company, marblemedia, is thrilled to announce that production is underway on an epic third season of the sand sculpture competition series, RACE AGAINST THE TIDE. Filmed on New Brunswick’s breathtaking and iconic New River Beach, on the Bay of Fundy, the summer hit will premiere on CBC in 2023. The stakes are higher than ever for season three, as the show introduces an all-new format, with more world-class competitors and an unforgettable season showcasing the strongest competition yet.

This series has quickly become a must-see, as it has consecutively ranked among the top of the Canadian TV ratings on Sunday nights each week*; and has seen resounding interest in the format from around the world.

Taking the series concept to a whole new level, season three will see 12 world-class sand sculpting teams of two tap into their artistic creativity more than ever before in the world’s toughest sand sculpting competition yet. Divided into two groups of six, the teams will dig, pound, carve and sculpt through four qualifying rounds. The top two teams from each round will face off in a sand-flying semi-final. In the end, only one team will reign supreme and walk away with the grand prize of $10,000…and the beach bragging rights of being crowned Race Against the Tide champions.

Returning as host this season is New Brunswick’s own, award-winning godfather of Canadian Hip Hop, Maestro Fresh Wes. Wes will be joined by returning judges, Karen Fralich, who herself has competed in over 120 master-level contests around the globe, and is a five-time World Champion; and Rusty Croft, a seasoned sand sculptor who holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the “tallest sand castle” as a member of the Sand Guys. He has also appeared on every episode of Discovery Channel’s Sand Wars and Sand Blasters.

Race Against the Tide is executive produced by Matt Hornburg and Mark Bishop of marblemedia; series producer and writer is Carly Spencer, and Donna Luke of marblemedia serves as co-executive producer. Co-produced with Hemmings House Films, for which Greg Hemmings serves as Co-Executive Producer and Stephen Foster as Producer. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual and Sports; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; Alexandra Lane is Senior Director of Production; and Ann-Marie Redmond is Executive in Charge of Production.

*Source: Numeris PPM TV, Total Canada, Ind2+ AMA, CBC Total, Sundays, July 10-September 11, 2022.

Image courtesy of Riley Smith.

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Discovery reveals the 12 carvers competing in the all-new series A Cut Above, beginning August 8

From a media release:

Discovery gears up for a competition series like no other when the all-new Canadian original series, A CUT ABOVE, premieres Monday, August 8 at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT. Also revealed today are the 12 highly skilled carvers who are ready to tackle the ultimate carving competition. The gifted group of chainsaw-wielding whizzes from around the world must demonstrate their creativity, strength, and skill, as they turn ordinary logs into extraordinary works of art.

Each one-hour episode of A CUT ABOVE sees the talented carvers compete to win both the Quick and Master Carve challenges while racing against the clock in hopes of avoiding weekly elimination. At the end of the entire competition, the artist who out-carves the rest wins a cash prize and is declared “A Cut Above”.

As previously announced, Golden Globe-nominated actor, Adam Beach, joins as host alongside world-renowned Canadian chainsaw carver Ryan Cook and esteemed sculptor, Katharine Dowson, who bring their combined expertise and artistic prowess as judges.

Meet the 12 cutting-edge carvers.

Andrew Mallon, Age 39
Falls Church, VA
8 Years’ Experience

Aya Blane, Age 46
Boonville, NY
17 Years’ Experience

Bongo Love, Age 47
Boulder, CO
15 Years’ Experience

Brigitte Lochhead, Age 40
Vancouver, B.C.
14 Years’ Experience

Chris Woods, Age 52
Newport, Wales
22 Years’ Experience

Jesse Toso, Age 46
Vancouver, B.C.
17 Years’ Experience

Joel Palmer, Age 37
Browns Flat, N.B.
9 Years’ Experience

John Hayes, Age 49
Waterford, Ireland
7 Years’ Experience

Junior Henderson, Age 44
Campbell River, B.C.
15 Years’ Experience

Ryan Villers, Age 41
Edmonton, Alta.
4 Years’ Experience

Sam Bowsher, Age 23
Moffat, Scotland
3 Years’ Experience

Sylvia Itzen, Age 53
Bucholz, Germany
20 Years’ Experience

Each week, viewers can stream new episodes of A CUT ABOVE on CTV.ca and the CTV app, which is also home to behind-the-scenes videos, cast highlights, and more

A CUT ABOVE was created and produced by leading global entertainment company, marblemedia, in association with Bell Media for Discovery. For marblemedia, Matt Hornburg, Mark Bishop, and Diane Rankin are Executive Producers, Donna Luke and Carly Spencer are co-Executive Producers, Grant Greschuck is series producer, and the series was created by development producer Kelsey Epsensen.

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Marblemedia’s groundbreaking competition series Blown Away returns for Season 3 on Netflix

From a media release:

Blown Away is back for Season 3 on Friday, July 22, on Netflix, with some of the glass world’s heaviest hitters, all competing for the title of Best In Glass.

Ten glass artists have come to North America’s largest hot shop to push themselves to their creative limits. In each episode, the glassblowers must impress the evaluators or risk being eliminated. At stake is a life-changing prize that will send their careers to new heights.

YouTube science influencer Nickpedia and former NBC’s America’s Got Talent contestant Nick Uhas hosts the series alongside resident glass evaluator and overall glass master Katherine Gray.

Blown Away was filmed in the largest glassblowing studio in North America, designed and built specifically for the scope and scale of the competition

The series was commissioned by Netflix (global) and Blue Ant Media (Canada). The Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, NY, serves as a key consulting partner on the series and took part in the series.

This season’s competitors include:
• Claire Kelly (Corning, NY)
• Trenton Quiocho (Fircrest, WA)
• John Sharvin (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Rob Stern (Miami, FL)
• John Moran (Gent, Belgium)
• Brenna Baker (Weston, FL)
• Dan Friday (Shoreline, WA)
• Grace Whiteside (Brooklyn, NY)
• Maddy Hughes (Stourbridge, England)
• Minhi England (Seattle, WA)

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Race Against the Tide returns for a second season with host Maestro Fresh Wes

From a media release:

CBC today announced the return of original competition series RACE AGAINST THE TIDE (10×30) for a second season, produced by marblemedia and premiering Sunday, July 10 at 8:30 p.m. (9 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem. New Brunswick-based, award-winning Hip Hop artist Maestro Fresh Wes hosts the new season, featuring a new group of sand sculptors who will compete head-to-head at the Bay of Fundy to create extraordinary sand art before the world’s highest tide comes in while attempting to avoid elimination.

Each week, the artists have six hours to create their sand sculptures before the tide washes them away. In the end, the two judges – five-time World Champion Karen Fralich (Burlington, ON) and Master Sculptor Rusty Croft (Carmel Valley, CA) – will decide which duo will walk away with the grand prize of $10,000.

RACE AGAINST THE TIDE season two host Wes Williams, otherwise known as “Maestro Fresh Wes,” was born in Toronto and is considered to be the godfather of Canadian Hip Hop. Maestro Fresh Wes recently became the first Hip Hop artist inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame for his 1989 signature song “Let Your Backbone Slide,” and is also the first Black Canadian artist to have a recording reach platinum status in Canada. He now resides in Saint John, New Brunswick.

This season’s 10 highly-skilled sand sculpting duos are:

Agnese Rudzīte-Kirillova and Sanita Ravina (Latvia) – Agnese is an accomplished mixed media artist who learned about sand sculpting over a decade ago and has been doing it professionally ever since. Sanita discovered sand sculpting when she was a young girl, but has only been doing it full-time for the past four years.

Bouké Atema and Jeroen Advocaat (Germany and The Netherlands) – Originally from Kenya, Bouké has been sand sculpting since 2002 and is well-versed in several different art forms. He is known for sculptures depicting nature, while his partner, Jeroen, prefers structural design. Jeroen, a professional sculptor of over 18 years, studied architecture and 3D design.

Carlos Pereyra and Francisco Valdez (Mexico) – Carlos and Francisco have a combined total of 23 years experience in sand sculpting. The friends met before a competition in Mexico, when Carlos’ original partner backed out at the last minute. He had heard about Francisco and his talent, but didn’t personally know him. Francisco filled in for that competition, and the rest is history.

Craig Mutch and Daeyoung Ji (Vancouver, BC and South Korea) – Craig and Daeyoung want to bring their East-meets-West sculpture style to the world’s toughest beach battle. Craig has been a professional sculptor for 35 years working in ice, sand and snow, whereas Daeyoung has been sculpting for seven years and was catapulted to international success after completing an apprenticeship in Australia.

Fred Dobbs and Guy-Olivier Deveau (Sidney, BC and Quebec, QC) – Fred, who has been sculpting for over 35 years and is considered a Canadian carving legend, is recognized around the world as a professional sand sculptor. Guy-Olivier, who has been sculpting for more than 15 years, is one of Canada’s premier sand sculptors and is known for his dark Gothic creations.

Jo (Stefanie) Hollick and Manuel Campos (Vancouver, BC and Columbia) – Jo began sand sculpting on the beaches of White Rock, BC over two decades ago. With many career achievements under her belt, her biggest personal feat was placing fifth in the Parksville Beach Festival. Manuel has been a professional sand sculptor for over 12 years and has been awarded many different awards at various competitions.

JT (Joseph) Estrela and Amanda Gafford (USA) – Originally a math teacher, JT switched careers and now owns and operates his own company called San Diego Sand Castles. He has been professionally sculpting for seven years while his partner, Amanda, is a registered nurse by day, and an artist by night.

Peter Vogelaar and Alex Avelino (Winlaw, BC and Nelson, BC) – Peter and Alex are a mentor/mentee team from Canada who have sculpted together all over the world in both sand and snow. Peter, a professional artist, has been sculpting for almost two decades while Alex, a graphic designer, has been sculpting for nearly eight years.

Walter McDonald and Christy Atkinson (USA) – Walter and Christy are a father/daughter duo from the United States. Walter is the world’s oldest, still working sand sculptor, who discovered sand sculpting in the early 80s. Christy has been sand sculpting since 2003 and was taught everything she knows by her father.

Wilfred Stijger and Edith van de Wetering (The Netherlands) – This husband and wife duo are professional sand sculptors who have over 25 years of experience and have competed in hundreds of festivals around the globe. Their mind-blown surrealist sculptures are recognized across the world.

In the inaugural season of the show, PEI’s Abe Waterman and Seattle’s Sue McGrew took the top spot. Catch up on episodes on CBC Gem.

RACE AGAINST THE TIDE is executive produced by Matt Hornburg and Mark Bishop of marblemedia; series producer and writer is Carly Spencer and Donna Luke of marblemedia serves as co-executive producer. Co-produced with Hemmings House. For CBC, Sally Catto is General Manager, Entertainment, Factual and Sports; Jennifer Dettman is Executive Director, Unscripted Content; Alexandra Lane is Senior Director of Production; and Ann-Marie Redmond is Executive in Charge of Production. RACE AGAINST THE TIDE is presented with support from Tourism New Brunswick.

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