Announced by The New York Times yesterday, January 13, 2013, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the geniuses behind the hysterical yet controversial animated series, “South Park,” are establishing their own production studios, called Important Studios. Parker and Stone, are currently on top of the world with their unbelievably successful original Broadway musical “The Book of Mormon.” The paper states that the creative comedic duo has already raised enough money from interested investors, and that the new company’s estimated value is already at an impressive $300 million, largely due to the tremendous revenue from “South Park,” which is currently is in its 16th season.
The accompanying press release, which is reprinted in full below, humorously states, “Having worked with several different studios over the years, we came to realize that our favorite people in the world are ourselves.” Parker and Stone intend to use the revenue from their other projects to fund Important Studios to produce TV, Theater and Feature film projects – which will likely include movie based on their Tony Award winning musical.
Although the quote from the press release is clearly a joke, it makes an important statement about the duo – Parker and Stone are brilliant at controlling their projects and bringing them to life. They have consistently shown that they are some of the most brilliant comedic minds in the world, and their understanding of humor transcends medium. The duo has enjoyed massive success in television, film, and stage, and they’ve amassed a tremendous and dedicated following along the way. With the establishment of their own studio, Parker and Stone will have complete control over their projects and the sky is truly the limit for these immensely talented funnymen.
Take a look at the full press release below for all of the currently available information on Important studios and keep checking back for the latest news on Parker and Stone’s upcoming projects.
NEW YORK, NY (January 14, 2013) – Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the co-creators of “South Park” and “The Book of Mormon,” and The Raine Group, a boutique merchant bank focused exclusively on entertainment, digital media and sports, announced today the formation of Important Studios, a new venture consolidating Parker and Stone’s creative work and future projects into one company.
Important Studios will look to build on the duo’s unmatched success across the film, television, live stage, and digital platforms. Raine will take a minority stake in the company, providing advisory services as well as financing for future projects. Important Studios plans to continue the growth of the “South Park” and “Book of Mormon” franchises, create new content across different media, and expand distribution of Parker and Stone’s work worldwide.
“Trey and Matt are unique content creators, having built two iconic global media brands. They have established themselves as thought leaders in the entertainment and digital world, while at the same time using satire to make their audience aware of critical social issues,” said Joe Ravitch, co-founder of the Raine Group. Jeff Sine, co-founder of the Raine Group added, “It has always been core to Raine’s thesis to align ourselves directly with extraordinary content creators, and we are excited to partner with Trey and Matt to create new global entertainment properties.”
“Having worked with several different studios over the years, we came to realize that our favorite people in the world are ourselves,” said Parker and Stone. “We hope to work with ourselves for a long time and are excited to now work with ourselves in a much greater capacity.”
Parker and Stone are the co-creators and executive producers of “South Park,” which began airing in 1997 and has won four Emmy Awards as well the Peabody Award. South Park, the longest-running animated series on cable, is now in its 16th year. Comedy Central is owned by Viacom’s MTV Networks. Parker and Stone are also the co-creators, along with “Avenue Q’s” Bobby Lopez, of the hit musical, “The Book of Mormon.” The show is currently completing its second year on Broadway. The Book of Mormon launched its first national tour in August, a third company in Chicago in December, and a West End production is opening on March 21, 2013. “The Book of Mormon” received nine Tony Awards in 2011, including Best Musical and Best Director for Parker; the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Musical; five Drama Desk Awards; four Outer Circle Awards; the Drama League Award for Best Musical, as well as the GRAMMY Award for Best Musical Theater Album. In addition, Parker and Stone’s work on the film “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut” has earned them an Oscar nomination, as well as an LA Film Critics Award, a NY Film Critics Award, and an MTV Movie Award.
The Raine Group has in excess of $500 million in assets under management and has completed a number of principal investments, including multimedia producer Vice Media, browser-based games giant Jagex, celebrity–curated ecommerce platform OpenSky, global multimedia fitness leader Zumba Fitness, leader in electronic transcript exchange Parchment, and event producers C3 Presents.
Parker and Stone were represented by their longtime lawyer Kevin Morris of Morris Yorn Barnes Levine Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner & Gellman, P.C. and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. The Raine Group was represented by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.
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