A Wink and A Nod Productions announces initial slate of movies-for-television and feature films

LOS ANGELES, CA - March 14, 2003 -   Former Universal Studios marketing executive Wendy Winks has formed a management and production company, A Wink and A Nod, specializing in managing writers, developing and producing projects for both television and theatrical release.

Prior to founding A Wink and A Nod in 2001, Winks was senior vice president of network development and marketing at Steeplechase Media, a pioneer in interactive television.  Before joining Steeplechase, Winks spent five years at Universal Studios, first in Home Entertainment marketing, where she made release decisions for their catalog of over 3500 films and created marketing programs to support them, and then as a Senior Director in Corporate Marketing.

States Winks, "I had become increasingly convinced that there are a number of talented writers who go unnoticed because they can’t find their way through the Hollywood maze.  A product of the studio system myself, I understand how difficult it can be for an artist to survive in a business environment.  My strategy is to be the link between the creative and commercial processes by championing a select number of projects and people in whom I passionately believe and getting their work in front of an audience."

By partnering writers, including first-timers, with established producers, Winks has been able to jumpstart projects and move them through the development process.  Her company’s first project, SANTA JR., was written by Marc Hershon and produced by Larry Levinson’s Alpine Productions.  It aired on The Hallmark Channel on November 30th and was the second highest rated original movie in the history of the network.  The film was directed by Kevin Connor (The Old Curiosity Shop) and stars Lauren Holly (What Women Want), Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club) and George Wallace (Batman Forever).  Nick Stabile (Popular) stars in the lead role.  SANTA JR. is Hershon’s first television movie credit, although he has been an active screenwriter since 1984, and has contributed to numerous film projects, including Frankenstein: The College Years directed by Tom Shadyac and Master of Disguise starring Dana Carvey.

Hershon’s second script for Hallmark, MISS. CUPID’S BEAU, has just been purchased by Levinson and is currently in development.  It is expected to air around Valentine’s Day, 2004   And a third Hershon movie for Hallmark, MONSTER MAKERS, is in pre-production and starts shooting in late March.

A Wink and A Nod is also developing two additional projects written by Hershon:  THE GIRLS OF THUNDER, a true story based on Jonathan Littman’s best selling The Beautiful Game about an extraordinary soccer team; and DORK, a family comedy about a dad who gets to re-experience life as a teenager.

Winks also manages the husband-wife writing and producing team of James Bruner and Elizabeth Stevens.  Bruner has thirteen feature films to his credit, three of which (MISSING IN ACTION, DELTA FORCE, and INVASION USA) were #1 or #2 at the box-office.  Winks represents the Bruner/Stevens property OUTRAGE, a feature script based on the true story of bodyguard and ex-Marine Ty Ritter, who rescues abducted children.  Endorsed by the Adam Walsh Foundation, this true-life hero has been on 48 recovery missions resulting in 28 successful rescues.  A one hour drama series  based on Ritter’s 25 plus years as a bodyguard protecting casino owners, mob bosses and celebrities, is also in development.  Winks is also working with The Zanuck Company to set up the Bruner/Stevens scripted PRETTY BOY FLOYD.
 

Mark Stouffer is another writer/director/producer managed by Winks.  Stouffer has won 2 Emmy Awards, and he has produced 18 Network Specials, 120 episodes of series television, 12 home videos, and 3 Feature films, including WILD AMERICA, which was autobiographical.  His screenplays, THE CHALLENGE about a father and son on a kayak trip into the Yukon who are stalked by a polar bear, and TIGER, TIGER, a romantic drama set in a Siberian labor camp in the era of Stalin, are being set up by A Wink And A Nod.

Winks also represents Dana Bonstrom, a writer whose work has appeared in The Harvard Review and Ploughshares.  Bonstrom’s screenplay, THE HAND OF JESUS ENCIMA, is being repped by Winks and Robert Scanlan, the lauded stage director who will make his directorial debut with this film.  Additionally, Bonstrom is writing a miniseries, a British historical drama and love story, with Kevin Connor (NORTH AND SOUTH) attached to direct, and a feature, AZTEC, being developed and produced by Richard Potter (SCREAM, HIGHLANDER).  Bonstrom’s projects are being produced by Robert A. Harris (THE GRIFTERS).

Other projects in development at A Wink and A Nod include LIMELIGHT, a true story of Helen Gee, the first woman to open a photo gallery in Greenwich Village in the 1950s.  LIMELIGHT was written by David Morrell (RAMBO); JULIA SINGING BEAR, the true story of Native American children who were socialized at the infamous Carlisle Indian School, written by George Putnam (NYPD BLUE) and co-produced by Ken Scherer;  LOVE ON THE ROCKS, a British romantic comedy written by Joanna Gunnell and Anna Einhorn; and THE RED EYE, a romantic comedy by Vincent Angell being co-produced by Harriet Greenspan and Mark Kaplan

Winks, who holds an MBA from The College of Notre Dame, is represented by the law firm of Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca, Fischer, Gilbert-Lurie & Stiffelman.  A Wink and A Nod has offices at Catch 23 Entertainment in Beverly Hills, CA and can be reached online at www.awinkandanod.com