American entertainment company
WEP LLC
,
doing business as
World Events Productions
, is an
American
-based
animation
and distribution company in
St. Louis, Missouri
, best known for releasing the anime titles
Voltron, Defender of the Universe
and
Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs
, as well as producing the original animated series
Denver, the Last Dinosaur
.
[2]
[3]
History
[
edit
]
Founded in 1980 by Ted Koplar, son of St. Louis businessman and
KPLR-TV
founder
Harold Koplar
, World Events Productions, Ltd. started out as a "current events" program on the TV station titled
World Events
.
In 1982, Koplar teamed with Jack Galmiche and Frank Babcock to produce three nationally syndicated shows featuring Kickboxing. The shows were produced and distributed nationally from St Louis, Las Vegas, and New York's Madison Square Garden.
In 1983, while attending a science fiction convention, Ted Koplar discovered the anime series
Beast King GoLion
and saw a potential in distributing it on U.S. television. WEP licensed the series from
Toei Animation
and released it in 1984 in an edited and English-dubbed form as
Voltron
. The show was met with high ratings nationwide. After airing all episodes of
GoLion
, WEP adapted
Armored Fleet Dairugger XV
into the second season of
Voltron
. The second season lacked the ratings of the first season, as viewers were more used to the
GoLion
team. In response, WEP commissioned Toei Animation to produce 20 more episodes of the
GoLion
-based
Voltron
.
[4]
In 1987, WEP licensed
Star Musketeer Bismark
from
Studio Pierrot
and released it as
Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs
. The series was rewritten with several episodes rearranged or omitted; in addition, six new episodes were animated for the U.S. version. Despite lacking the popularity of
Voltron
,
Saber Rider
has received a cult fan following throughout the years; most prominently in
Germany
.
[5]
After years of licensing and broadcasting anime, WEP ventured to original animated works. In 1988, the company released
Denver, the Last Dinosaur
, which was met with positive feedback from parents' groups and was recommended by the National Education Association.
Vytor: The Starfire Champion
was released in 1989. Despite being an International Film and Video Festival and a New York Festival Award winner,
[6]
the show's run on television was short-lived.
In 1998, WEP revisited the
Voltron
franchise with an all-new TV series.
Voltron: The Third Dimension
was the 3-D animated sequel to the original series, featuring some of the original voice cast plus actors
Clancy Brown
and
Tim Curry
. Despite winning a Daytime
Emmy Award
for Outstanding Sound Editing, the series received mixed responses from critics and fans of the original series.
In 2008, World Events licensed the original
GoLion
and
Dairugger XV
in the U.S.
In 2010, Classic Media (now
DreamWorks Classics
) acquired distribution rights for the
Voltron
franchise.
[
citation needed
]
WEP, Kickstart Productions and Classic Media released an all-new animated
Voltron
series titled
Voltron Force
in June 2011. The series takes place sometime after events in the original series and aired on
Nicktoons
.
Legal issues
[
edit
]
World Events Productions settled a legal dispute with
Toei Animation
in 2010 over copyright infringements of a potential live-action
Voltron
movie. In the past, both companies disputed when
Voltron: The Third Dimension
was released. The previous dispute was settled in 2000, with WEP acquiring the animated properties
Voltron
and
GoLion,
as well as 'Vehicle Force Voltron' and 'Dairugger'. The most recent legal issues between the two companies focus on WEP's right to adapt the anime into live-action and possibly marketing it in Japan. As a result of this dispute,
20th Century Fox
and
New Regency Productions
pulled out of the live-action project.
[7]
[8]
In July 2009,
Atlas Entertainment
acquired the live-action film rights.
[9]
This prompted film producers James Young, Ford Oelman and Mark Costa to file a lawsuit against World Events Productions, claiming that their companies - Animus Films and NHO Entertainment - have held exclusive live-action rights to
Voltron
since 2004.
[10]
The live-action project was eventually scrapped in June 2010 in favor of a new
Voltron
television series.
[11]
On November 4, 2016, three months after the completion of
NBCUniversal
's acquisition of Classic Media's parent company,
DreamWorks Animation
for $3.8 billion,
[12]
[13]
it was announced that
Universal Pictures
and DreamWorks Animation will make the film with
David Hayter
writing the script.
[14]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Live-action films
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Koppel, Niko (June 10, 2010).
"Peter Keefe, Creator of Cartoon 'Voltron,' Dies at 57"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
August 4,
2010
.
- ^
"History of World Events (Part 1 / 2)"
.
World Events Productions
.
YouTube
. April 4, 2008.
Archived
from the original on December 14, 2021
. Retrieved
October 6,
2008
.
- ^
"History of World Events (Part 2 / 2)"
.
World Events Productions
.
YouTube
. April 4, 2008.
Archived
from the original on December 14, 2021
. Retrieved
October 6,
2008
.
- ^
Phillips, Nicholas.
"Voltron prepares to recapture the universe from a small office in St. Louis"
.
Riverfront Times
. Retrieved
January 22,
2019
.
- ^
Saber Rider Official German Website
- ^
WEP - About Us
- ^
"Lawsuit Launched over Proposed Live-Action Voltron Film"
.
Anime News Network
. November 18, 2008
. Retrieved
November 20,
2008
.
- ^
Superheroflix - Voltron Fights Giant Monsters and Legal Troubles
- ^
Anime News Network.com - Proposed Live-Action Voltron Film Gets New Producers
- ^
Anime News Network.com - Voltron Producers Launch New Suit vs. U.S. Rights Holder
- ^
Variety.com - TV and Toys Set to Relaunch Voltron
- ^
James, Meg (April 28, 2016).
"Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks Animation in $3.8-billion deal"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
April 28,
2016
.
- ^
Dave McNary (August 22, 2016).
"Comcast Completes $3.8 Billion DreamWorks Animation Purchase"
. Variety
. Retrieved
August 27,
2016
.
- ^
Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 4, 2016).
"Universal Inherits DWA Live-Action 'Voltron' Film; David Hayter Scripting"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
November 4,
2016
.
- ^
Lenburg, Jeff (1999).
The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons
. Checkmark Books. p. 299.
ISBN
0-8160-3831-7
. Retrieved
June 6,
2020
.
- ^
Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 4, 2016).
"Universal Inherits DWA Live-Action 'Voltron' Film; David Hayter Scripting"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. Retrieved
November 4,
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]