MUMBAI: Buena Vista Productions (BVP) has partnered with Fujisankei Communications International to develop and produce the mega-hit Japanese reality game show Run for Money for US and international markets. Reality entertainment veteran Scott Messick has been roped in as executive producer for the show.
"The current marketplace calls for shows that will be talked about, and 'Run for Money' makes a lot of noise," said BVP executive vice president Gwynne Thomas. "It is a huge spectacle in a high-energy environment with lots at stake. We are always looking for long-living franchises, and believe 'Run for Money' will be just that."
Run for Money, was originally broadcast on Fujisankei Communications' corporate parent Fuji Television. It is a high-tech game of hide-and-seek featuring celebrities on the run from a pack of menacing "hunters." Broadcast in Japan in 2004 and 2006 as a series of late-night specials, the show became a ratings juggernaut in just three airings, informs an official release.
The show will be licensed to international broadcasters as the original BVP-produced series and a format by Buena Vista International Television.
Fujisankei Communications executive producer Akifumi Takuma said, "We are thrilled with this co-production deal with BVP for one of our top-rated formats. It will further strengthen and expand our long-standing relationship with the Disney Media Networks that ranges from ABC News to content deals with ESPN."
Four-time Emmy Award winner Scott Messick has been tapped as executive producer of Run for Money. Messick currently serves as president of Mess Media, with current productions including Pros vs. Joes for Spike TV, Nascar Drivers 360 for FX, Madden Nation for ESPN, and Fight Girls, a two-hour reality-film for Oxygen Network, adds the release.
Messick has produced and directed a number of shows for broadcast and cable, including the 2002/2003 Fox series Boot Camp and Bachelorettes in Alaska. He also served as director and supervising producer of the inaugural season of the primetime hit Survivor.
"Scott is a proven innovator in the reality genre. With a director's eye and masterful storytelling skills, he is ideal for this high drama, big event format," said Thomas.
