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EXCLUSIVE: Brand management company Foundation Media Partners is leading development, packaging, and production on a new slate of projects for cheerleading and dance team company Varsity Spirit.
Among the projects is a new movie from Point Break and Varsity Blues scribe Peter Iliff, an animation featuring Morgan Simianer, the breakout star of Netflix docuseries Cheer, and a college football documentary narrated by Bill Courtney, the subject of Oscar-winning documentary Undefeated.
The brand expansion for Varsity Spirit will cover film, TV, music, live events, publishing, podcasts, documentaries, and hybrid content.
The feature film is a sports drama written by Iliff (Point Break, Varsity Blues, Patriot Games) and is targeted toward young women. Set under the lights of a major university, the film “lives at the intersection of football and cheer, ushering audiences into the spirit world from a new perspective”.
The feature documentary, which is getting underway, centers around Memphis-based PURE Academy, a private, non-profit school. The film spotlights coach Melvin Cole as he teaches underprivileged youth the game of football and the game of life. Pic is narrated by Bill Courtney, the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary Undefeated.
The animated feature will be starring Netflix docuseries Cheer breakout star Morgan Simianer. Foundation Media and Varsity Spirit initially began working on entertainment properties together in 2023 when they teamed with Guru (Paw Patrol) for an animated project titled Spirits of Ridgeway High featuring Simianer. Now reimagined as an animated feature, the movie is a story about optimist cheerleader Melissa Mayfield (Simianer), who while on a mission to lead her last-place cheer team to victory, discovers both cheer and music have secret magical powers.
Additionally, Foundation Media is re-packaging and will re-release Varsity Spirit’s documentary American Cheerleader, which was developed and produced by Milojo, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelo’s production company. The film follows the journey of two high school teams vying for the coveted UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship title.
Foundation recently led a brand expansion for Build-A-Bear.
Foundation Media Partners Founder and CEO Patrick Hughes said today: “Working with Varsity Spirit is a dream come true. Varsity Spirit President Bill Seely and EVP Nicole Lauchaire have created a path forward for the company through entertainment ventures that lends itself perfectly to extending and enhancing the Varsity Spirit customer experience. We have a shared vision that includes feature films, TV series, docu-series and much more in the Varsity Spirit universe as well as some big surprises in music.”
“At Varsity Spirit, our mission revolves around promoting spirit and instilling important values such as teamwork, dedication, and inclusivity in a way that resonates with today’s youth. We are excited to partner with Foundation as we embark on a journey to demonstrate how the power of spirit can transform communities,” stated Bill Seely. “This collaboration presents an opportunity for Varsity Spirit to showcase cheerleading, dance, band, and yearbook activities by introducing an innovative brand extension that not only offers new entertainment options for our customers but also opens new avenues to educate audiences about the profound impact of spirit.”
Amy Wilson, Foundation Media’s VP of Development and Production, added about the movie with Iliff: “It’s been great working with Peter to develop a film that celebrates the inspiring women in the cheerleading world and gives young females a picture of strength and determination. We want this movie to be the one they all identify with when they look back.’”
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