02 Oct 1998 13:02 EDT
NEW YORK, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- David Hasselhoff, who recently announced that be will begin filming Shaka Zulu -- The Citadel, a four hour miniseries, in January, 1999, revealed today that he will follow that project in May of '99 with a 6 hour miniseries based on Wilbur Smith's famous book "The Diamond Hunters." Smith, who is the author of 29 novels about Africa, was born in Zambia and has lived in Africa all of his life.
Kaleidoscope Media Group and MS International will distribute. As with Shaka Zulu -- The Citadel, the $25 million production of "The Diamond Hunters," reunites Henry Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Kaleidoscope (OTC Bulletin Board: KMGG; Frankfurt and Berlin Stock Exchange: BNN) and David Hasselhoff who worked together on the enormously successful "Baywatch," in which Hasselhoff stars and is Executive Producer.
Kaleidoscope will handle North American TV rights, which also includes licensing/merchandising and home video. BetaFilm and MS International retain rights for the rest of the world. VICTORY Media of Germany and Global Entertainment Productions together with BetaFilm of Germany, MEDIASET of Italy and TPI of Italy are producing. Guido De Angelis is Executive Producer. Slated for delivery in late 1999 or early 2000, the production will be shot in Namibia, South Africa and London.
"Building on David Hasselhoff's worldwide stature and the huge international readership of Wilbur Smith's African novels, this dramatic and adventure-packed story of two men battling for the fabulous mineral wealth of a great continent, should make 'The Diamond Hunters' one of the most successful and memorable series ever filmed for television," Siegel stated.
Kaleidoscope Media Group, Inc. is a vertically integrated sports and entertainment company with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Its operating companies are SeaGull Entertainment, Hollywood Connection, LLC (direct marketing) and Kaleidoscope Entertainment (sports). Its current sports properties include golf, ice skating, boxing and fitness. Kaleidoscope produces internationally recognized television programs including "Tarzan" (series) and "Merlin: The Magic Begins."
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "will" and "should" and similar expressions reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify such statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including the timely development and market acceptance of products and technologies, successful integration of acquisitions, the ability to secure additional sources of financing, the ability to reduce operating expenses and other factors. The Company undertakes no obligations to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release.
Copyright 1998, PR Newswire