19/05/2008

Working Title has paid the Swedish group Paradox Entertainment $450,000 for the film and TV licensing rights of pulp fiction character Bran Mak Morn, on which the UK’s leading production house has had an option since 2004.

As part of the deal, Paradox is to receive royalties on all revenues resulting from the film and TV series exploitation and other products based on them.

“It is really great that another character from Robert E Howard’s literary heritage has come closer to becoming a film. It still has a long way to go, but Working Title is a strong player in which we have great confidence,” said Fredrik Malmberg, CEO for Paradox Entertainment.

In the volume of Bran Mak Morn stories Bran Mak Morn: The Last King, published by Random House, the story is set in ages past, when the Picts ruled all of Europe. The descendants of those proud conquerors have sunk into barbarism. All but one, Bran Mak Morn, whose bloodline remains unbroken. Threatened by the Celts and the Romans, the Pictish tribes rally around him to fight for their very survival, and Bran fights to restore the glory of his race.

Other characters created by pulp author Robert E. Howard include Conan, Kull, and Solomon Kane. The publicly listed Paradox also owns the original property rights to Mutant Chronicles. In all, the company’s property portfolio consists of approximately 1000 stories and characters, from horror and adventure stories to westerns and supernatural thrillers.