Grizzly Adams Commits $200 Million for 2D-to-3D Conversion

LOVELAND, COLO.: Grizzly Adams Productions signed a seven-year, $200 million agreement with San Diego-based PassmoreLab to convert 500 feature films, television series, and documentaries to 3D. The deal was announced today by the production company, which turns out family and faith-based programming. In addition to converting existing 2D titles, PassmoreLab will also convert 18 new movies and 78 new TV series episodes now in the pipeline.

“To the best of our knowledge, we’re the first production company to initiate converting a major film library to 3D,” said David Balsiger, vice president at Grizzly Adams. “At the end of the seven-year agreement with PassmoreLab, we project that we will have the largest 3D library available for retail, the most 3D TV programs available for licensing, and we will have captured major shares of both the family and faith 3D markets.”

Approximately 20 percent of the Grizzly Adams library is described as faith-based. Titles on its Web site include “Apocalypse and the End Times,” “The Search for Heaven,” “The Fabric of Time,” and Portraits of Courage” among others. Charles E. Sellier is CEO of Grizzly Adams Productions and the author of the eponymous book that launched the 1970s TV and movie franchise.

Grizzly Adams said masters are available now for the 3D Blu-ray and video-on-demand versions of “The Fabric of Time,” a special about the Shroud of Turin. A feature film inspired by the original Grizzly Adams tale, “Friends for Life,” will be released in 3D this summer. The first new 3D television series for the joint Grizzly Adams-PassmoreLab production pact will be a 52-episode series about George Washington, culminating with a feature film. Two more films, including “Grizzly Adams Begins,” are in pre-production.

Grizzly Adams will oversee worldwide television broadcast/DVD licensing for the 3D productions. PassmoreLab will take the lead role in theatrical distribution. -- Deborah D. McAdams