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1 month ago
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EXCLUSIVE: Range Media Partners has inked a strategic partnership with Artists For Artists, the production company of Kenan Thompson & John Ryan Jr., spanning production, management, endorsements, and more.
Under the partnership, Range will co-produce projects with Thompson, Ryan and AFA, also representing the interests of the company and its principals from a management perspective, when it comes to endorsements and film/TV opportunities, and working with them to identify new business opportunities.
“Since AFA’s launch just a year after our own, we’ve been watching their growth from the incredible breadth of projects to the brilliant talent they work with,” said Range CEO Peter Micelli. “Our two companies both hold a core belief that when talent share in greater creative and financial autonomy, good things ensue. We couldn’t be more excited to be in business with Kenan, Johnny and the whole AFA team.”
Stated Artists For Artists’ Co-Founder and CEO, Ryan, “Peter Micelli and Jack Whigham are pioneers. I’ve known them for years and love watching them work. Range and AFA share the same values when it comes to protecting the talent FIRST. We’re excited to combine our slates and rolodexes to create a one of a kind studio where artists are part of the process the entire time.”
Quoting AFA’s motto, Thompson added: “Come see us!”
Launched at the end of 2021, AFA is a full-service production company with a commerce division and bespoke management representation, which also serves as a talent incubator. Thompson is widely-known as the longest-running cast member of Saturday Night Live, whereas Ryan, the former COO & Partner of FilmEngine, is best known for producing exhibition boxing match Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. and exec producing Bill & Ted Face the Music.
The first film hailing from AFA was Good Burger 2, the decades-in-the-making sequel to Paramount and Nickelodeon’s cult classic comedy Good Burger, starring Thompson and Kel Mitchell, which premiered on Paramount+ in November 2023. The film debuted with record-breaking numbers, landing as the most-watched original film on the service since its early 2021 launch.
Currently, AFA has a slate of over 50 film and TV projects set up across numerous studios and streamers. Among them are the live-action series My Therapist Says, based on the popular Instagram account of the same name; a PlayStation project with Sydney Sweeney; a cartoon in development with Big Boi from OutKast; a project with Emma Roberts; and more. Additionally, AFA just wrapped Chapter 51, a film directed by Tyler Shields and starring Abigail Breslin, Colman Domingo and Emily Alyn Lind. Most recently, in partnership with Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, AFA co-produced Peacock’s Olympic Highlights with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson, which provided compelling, and at times, irreverent, coverage of the Paris Olympics.
Additionally, AFA co-founder Azim Spicer and Ryan produced 2020’s “The Frontline Battle” fight between Tyson and Jones Jr., the most successful PPV fight in recent years, and worked with Partner Mike Tyson to launch hemp company Tyson 2.0.
Since its founding in 2020, management and production company Range Media Partners has quickly established itself as an industry heavyweight, with a roster of high-profile clients spanning film, television, music, and digital content. On the production side, the company’s recent credits include Osgood Perkins’ record-breaking Neon horror pic Longlegs, his Theo James-led follow-up The Monkey, due for release next year, Neon’s acclaimed pregnancy dramedy Babes from Pamela Adlon, and more.
