‘Supreme Models’ Lands At YouTube
By Peter White
Deadline
September 23rd, 2021
YouTube Originals is bolstering its originals slate with a slew of unscripted orders including the acquisition of a Tom Petty feature documentary.
The streamer has acquired the rights to Tom Petty, Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers, exploring how the musician made his seminal album. The film, which is directed by Mary Wharton, features ever-before-seen footage drawn from a newly discovered archive of 16mm film as well as new interviews with album co-producers Rick Rubin and Heartbreaker Mike Campbell, along with original Heartbreaker Benmont Tench.
The film first debuted in March as an Official SXSW 2021 Selection, winning the festival’s Audience Award, and will see its theatrical release on October 20 for a one-night global celebration via Trafalgar Releasing.
Launching on YouTube later this year, it is produced by Peter Afterman with executive producers Dan Braun, Mary Wharton and Adria Petty and presented by Inaudible Films, Warner Music Entertainment and Warner Records.
Stash Of 16MM Footage Reveals Creation Of ‘Wildflowers’ Album In ‘Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free’ — SXSW Studio
It is joined on YouTube’s Global Head of Original Content Susanne Daniels’ slate by series including Dear Earth, Climate Games, preschool series Tab Time, competition series Copy That! and Supreme Models as well as the renewal of The Creator Games 3 Presented By MrBeast.
Dear Earth, which premieres on October 23, features keynote addresses, musical performances, special appearances and comedic shorts from the likes of President Barack Obama, Pope Francis, Desmond Tutu, Billie Eilish and The Muppets.
It is produced by Done + Dusted, Strong Brew and Silverback Films.
Climate Games, which also premiers on October 23, follows content creators and elite athletes over two episodes as they undertake challenges designed to deliver a key climate message. Skier JT Holmes and creator Psychics Girl team up to measure how quickly the ice is melting on the snowy mountains of British Columbia, and world champion BMX rider Danny Mcaskill is given free reign at a renewable energy factory where he attempts a series of tricks designed to demonstrate the percentage of the world’s energy that currently comes from renewable sources.
It is a Studio Silverback Production with executive producers Colin Butfield & Jonnie Hughes, and series producer Ben Duncan.
Copy That!, which premieres November 8, is a five-part competition series that follows four YouTube stars stepping out of their comfort zone to copy their fellow creators’ area of expertise. It will feature Sofie Dossi, Lisette aka Luhhsetty, Rosanna Pansino and Preston. It is produced by Sony Pictures Television and exec produced by Charles Wachter.
Tab Time is a preschool series starring Tabitha Brown, an actress and vegan foodie who has become one of the most visible social media personalities today. The series is produced by Kids at Play and Scale Productions, and is directed by Henry Saine with Lorien McKenna as showrunner.
Supreme Models, which premieres in fall 2022, is inspired by Marcellas Reynolds’ book Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion. It is a six-part series that will pay tribute to the Black women who broke down barriers and transformed the fashion and beauty industries. It comes from R.J. Cutler’s This Machine and supermodel Iman, and is exec produced by Cutler, Iman, Marcellas Reynolds, Trevor Smith, Jane Cha Cutler, Douglas Keeve, Rolake Bamgbose, and Donny Jackson.