Screen Queensland and Wattpad WEBTOON Studios reunite for development partnership

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Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven global entertainment and publishing arm for WEBTOON and Wattpad, has again partnered with Australian state screen agency Screen Queensland for a screenplay adaptation initiative.

A continuation of the Australia-first partnership established in 2020, the Wattpad WEBTOON Studios Adaptations initiative will support three successful Queensland-based screenwriters or teams to develop film and series projects based on popular titles from the Wattpad and WEBTOON digital platforms. Screen Queensland and Wattpad WEBTOON Studios will provide valuable consultation to the participants to create their pitch, treatment and draft scripts, with a view to potentially securing production partners and marketplace backing to commence production in Queensland.

The chosen titles are the WEBTOON supernatural webcomic School Bus Graveyard by Red (75 million views), the horror Wattpad webnovel Apartment 239 by Elford Alley (423K reads) and Wattpad feel-good comedy All Good Things by Renee Racine Kinnear (90K reads).

Screen Queensland and Wattpad WEBTOON Studios are now accepting creative adaptation pitches from Queensland-based screenwriters and teams. Applicants are encouraged to submit fresh, original ideas that will best interpret these stories and demonstrate compelling visions for the screen.

Dr Belinda Burns, Chief Creative Officer at Screen Queensland, said the Wattpad WEBTOON Studios Adaptations initiative brings the enormous benefits of the data-driven, world-wide platform to local Queensland creatives.

“This unique initiative offers Queenslanders a significant career boost, granting access to carefully-selected stories with well-established global audiences,” she said. “Our continued collaboration with Wattpad WEBTOON Studios will give Queensland screenwriters and producers a prestigious international connection, opening doors to market.”

“As an international studio, we couldn’t be happier to work with Screen Queensland again on this development initiative that celebrates and uplifts creators around the world,” said Aron Levitz, President of Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. School Bus Graveyard, Apartment 239 and All Good Things each bring incredible storytelling and rich narratives that will be perfect for screen adaptations, so we can’t wait to see the concepts for them from Australia’s incredible creative talent.”

The two titles from the inaugural 2020 partnership have both progressed into their next phase of development. The Wattpad webnovel The Bro Code (21M reads) by Elizabeth A. Seibert is being adapted by Queensland writer Dominic Morris into a feature film. Queensland writer Siobhan Domingo and producer Elizabeth Simard are developing a TV series for the Wattpad webnovel How To Lose Weight and Survive The Apocalypse (316K reads) by Kate J. Squires.

Wattpad WEBTOON Studios currently has more than 100 projects in development or production around the world, including some of the most unique and exciting genre fare in romance, fantasy and horror. Select upcoming projects include Love Advice from the Great Duke of a Hell with Imagine Entertainment; HAWK with MCU screenwriter Christopher Yost on the popular sci-fi Wattpad webnovel; A. Rasen’s nightmare-filled WEBTOON hit Gremoryland with Roy Lee’s Vertigo Entertainment; Deanna Cameron’s webnovel thriller What Happened That Night, adapted by Academy Award-nominated “Children of Men” screenwriter David Arata; and T.L. Bodine’s supernatural thriller The Hound, adapted by screenwriter Angela LaManna (Max’s Raised by Wolves, Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor). Wattpad WEBTOON Studios is also developing the animated series adaptation of Rachel Smythe’s 1.5 billion-viewed WEBTOON sensation Lore Olympus.