Drake Bell and Josh Peck Tapped to Star in Feature Film to be Produced by The Collective and Nickelodeon Movies

Drake Bell and Josh Peck Tapped to Star in Feature Film to be Produced by The Collective and Nickelodeon Movies

Prolific Television Creator Dan Schneider and Steve Molaro Set to Write Screenplay

LOS ANGELES, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon Movies will partner with the recently formed management and production company The Collective to produce an action/comedy film from prolific kids' television creator Dan Schneider, starring Drake Bell and Josh Peck, leads of the hit Nickelodeon series Drake & Josh. The original screenplay will be written by Emmy(R) nominated Schneider (Drake & Josh, Zoey 101, Big Fat Liar) and Steve Molaro (Freddie). The film will tell the tale of a wealthy but extremely sheltered young man (Josh Peck) who is thrust into the real world and quickly finds himself in over his head. To make up for lost time, he receives a crash course in life experience from a likeable slacker (Drake Bell).

"Nickelodeon has always been a pipeline for young talent and we're delighted to be extending our successful relationship with Drake and Josh to the big screen," said Julia Pistor, Executive Vice President, Nickelodeon Movies. "Both are gifted comedic actors and are poised to follow in the footsteps of other great comedy teams."

"This is a project that has been brewing for a while and we are excited about moving into production with Nick Movies," said Sam Maydew of The Collective. "This big screen action/comedy will be the perfect vehicle to showcase the comedic chemistry between Peck and Bell that has made them so popular with the tween set."

The Collective's Sam Maydew and Michael Goldman will produce and The Collective's Aaron Ray and Michael Green will executive produce. Julia Pistor will oversee production on behalf of Nickelodeon Movies. The film will be distributed domestically by Paramount Pictures.

Nickelodeon's hit television series Drake & Josh, starring Drake Bell and Josh Peck as an "odd couple" of teen stepbrothers, broke records in January 2004 as Nick's highest rated series premiere in almost 10 years. The comedy from executive producer/creator Dan Schneider's Schneider's Bakery currently ranks as TV's number-one rated live-action series with kids (2-11) and stands second among tweens (9-14) only to Nick series Zoey 101, also created by Schneider. In the first week of 2006, the television movie Drake & Josh Go Hollywood ranked as the highest-rated TV movie with Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14 in Nickelodeon history, and was the highest-rated show on all of broadcast and cable television within its key demos. Drake & Josh also just won a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Television Series.

Bell, who recently co-starred in Nick Movies/Paramount Pictures' Yours, Mine & Ours with Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo, taped his first commercial at age 5 and appeared soon after opposite Gena Rowlands in the feature film The Neon Bible. He grabbed attention in a featured role in Jerry Maguire and followed with a co-starring role -- and private music lessons -- with Roger Daltrey in Chasing Destiny. The experience inspired him to start his own band, and his music and vocals are featured in his album Telegraph and on the Drake & Josh soundtrack. Bell also appeared as John Cusack's son in the HBO feature The Jack Bull and played Cusack's character as a kid in High Fidelity. Bell just won a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Actor in a Television Series. He is repped by The Collective and William Morris Agency.

Peck, currently appearing on the big screen lending his voice to the hit animated feature film Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, started his acting career at age 7 and launched a stand-up comedy career at 9 by appearing in New York clubs including Catch a Rising Star and Stand Up, New York. He made his feature-film debut a few years later in the Nickelodeon/Paramount movie Snow Day, followed by Max Keeble's Big Move and Spun. He recently won critical acclaim, including an Independent Spirit Award, with the role of a bully who gets his comeuppance in the feature film Mean Creek and as a punk kid in Barbara Kopple's movie Havoc. Last year, Peck was inducted into the Friar's Club as its youngest member. He is repped by The Collective and United Talent Agency.

A dominant force in the world of family entertainment, Dan Schneider continues to carve a unique, progressive niche in the world of kid and family entertainment as executive producer/creator of the Nickelodeon hits Zoey 101 and Drake & Josh. Schneider also creatively ran Nickelodeon's All That for several years, serving as executive producer and show runner. His unique sense of kid-humor served as a natural launching pad for his feature-film endeavors including Good Burger a Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies film and Big Fat Liar from Universal Studios. His recent credits also include creating and executive producing the WB series What I Like About You. In addition, Schneider recently has signed a deal with Warner Bros. to write a new movie titled Kiss the Bride Goodbye which has been described as "Home Alone meets a wedding." Schneider received an Emmy(R) nomination for Nickelodeon's Zoey 101, starring Jamie Lynn Spears. He is repped by The Collective and Endeavor.

Molaro is currently a writer on the ABC television series Freddie, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. He also wrote for Complete Savages on ABC television last season and on the first two seasons of the WB series What I Like About You. He and Schneider have also collaborated on the Nickelodeon series All That, The Amanda Show, Drake & Josh, and Zoey 101. Molaro is repped by United Talent Agency.

About Nick Movies

Nick Movies, the feature film development and production division of Nickelodeon, produces kid and family friendly movies in association with its sister Viacom company, Paramount Pictures. To date, Nick Movies releases have grossed over one billion dollars at the box office and include the Oscar(R) nominated Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius as well as The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, the Rugrats movies, Yours, Mine and Ours directed by Raja Gosnell and starring Rene Russo and Dennis Quaid and the critically acclaimed documentary Mad Hot Ballroom. Upcoming releases include: Nacho Libre, written by Jared Hess and Mike White, directed by Jared Hess and starring Jack Black; Barnyard, a CGI animated film written and directed by award-winning writer and director Steve Oedekerk; and Charlotte's Web, based on the classic book and produced by Jordan Kerner, directed by Gary Winick with cast including Dakota Fanning, Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey and Steve Buscemi.

About The Collective

The Collective was formed in March 2005 by Michael Green, Sam Maydew, Jeff Golenberg and Aaron Ray.

Source: Nickelodeon Movies

CONTACT: Marianne Romano of Nickelodeon Communications, +1-310-752-8208,
Marianne.romano@nick.com

Web site: http://www.nick.com/

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