Two major releases kick off the development slate this fall "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie" opening November 19th, based on the life of the pineapple- dwelling sea sponge that has become a cultural icon; and "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" starring Jim Carrey, Jude Law and Meryl Streep and directed by Brad Silberling kick off what hopes to be a long-running franchise. Both films will be released by Nick Movies' distribution partner Paramount Pictures.

The development slate includes a diverse mix of films with adaptations and original scripts, live-action and CGI. The division in recent years has made a name for itself for having an eye for spotting and acquiring best selling literary properties prior to their release including "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging" by Louise Rennison, "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelliand "The Spiderwick Chronicles" by Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi. All four books have hit the NY Times New York Times bestseller's list for Children's Books/Chapter Books.

The acquisition of "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" in 1999 launched a long-term growth program for Nick Movies that focused on expanding the breadth and variety of its productions. "As a consequence of our concentrated pursuit of broader material we have in place exciting deals with creators like Steve Oedekerk, John Woo and Brad Silberling, which reflects our company's ongoing commitment to growth," said Pistor.

The development slate includes the following:

Movies in Production

"The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie"

There's trouble in Bikini Bottom: someone has stolen King Neptune's crown and it appears as though Mr. Krabs is the culprit! Despite being passed over for a promotion by Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob and his faithful, albeit somewhat dimwitted friend Patrick volunteer to make the dangerous journey to ShellCity to retrieve the crown and save Mr. Krabs' life. Creator of the #1 hit Nickelodeon series, Stephen Hillenburg will produce and write the feature. Voice stars include: Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Tambor and Academy Award- nominee Alec Baldwin. Release date: November 19, 2004

"Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" starring Jim Carrey, Jude Law and Meryl Streep, Directed by Brad Silberling ("Moonlight Mile") with supporting cast including Luis Guzman, Jennifer Coolidge, Liam Aiken and Cedric the Entertainer is based on the first three books in the series including "The Bad Beginning," "The Reptile Room" and "The Wide Window." The movie chronicles the misadventures of the Baudelaires, three savvy and resilient orphans in search of a home. From chapter 1 of "The Bad Beginning" -- the kids find themselves abruptly orphaned, and taken in by the villainous Count Olaf who has designs on their inheritance. The film will be distributed by Paramount and DreamWorks Pictures. Release date: Christmas 2004.

Since the launch of Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events' all nine books have reached the New York Times bestseller's list for Children's Chapter Books and more than thirteen million copies have sold to date. Currently, 7 of the books (Books 4 through 10) from the series are gracing the New York Times bestseller's list of Children's Chapter Books. The tenth installment, entitled "The Slippery Slope" released nationwide September 23, 2003 and has reached #1 on the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller's list of Children's Chapter Books and Adult/Kids Fiction Books respectively. The eleventh book, "The Grim Grotto" is scheduled to release fall '04.

"The Barnyard"

Nick Movies re-teams with acclaimed screenwriter/director Steve Oedekerk and his O Entertainment to produce the second ever multi-platform property "The Barnyard." The CGI animated, musical which will launch first as a feature takes a hilarious glimpse into the hidden world of animals and what they do when humans aren't looking -- cow tipping, salt licks, milk! Music Supervisor is Karyn Rachtman ("Holes," "Pulp Fiction").Release date: Holiday 2005

Movies in Development

"Father Knows Best"

Twelve-year-old Sam wishes he had the perfect Dad, instead of the world's most average Dad. So when Sam hears about the Father of the Year Contest, he writes a fantasy essay pretending he has the "perfect dad." When he's chosen as a finalist, a camera crew shows up with plans to shadow the family for an entire week. At first, Dad is furious, but when Jim Anderson appears and offers Dad 50-styled parenting advice, Dad agrees to go along with the charade. In the end, Sam learns that no dad is perfect and he should love his dad, flaws and all.

"Widow's Broom" by Chris Van Allsburg

When a New England family, who still suffers from the loss of their husband/father, stumbles upon and saves a real witch's Broom, the Broom springs to life and repays the family by thwarting the obnoxious neighbors, teaching the kids magic, and helping heal the family so they may be whole again. The film is adapted by Chris Van Allsberg's book of the same name and will be produced by Scott Kroopf ("Jumanji"), William Teitler ("Jumanji," "The Polar Express") and Chris Van Allsburg. The film will be written by Chris Van Allsburg.

"The Spiderwick Chronicles" by Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi

Adapted from the New York Times Best Selling book series from Caldecott- winning illustrator, Tony DiTerlizzi, and Simon & Schuster the film will feature three siblings who discover a Field Guide in their Aunt's dilapidated house that offers them entrance into a magical world that exists all around us. As clues to the disappearance of their great uncle, Arthur Spiderwick, who is being held captive by the Fairies, is being unveiled; the siblings find themselves on a perilous journey into the adventure-laden world of fairies & goblins in a desperate attempt to rescue Arthur. The movie will be produced by Nick Movies, Mark Canton ("Godsend") and Ellen Goldsmith Vein (President. The Gotham Group) and written by David Berenbaum ("Elf").

"Mighty Mouse"

Director John Woo ("Mission Impossible") is teaming up with Nick Movies for a CGI version of one of the most beloved animated characters of all time, "Mighty Mouse." The movie will poke fun at the last 60 years of superheroes while still delivering on the genre of an action packed, satirical, irreverent and edgy film that is fun for the whole family.

"We Do"

Bachelor Marcus, who is afraid of commitment, finally thinks he's met the woman of his dreams in Gayle. She perfectly fits into his regimented, finicky lifestyle. Right before the wedding, Marcus discovers something about Gayle that could change everything. She has a family -- a big, close extended family. More specifically, she has a mischievous nephew, Kyle, who is determined to win back his favorite Aunt by wrecking the wedding and breaking up the happy couple. The feature stars Jamie Foxx ("Ali") and will be produced by Nick Movies, Jamie Foxx and Jaime King ("Bait").

"Where's Waldo?" by Martin Handford

This hip, popular family franchise will be adapted to the big screen and feature a lovable, shy, Buster Keaton-type of guy who, along with his faithful dog Woof and his slippery nemesis Odlaw, stumbles upon an invention that catapults them from place to place. The director of the film is John Schultz ("Like Mike") with screenwriter Adam Rifkin ("Mousehunt"). Nick Movies will produce with Tony Ludwig ("Starsky and Hutch" the movie) and Alan Riche ("Starsky and Hutch" the movie).

The character "Waldo" has been featured in a syndicated weekly comic strip for five years in more than 150 newspapers worldwide, in thirteen half-hour animated episodes on CBS and of course in the signature "Where's Waldo?" books which sales exceed 35 million copies and is published in more than 25 countries. The first three hardcover titles appeared in the Number One spot on the New York Times Best Sellers List and maintained a presence on the list for more than 93 weeks.

"The Mark"

This live-action property starring the voice of Will Smith will also be produced by Smith alongside James Lassiter ("Ali"). The film's premise will
center on a strange Mark that an Everyman gets transferred to his body from the corpse of a Colonial Soldier. The Mark begins to move all around his body, imbuing our hero with amazing powers. If the Mark is on his head, our hero has the power of telekinesis; if it's on his arm, he's got the strength of 50 men; if it's on his shoulders, he can soar into the air. As the Everyman tries to understand his powers, he struggles with the impulse to use the Mark for evil. The film will be written by Gregg Chabot and Kevin Peterka ("Reign of Fire").

"Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging" by Louise Rennison

Adapted from the New York Times Bestseller book of the same name, "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging" has garnered several awards including the Printz Award and the Cuffie award for "Funniest Novel" both in 2000. The feature will follow the wildly funny journal of a year in the life of 14-year- old Georgia Nicolson including soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager. This is the story of Georgia & her best-friend Jas's comic awakening to boys and how they can muddy even the best of friends.

The film will be simultaneously developed as a live-action series for Nickelodeon and will be directed by Katherine Diekmann ("Pete & Pete") and written by Chris Viscardi and Will McRobb (both creators of "Pete & Pete" and writers of "Snow Day").

"Sector 7"

Adapted from the 1999 Caldecott-winning book by David Wiesner of the same title, "Sector 7" is about a young boy who is swept away by a cloud creature to "Sector 7," a floating weather factory in the sky above Manhattan. Once there, the boy teaches the clouds the value of chaos and individuality, and inspires them to revolt against a group of strict, bureaucratic humans who are bent on standardizing all weather. The film will be produced by Ted Hope ("In the Bedroom") and written by Zach Helm ("The Disassociate").

"Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

Adapted from the best-selling children's book "Stargirl," by Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli, the movie features an eccentric student named Stargirl who arrives in the town of Mica, Arizona- a hot-bed of conformity and stirs up the town's appetite for individuality and self-expression. The story celebrates the nonconformist in everyone. It's a tense, emotional and funny tale about the fleeting nature of popularity, and the thrill and inspiration of first love.

"Stargirl" book sales have exceeded 450,000 since August 2000. The book has earned the Publishers Weekly "Best Book of the Year" for 2000 and is a New York Times Best-Seller.

Nickelodeon Movies is the feature film development and production division of Nickelodeon which produces movies for kids and their families in association with its sister Viacom company, Paramount Pictures. Nickelodeon Movies was created in 1993 to develop and produce several types of films, which include star-driven family event movies, kids first movies and animated features, all of which bring extraordinary events, characters and situations into everyday contemporary life. Nickelodeon feature film releases have grossed more than a half billion at the box office and include the Oscar(R) nominated "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius," "Rugrats Go Wild," "Rugrats," "Snow Day," "Rugrats in Paris: The Movie," "Clockstoppers" and "The Wild Thornberys Movie," among others. Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Movies and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.