magnetic personality
In the Fall of 2009, Magnetic Entertainment ("Magnetic") first met with
the family of Abby Sunderland to discuss the possible production of a
reality
show. The parties then entered an agreement to develop such a show based
on the Sunderland family and the upcoming voyage around the world by their
daughter Abby. Thereafter, in November of 2010, Magnetic signed an
agreement with Reveille, a production company, to shop the show to a
television
network. From day one, Magnetic and Reveille hoped for a compelling story,
but above all else, for Abby to return home safely.
When Abby’s journey ran into trouble in Cabo San Lucas in March 2010,
however, Ted Caloroso–DP and EP of the potential show–witnessed what he
believed to be a lack of preparation, lack of training, and an overall
disregard
for the safety of Abby by the Sunderland family. Accordingly, both
Magnetic and its corporate partner in the endeavor, Reveille, determined it
was
necessary to terminate the project at that time in an effort to discourage
the Sunderland family from continuing to put Abby at risk. Nevertheless,
Abby’s journey continued.
Since news of Magnetic’s development deal with the Sunderland family has
come to light in recent days, there have been a number of inaccurate
statements made by Laurence Sunderland, Abby’s father, with respect to the
series
of events leading up to Magnetic’s decision to terminate the project.
First, Mr. Sunderland’s claim that the he backed out of the project is
untrue;
representatives at both Magnetic and Reveille will confirm that it was
their decision to terminate the project in March 2010.
Second, Mr. Sunderland claimed on "Larry King Live" on June 14, 2010 that
Mr. Caloroso had a "vendetta" against the Sunderland family and that Mr.
Caloroso actually hoped that Abby would "perish" on her journey. While such
an outlandish claim would normally not dignify a response, the fact that
Mr. Sunderland’s claims were made on national television force Magnetic and
Mr. Caloroso–the father of a young daughter himself–to deny that Mr.
Caloroso ever made such a statement or that he ever wished that any harm
would
come to Abby. As with the rest of the Magnetic team, Mr. Caloroso could
not be more pleased that Abby was found alive and well, and wishes her
nothing but health and happiness in what is sure to be a dynamic future.
While Magnetic decided to abandon the original project in March 2010,
Magnetic retains all rights to its footage for future development based on
the
experience, and will donate a portion of any proceeds from this project to
a fund for Abby Sunderland.
For further information about this upcoming project, please contact
Christopher Bates at Magnetic Entertainment or Ted Caloroso at 23 South
Productions.
