Los Angeles – Metan Development Group (Metan) and a coalition of North America’s top TV and film writers, have joined forces to launch Metan Wen Zhi Ku, a joint venture linking Western writing talent with transmedia projects for the China market, the announcement was made by Larry Namer, President/ CEO, Metan and writers Art Eisenson and David Gittins.

Eisenson and Gittins head up a collective of the most respected writers from TV and film, who have signed on as part of Metan Wen Zhi Ku’s talent roster, that includes Marilyn Anderson (Murphy Brown, The Jeffersons, Fame), Michael Elias (The Jerk,Head of the Class, All In The Family, The Bill Cosby Show), Eric Estrin (Cagney and Lacy, Miami Vice, Murder She Wrote),  Lynn Roth (The Paper Chase, Nine To Five series), Judith Parker (L.A. Law), Bob Shayne (Magnum P.I.,Knight Rider, Hart to Hart, Welcome Back Kotter) and Treva Silverman (Mary Tyler Moore, The Monkeys, Room 222, Romancing the Stone, plus many others who have worked on some of television’s most loved shows including Dallas, Dynasty,The Golden Girls, Hawaii 5-0, Happy Days, Charlie’s Angels, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.


Larry Namer

Metan Wen Zhi Ku (which in English translates to “writing mastermind”) will have access to an unprecedented talent pool of over 2,000 writers. They now will have a new opportunity to reinvent their careers, and be afforded the freedom to lend their expertise as storytellers for multi-platform projects in the developing China media market.

 “When Metan first met with Art and David, we immediately saw an amazing chance to not only celebrate some of the entertainment world’s most talented writers, but to provide them with new international opportunities,” comments Namer. “While China’s media business is developing at a rapid pace, core skills of storytelling are lacking. We believe that Metan Wen Zhi Ku will fill this void.”

After the China market, the company plans to expand to other emerging media markets, including India, Brazil and Russia/ CIS. In addition to writing, top U.S. writers will also be involved in mentoring and teaching foreign content creators in the art of storytelling.

Jay Kenoff serves as legal counsel for the joint venture. Writers will be compensated on a per-project basis, with additional opportunities for profit sharing.