EXCLUSIVE: Filmmakers Janeen and Michael Damian have entered into three-picture directing and producing deal with Brad Krevoy’s Motion Picture Corporation of America, MPCA CEO Krevoy announced on Wednesday.
Perhaps best known for their work on an array of holiday-themed projects, the Damians have previously collaborated with Krevoy on titles including Moondance Alexander, A Princess for Christmas, The Sweeter Side of Life, A Royal Christmas, Crown for Christmas, The Christmas Waltz and Falling for Christmas.
The latter film directed by Janeen and produced by Michael for Netflix, which had Lindsay Lohan starring opposite Chord Overstreet in her first return to the rom-com genre in over a decade, was the streamer’s highest-rated holiday movie of 2022 in the U.S.
Leading off the Damians’ new slate with MPCA is the Lohan-led Netflix rom-com Irish Wish, directed by Janeen and produced by Michael, which is slated for release in 2024. Second on the list is Paris Christmas Waltz, a follow-up to Lacey Chabert starrer The Christmas Waltz, which had Hallmark’s highest-rated Christmas movie premiere of 2020. Production on that film will commence in Europe in June, with casting underway. And then there’s A Sound of Music Christmas, which will film on location in Austria next year.
“Janeen and I are thrilled and excited to continue our collaboration/partnership with Brad Krevoy,” Michael Damian told Deadline.
Added Krevoy: “Every time I work with Michael and Janeen, it has been an absolute joy. Their creative instincts are a perfect match for the family-friendly films that I’ve had the privilege of providing to audiences.”
A mainstay on CBS’s The Young and the Restless for two decades, Michael Damian has since enjoyed a prolific career behind the camera with his partner and wife, Janeen, on 17 films. In addition to her work as a director, Janeen has written or co-written 13.
MPCA has been in business for 37 years, with their motion picture, television, streaming and broadcast revenue exceeding $1.5B worldwide. Recent productions have been focused on family-friendly content for Netflix, Amazon, Freevee, Paramount Global, CBS, Peacock, Great American Family and others.
In addition to Falling for Christmas, MPCA has produced 17 films for Netflix and counting, including hits like The Christmas Prince trilogy starring Rose McIver, The Princess Switch trilogy starring Vanessa Hudgens, and Holiday in the Wild starring Rob Lowe and Kristin Davis.
Krevoy is also behind Hallmark Channel’s top-rated dramatic series When Calls the Heart, which returns for its 10th season in July and has already been picked up for an 11th.