NEHST Studios has acquired production rights to the popular Matt Christopher sports book series. Meistrich plans to start by developing films based on the books beginning with The Kid Who Only Hit Homers and The Basket Counts. Nehst signed the rights agreement with Little Brown Books for Young Readers which is home to the hugely popular book series Gossip Girl and Twilight. The Matt Christopher Sports books have been distributed in more than 30 countries and sold more than 36 million copies worldwide. These books feature athletics as a vehicle to tell morality and character-building stories. Ari Friedman and Larry Meistrich will produce the films. Wayne Chesler has been tapped to direct and pen the screenplays. Chesler has produced and directed both sports and children’s programming for 15 years. “My favorite books as a kid were the Matt Christopher sports books. Thirty years later my fourth grade son came home with a book and a smile telling me how much he loved the series ” says Chesler. “This is a great opportunity to create family entertainment and companion programming for teachers and parents to keep kids reading while teaching them lessons in character through sports.” Dale and Duane Christopher sons of Matt Christopher expressed their excitement about the production deal “Larry Meistrich Ari Friedman and Wayne Chesler are our creative dream team. We look forward to the Matt Christopher characters coming alive and entertaining families of all ages.”
