According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, a production company called Impact Future Media, based in Montreal, says it has secured the rights to John McAfee’s life for a movie and/or television.
THR writes:
Honolulu-based Brian Fitzgerald, who co-founded the TV production shingle with CEO François Garcia, based in Montreal, said he secured the exclusive IP rights to the embattled tech guru’s story.
“He (McAfee) trusts that we will honor his life story in an honest and truthful manner,” Fitzgerald told The Hollywood Reporter in an email statement on Monday.
The TV producer is currently looking for investors and production partners for the project, which is tentatively titled Running in the Background: The True Story of John McAfee.
The report goes on to say that Fitzgerald hopes to “exploit” McAfee’s story across film, print and TV, and that Impact Future Media has ties to McAfee through Chad Essley, who has been running McAfee’s blog. Also, according to that report, McAfee is supposed to have said, “My most heartfelt thank you goes to Impact Future Media and Cartoon Monkey Studio. Their dedication to the truth is very uncommon in the world we live in today. I am now, and will always be grateful to their organizations.” That is allegedly in a statement from Impact Future Media.
There is mention of “The Official John McAfee Story” on the Impact Future Media site (more easily found with Bing than with Google), and it points to a press release, but the release is MIA. We’ve reached out to an email address provided for details.
The page that is supposed to show the press release is from UReccommend Media, which is also the PR firm handling the contacts from McAfee’s blog.
Update: FoxNews says this:
But McAfee must have found the deal easy to do: Impact Future Media was already spearheading a PR campaign for the wealthy tech mogul.
“I am his PR guy, and he has entrusted me with the rights to his life story,” Brian Fitzgerald of Impact Future Media told FoxNews.com. He claimed to have been retained by McAfee approximately four weeks ago — when the bizarre tale of murder, mystery and mayem began in Belize.
Impact Future Media is apparently responsible for a series called High On Tuna about George Jung (the famed cocaine runner) and an animated series called Flatrock. Here is the only thing I can find on that:
It has like 45 views. I’m unable to locate any “High On Tuna” footage.
Color me a little skeptical on this one.
Here’s a snippet from the Impact Future Media about page:
Impact Future Media specializes in the development, production and marketing of intellectual property for the entertainment industry. Founded by industry veterans François Garcia and Brian Fitzgerald, along with a colourful team of associates and strategic partners, Impact Future Media’s mission is to bring creative ideas and fledgling entertainment properties to life.
Unfortunately, this guy passed away 20 years ago, so he won’t be able to play McAfee.
Update 2: Okay, Impact Future Media has sent us the press release (which is still not appearing at the link it’s supposed to). Here it is in its entirety:
Impact Future Media to Bring the Official John McAfee Story to Life
MONTREAL, December 10, 2012 —Impact Future Media (IMPFM.com) today announced that John McAfee, famed antivirus software pioneer and human rights advocate, has entrusted the company with the exclusive intellectual property rights to his official life story, tentatively titled Running in the Background: The True Story of John McAfee. The company intends to either license, publish or develop the John McAfee’s story for use across multiple entertainment platforms, including film, print, television and multimedia.
“We are very excited about working with John McAfee, on this initiative,” stated François Garcia, CEO and Co-founder of Impact Future Media. “Mr. McAfee has entrusted us with his life story, and that is a responsibility we take very seriously. We will work tirelessly to make certain that his story is shared with the proper industry partners.”
Impact Future Media is also representing Chad Essley, founder of CartoonMonkey Studio, in the development, production and publishing of his graphic novel and animated documentary The Hinterland. Essley is John McAfee’s official cartoonist and a key player in the development and management of whoismcafee.com.
“My most heartfelt thank you goes to Impact Future Media and CartoonMonkey Studio,” stated John McAfee. “Their dedication to the truth is very uncommon in the world we live in today. I am now, and will always be grateful to their organizations.”
Founded by industry veterans, Impact Future Media’s mission is to bring creative ideas and fledgling entertainment properties to life. In addition to the above, Impact Future Media also has several other entertainment properties in the works; High on Tuna; The Adventures of George Jung (television series), Rum Runners: The Life of Joseph Bey (movie), Boston George’s Smuggler (game) and Flatrock (animated series).
For more information about Impact Future Media and its projects, please visit IMPFM.com.
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About Impact Future Media
Impact Future Media specializes in the development, production and marketing of intellectual property for the entertainment industry. Founded by industry veterans, along with a colourful team of associates and strategic partners, Impact Future Media’s mission is to bring creative ideas and fledgling entertainment properties to life..
With offices in Hawaii and Montreal, Impact Future Media is able to capitalize on strategic partnerships. Our primary focus is on making quality, commercially viable products.