‘John Wick’ Writer Derek Kolstad, Dmitri Johnson and Mike Goldberg Launch Media Company Story Kitchen

thewrap.com:

Derek Kolstad, the writer and creator of the “John Wick” action franchise, Dmitri M. Johnson, a producer on “Sonic the Hedgehog,” and Mike Goldberg, a partner with agency APA, have together launched a new media company called Story Kitchen focused on franchise building.

Story Kitchen will be focused on the creation and amplification of what it refers to as “World-Building Action” and “Non-Traditional Intellectual Property.” The company even proudly boasts that it aims to be the “Shakespearean leader” in the genres of “Gun-Fu,” the stylized brand of action movies that “John Wick” helped popularize, as well as the worlds of “Popcorn-Fu” and “Controller-Fu,” with a focus on genre or video game stories.

Dan Jevons, Tim Stevenson and Howard Bliss, previously of Johnson’s company dj2, will be joining the new company in senior leadership roles.Goldberg, who repped Johnson and Kolstad while at APA, will also be exiting APA as part of the new company, and his clients are expected to remain with the agency.

Story Kitchen will be represented by APA. “After having spent the last several years working together and admiring one another’s storytelling chops, energy, taste, and ideas, we collectively came to the same conclusion: That the only way to double down on cooking up the most amazing Franchises and Worlds possible – was for us to unite as one,” Kolstad, Johnson and Goldberg said in a joint statement. “Derek and Dmitri with Mike have defined how to create, popularize, and expand the modern franchise across multiple platforms.