Relativity Media has partnered with Hasbro to develop and produce a live-action tent-pole film based on Stretch Armstrong, the action hero figure launched in the 1970s. Relativity will be the domestic distributor, and will release the film internationally through its network of foreign output partners. The film is targeted for an April 11, 2014, release date.

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Hasbro’s deal with Universal Pictures has ended. Universal Pictures has no plans for any more movies based on Hasbro toys beyond the May release of Battleship. The deal with Hasbro, signed four years ago, included at least four films based on seven games and toys: Battleship, Candy Land, Clue, Magic: The Gathering, Monopoly, Ouija, and Stretch Armstrong.

The multiyear licensing agreement grants access to the library of characters, settings, and stories for The Lord of the Rings property, as well as films The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again. Lego’s The Lord of the Rings construction sets are slated for a rolling global launch beginning in June in the U.S., with Lego’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey sets scheduled for later in the year.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson is slated to premiere December 14, 2012.

Sex and the City

The new fragrances were developed by three of Givaudan’s perfumers:  Adriana Medina, known for her creations for Gwen Stefani and Ed Hardy; Rodrigo Flores-Roux, who has created scents for Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss and Estée Lauder; and Claude Dir, the fragrance creator behind Bobbi Brown and Tommy Hilfiger colognes.

“The Sex and the City series continues to resonate with women worldwide,” says James Costos, vice president, Global Licensing & Retail at HBO.  “The appeal of the four main characters, who are as unique, complex and trendy as any woman aspires to be, symbolize the show’s eternal allure.  We’re extremely pleased to partner with Givaudan – the global leader in the fragrance industry.  Their elite perfumers have developed fragrances that capture the essence of Sex and the City and JTG Trading Company has the expertise to execute our vision and deliver this collection around the world.”

Big news out of Hollywood this morning, where MGM Studios announced that it has secured that it has secured the feature film rights to bring Classic Media’s Where’s Waldo to the screen in a live-action format.

Created by Martin Handford and first published in 1987, Where’s Waldo books have sold more than 55 million books worldwide and have been translated into more than 30 languages. Where’s Waldo games have been sold more than 4.6 million times for iPhone and iPad.

MGM’s Cassidy Lange, vice president of production, will oversee the project.

Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs – The 4-D Experience is a completely immersive entertainment attraction that will combine 3-D film footage from the third movie in the franchise, with an exhilarating array of synchronized physical effects. Upon exiting the 4-D experience, guests will find themselves in an Ice Age-themed area where they can meet their costumed characters, as well as purchase specially developed branded merchandise. Along with the new 4-D attractions and gift shop, Alton Towers Resort will also feature two interactive Ice Age-themed bedrooms inside the theme park’s Splash Landings Hotel. SimEx-Iwerks, the leading innovator of immersive 3-D and 4-D attractions, will work with Fox to develop Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs – The 4-D Experience.

The news today (actually, it was late last week) is that Brandgenuity has brokered a deal between MGM Studios and streetwear manufacturer Undefeated (UNDFTD) for a line of apparel in time for Rocky‘s 35th anniversary. The collection will include T-shirts, snapback hats, knit hats, crewneck sweatshirts, hoodies, and accessories for Rocky Balboa and opponents including Apollo Creed and Clubber Lang.

The line includes more than 20 pieces and will be in stores for holiday.

Papercuts will reprint classic Three Stooges comics in a collector’s hardcover edition and for the film publish a movie based comic book at graphic novel length in both paperback and hard cover formats and e-versions. The to-market date is March, prior to the new movie release date of April 4.

“Getting the classic Three Stooges comics back out to the fans will be a very attractive collectible product and will also give new fans some terrific entertainment about the Stooges prior antics in this medium. The graphic novel style comic for the movie will be a terrific product addition, also in another medium, to the movie event for fans and this, too, will become an instant collectible,” says Ani Khachoian, C3’s Executive Vice President of Licensing & Consumer Products.

This has enraged some Netflix suscribers for the second time this year; the first was when the company announced that it was effectively doubling the price of its service for DVD- and streaming video-rental plans. This blog can’t understand what the fuss is about this time, because it appears to be purely cosmetic, but Wired.com’s Eliot Van Buskirk has a simple idea: It’s about licensing.

He writes:

The people who own movie copyrights already treat Netflix’s DVD and streaming businesses separately, and have done so for years. We weren’t in the room when these deals were struck, but given Netflix’s surprising decision, it seems clear that the movie studios were using one as a bargaining chip against the other. Basically: “We’ll give you X on DVD if you accept not having Y on a stream until Z date.”

The name change, Van Buskirk writes, is an opportunity to gain leverage with the studios. Read the whole thing; it’s good. If you have Netflix streaming—er, “Netflix”—watch The Parking Lot Movie. It’s great.

—Bryan Joiner

There’s a great article by Brooks Barnes in the Media Decoder blog on NYT.com about Conan the Barbarian and what Paradox Entertainment has done to rebuild the brand.

I won’t spoil anything, but I’ll just note that when Paradox took the rights to Conan in 2002, they yanked all licensed products off the market. Why? “Conan’s brutality had been so watered down in search of the broadest possible audience that there was almost no personality left,” Barnes writes, paraphrasing a Paradox executive.

The long-term approach has paid off with a new Conan movie to be released next Friday… and new licensing opportunities. As they say in the New York City subway system, sometimes you’ve got to go backward to go forward.

—Bryan Joiner

Rose explains that the W chain of hotels uses Bliss soaps, shampoos, and lotions to lure customers. She explores the habits of other hotel chains including Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Ritz Carlton, and Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group. Many of the agreements involve licensing between hotel beauty product suppliers and luxury brands.

UK Judge Rules Against Lucasfilm

The designer of the original Storm Trooper helmets for the Star Wars franchise has won a legal battle in the United Kingdom that will allow him to continue selling the helmets there, BBC news reports.

Andrew Ainsworth of London is not allowed to sell the helmets in the U.S. due to American copyright law, but British Supreme Court judges accepted Ainsworth’s argument that the helmets were not artistic works but functional ones, and therefore not subject to the same copyright protection as works of art. The court ruled that three-dimensional creations are not considered sculptures, limiting their copyright protection in the United Kingdom to 15 years.

Retail Sales Up, But Profits, Not So Much

Reuters reports that U.S. retailers will report a nearly 3 percent increase in sales from last year, but that an increase in sales of discount merchandise has kept margins razor-thin.

The article posits that the large number of sales is designed to clear store shelves before the back-to-school season—but it is unclear whether BTS items will command full price.

As we’ve written before, licensed goods should fare pretty well during BTS season, regardless of overall sales numbers.

—Bryan Joiner