Scott Sternberg Productions is expanding further into documentary production with the acquisition of Strong Island Films.
Sternberg, a veteran producer of unscripted TV, aims to expand the company’s activity in the true-crime arena, which is a speciality of Strong Island principles Rob Dorfmann and Cindy Dorfmann.
Sternberg financed the purchase on his own, and he remains the sole owner of his active production banner that is home to ID’s “On the Case With Paula Zahn” and the upcoming syndicated series “iCrime With Elizabeth Vargas.”
Bringing in experienced producers such as the Dorfmanns will help the company do more overall, Sternberg told PvNew.
“We are happily independent,” Sternberg said of his business. “Rob and Cindy put us in a position of strength in terms of being able to create more crime docs.”
Sternberg Prods.’ move into feature-length documentary films begins this weekend with the debut of music biopic “Motley Crue’s Vince Neil: My Story” on Reelz Channel. The deal with Reelz allows Sternberg to maintain international rights, which makes all the difference in making “My Story” a business proposition for Sternberg.
“It’s really hard to keep control of your IP in the U.S.,” Sternberg said. “We want to have control of our product.”
Sternberg directed “My Story” and executive produces with Neil. The timing of the project can only be helped by the success earlier this year of another TV series involving a Motley Crue member, Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy,” which studied the tempestuous relationship of drummer Tommy Lee and actor Pamela Anderson. Lee is featured in “My Story,” along with Crue’s Nikki Sixx and others.
Other docs in development include “Where the Hits Were Born,” a look at the locations where some of music’s biggest hits were crafted, and “Living on the Moon,” a study of efforts to prepare for a future of intergalactic living.
Strong Island is coming off a festival run for “Making an Exoneree,” a documentary about a Georgetown University project to investigate five wrongful conviction cases.
“We are very excited to be working with Scott Sternberg as he has been a mentor and friend in the true-crime space, and we look forward to creating great, compelling and entertaining shows with him,” Rob Dorfmann said.
