Frank Basile, Robert Clater and Lesia Kaye of The Time of Nick

The Time of Nick LLC is seeking funding to create the animated musical feature film, The Time of Nick, which reimagines the origin of our beloved Santa Claus as a teenage orphan. Nick discovers his gifts, purpose and destiny in a life-threatening quest that will test his heart and courage. It is a magical adventure, fantasy and romance all rolled into one high-flying musical journey. We follow young Nick from his home in Claus Forest where The North Wind delivered him as an infant, via chimney drop, to be raised by exiled Elves, to the town of Tightwood. There he meets Holly (the girl of his dreams) and encounters Lord Steel (his nemesis) who wants to level the forest and destroy the Elves. Nick must take immediate action when the town’s greed triggers an ancient curse, threatening the destruction of all. Nick must beat Lord Steel to the dangerous peak of Devil’s Horn to save the village and protect the Elves. Captured and stranded alone on the mountaintop, Nick learns his real gift is the courage to be kind and the healing power of charity and love. With the help of Holly, her precocious cousin Maddie and the North Wind, Nick embraces his destiny and revisits the famous chimney drop with a bag full of toys in the nick of time—the time of adventure—the time of courage—The Time of Nick!

The Time of Nick is an international project with contributors from Norway and the United States. It is spearheaded by the producing team of Frank Basile, Robert Clater and Lesia Kaye each with extensive backgrounds in entertainment.

• Frank Basile’s (Producer) multifaceted and extraordinary career has taken him from singing at the White House while assigned to the United States Air Force Singing Sergeants, to singing on some of the most notable opera stages in the world and working behind-the-scenes on productions of movies, music, and theater. Frank’s current project is a vocal love letter to his late wife, the Oscar winning actress and incomparable Celeste Holm.
• Robert Clater (Producer and Screenwriter) is an award-winning stage director and choreographer (SDC) who has spent many successful years as an accomplished performer on Broadway, in films and on national television. His work has contributed to 1 Tony, 2 Emmy Awards, and 11 Ovation Awards, among others. Robert’s recent work has been developing new projects for stage and film. 
• Lesia Kaye (Producer) has a master’s degree in arts management with a career that spans from the Los Angeles, North America division, of Watson Wyatt Worldwide, to Executive Director of non-profit theatre, producing professional and children’s productions. Her expertise in decades in theatre education across five states lead her to developing a theatrical training program that gives her an intricate understanding of The Tine of Nicks’ demographic.
• Charles Herzfeld (Executive Producer) is a major force in feature film and broadcast television postproduction. Over the past 35 years he has worked on more than 100 feature film and broadcast programs, currently working as a post-production supervisor and producer of narrative features, episodic television and documentaries. He is a well-known and respected advisor in the postproduction business for producers, directors, editors and cinematographers alike. He has been an associate member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 2003. Starting in 2019 he began hosting a film industry podcast called Conversations with Charlie, available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and Luminary, distributed by THEPODMATRIX.
• Susan Blu (Voice Director) is one of the most influential voice directors in television and film animation. Widely respected as a mentor and pioneer, she has helped redefine modern animation voice acting. From her first work as the voice of the original Pillsbury Doughgirl to directing and acting in acclaimed productions such as Beast Wars: Transformers, Transformers Animated, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Magic School Bus with Lily Tomlin, and Clifford the Big Red Dog with John Ritter, her impact on animation has been far-reaching. As a voice actress, she is best known as Arcee in The Transformers: The Movie and The Transformers, with additional roles in Jem, The Smurfs, and BraveStarr.
• Mike de Seve of Baboon Animation is joining The Time of Nick team as script coordinators and to add their experience to the project. For more than two decades, Baboon Animation’s team members have provided Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated writing, directing, and voice to the most successful animation studios and networks in the world. Founded by DREAMWORKS alumnus Mike de Seve, Baboon has grown to become one of the most accomplished animation writing and voicing teams worldwide, with 31 EMMYS collectively, and credits on dozens of the most popular animated films and series for families and teens.
• Renegade Animation is on the team to conceive, and hand draw our beloved characters. Nestled in Glendale, CA, Renegade is the industry leader in cross platform digital animation and produces smart, funny, animated content for film, television, advertising, streaming products, and other media. The studio’s strengths lie in personality-based character animation combined with a strong use of design, achieving a traditional look with non-traditional tools.
• The creative team of The Time of Nick conceived the project as a stage musical. Co-book writer, Ketil Kolstad, is a Norwegian director, writer, and actor. Ketil served as the artistic director of the regional theatre in Nord-Trøndelag and will be the next theater manager of Nordland Teater. Co-book writer, Hanne Brincker, is a Norwegian actress, director, and producer. Hanne worked as artistic director of the touring company The Tramp Theatre and as an actress and director at the regional theatre in Nord-Trøndelag. Composer, Tor Ingar Jakobsen, is a Norwegian composer, arranger, and pianist. He was educated at the University of Oslo as Candidate of Arts and Letters in composing, jazz piano and arranging. Lyricist, Abraham Tetenbaum, is also an American playwright and non-profit theater executive, who has written for Broadway (Crazy He Calls Me) and network television (NBC’s Sisters).
• The Time of Nick LLC is represented by Sendroff & Baruch LLP, which is a unique entertainment law firm representing a premier roster of clients and properties. Sendroff & Baruch’s theatre and performing arts practice reaches virtually every show on Broadway, both as production counsel and counsel to some of the most successful dramatists, directors, designers, and music staff in the business. Their film and television practice reaches from award-winning independent films and animated film projects to network television series. 

Actors:

Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series Chicago Hope (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series Last Man Standing (2011–2021). His film roles include Pocket Money (1972), The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974), Cuba (1979), American Gigolo (1980), The Flamingo Kid (1984), Taking Care of Business (1990), Pretty Woman (1990), Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), The Princess Diaries (2001), and Love in the Time of Cholera (2007).

Elizondo has received an Obie Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two ALMA Awards, and had been nominated for a Drama Desk Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Satellite Award, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Harold Perrineau is an American actor best known for his roles as Sheriff Boyd Stevens on the series From (current) and as Michael Dawson on the television series Lost (2004-2008; 2010), Augustus Hill in the television series Oz (1997-2003), Link in The Matrix franchise (2003), and Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996). He has also starred in the films Woman on Top (2000), Smoke (1995), The Edge (1997), The Best Man (1999), 28 Weeks Later (2007), and Zero Dark Thirty (2012). His other television credits include Sons of Anarchy (2012), Constantine (2014-2015), Claws (2017-2022), and The Rookie (2019-2021). He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in the hit indie film Smoke.

Barry Pearl was born on March 29, 1950 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA as Barry Lee Pearl. Upon graduating from Carnegie -Mellon University (1973) he joined the cast of the first national tour of the stage play, Grease, which began his journey with that project to the very present. He is known for his work on the film, Grease (1978), My Favorite Martian (1999), and The Newest Pledge (2012) to name a few. To see a partial, yet extensive list of Barry’s other theatrical credits, please view his resume.