Kenan Thompson literally grew up on television breaking out as one of Nickelodeon’s first stars and now leading laughs as an adult on “Saturday Night Live.” The comedian is expanding his range in the entertainment industry and is forging his way into production and talent management with his new company, Artists For Artists.
Artists For Artists is a full-service artist incubator for content creation, production, commerce and management venture. The company is designed to help talent create and produce their own content and will help stars and creatives build their own content brands while partnering with distributors.
Thompson and his business partner John Ryan Jr. formed a joint venture with management firm McKeon/Myones Entertainment, and set the company’s first project with boxing champion Mike Tyson. Ryan Jr., who was former COO of FilmEngine and producer of Bill & Ted Face The Music is also responsible for getting Iron Mike to lace up his gloves once again for his fight with Roy Jones last year.
Thompson and his partners will produce Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth Part 2, a live stage tour, written by Kiki Tyson that is a follow-up to his 2013 one-man show and HBO special. Tyson, his wife, and his brother-in-law, Azim Spicer, are producers on the upcoming project.
“Any artists looking to build a company, come see us. John and I are excited to develop companies with talent that are owned and operated by the talent. We’ve all been part of projects we as artists wish we owned a bigger piece of, so we knew it was time to start a company that reflected that,” Thompson explained to Variety.
