One of the most difficult and least understood elements of producing toys and collectibles is securing the proper licensing agreements that make sure everyone is properly credited and paid. It may seem obvious to fans that there should be action figures of Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan from “The Walking Dead,” for example, but actually making that happen is an art unto itself.
Marc Mostman, of Striker Entertainment, is one of the biggest names in licensing and marketing. As a life-long Pop Culture and with a background as a lawyer he is ideally placed and for his behind the scenes efforts to bring toys and collectibles to market, he is a 2017 inductee in the Pop Culture Hall of Fame.
Marc has worked on numerous popular franchises over the years, including The Walking Dead, Angry Birds, Five Nights at Freddy’s, The Terminator, Street Fighter, Dark Stalkers, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Tomb Raider, Hitman, God of War, Assassin’s Creed, The Twilight Saga, The Hunger Games, Doctor Who, The Crow, Star Trek and so on and on. As a licensing exec, Mostman has been responsible for these and many other popular entertainment brands ending up on arcade games, roller coasters, and of course, toys and collectibles.
The legal and logisitcal headaches are numerous when attempting to bring a brand and a product idea together. For a movie character, the copyright must be secured for say, the movie, the comic book publisher, and the actor if an action figure or to is going to look like that specific person. Mostman is one of the most successful and wrangling all of these things together and getting toys to the shelves.
Before working at Striker, he had his own company, MOST Management, who handled various television and video game contracts. It’s no surprise to learn that prior to that gig, he worked for Paramount, Disney, and other entertainment companies, learning the ropes and forging relationships.
