The pair also sang the praises of working with Spy Kids Director Robert Rodriguez, emphasizing his marketing savvy and cooperative style. "You guys are like a real studio," is what partners will tell her, says Sale. She explains, "We are closer to the actual production than the consumer products groups at other studios." Adds Helfant, "This company is very entrepreneurial, without a lot of layers. It lets us be very responsive to licensees." One result, he says, is that Rodriguez was so impressed with a licensed shoe designed in advance of Spy Kids 2 that the director "cast" the shoes in the movie itself.

This December 20, Pinocchio from writer/director/star Roberto Benigni (of Oscar winner Life Is Beautiful) premieres in theaters. There are fewer than 10 licensees, and the only retailer with Pinocchio merchandise, such as Madame Alexander dolls, is FAO Schwarz, plus an expected tie-in to McDonald's, with bendable figures.

Other properties Helfant and Sale will be talking about at Licensing Show are The Green Hornet, summer 2004, with reintroduction of the comic book series in 2003; Artemis Fowl, a Harry Potter-like character published by sister units Talk Miramax and Hyperion Books, spring 2004; Ella Enchanted, 2003, a Cinderella-meets-Shrek story; Max Payne, 2004, based on the hot-selling video game; and for 2005, Miramax's first animated feature, Opus, from the Berkley Breathed comic strip about a "penguin with attitude."

For David Imhoff, New Line senior executive vice president, worldwide licensing & merchandising, The Lord of the Rings has become a full-time, multi-year job. Imhoff has been at New Line since 1990, when he was one of two people kick-starting its licensing business with A Nightmare on Elm Street, followed by Jim Carrey in The Mask. Now, he heads a staff of 10.

Planning for the filmization of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic literary trilogy began two years prior to launch, and the program could continue through 2005, says Imhoff. "The key," he says, "is don't flood the market because we learned there isn't going to be a significant period when a Lord of the Rings installment isn't highly visible."

The startling topicality of Part 2's title-The Two Towers-was "absolutely in our thoughts, and we're sensitive to it," notes Imhoff, "yet that is the title of a 50-year-old book."

The August home video release of Fellowship will be accompanied by a second wave of merchandise from Toy Biz, which Imhoff says "will carry through to Two Towers product in late October. The video will introduce Fellowship to a larger, and slightly younger audience, to age 6 or 7, who will then eagerly await Two Towers merchandise.

"The plan at retail is to have many pull-togethers of merchandise tied to home video," he adds, "which the mass market is behind." Barnes & Noble is the major retail partner for Lord of the Rings. There'll be new calendars, back-to-school apparel, and tie-in books.

Imhoff says that for Two Towers, "in terms of meeting with retail, it's like day and night. Eighteen months ago, we were saying, 'Trust us.' Now, we have proof, so the order levels are significantly higher because retailers know the films are successful. We've had spectacular sell-through numbers of 90 percent." Fellowship's box office receipts exceeded $800 million worldwide, with more than $300 million domestically.

The Fellowship of the Ring had 35 domestic licensees and more than 200 worldwide, in 43 countries. New Line is broadening the range of licenses for Two Towers, says Imhoff, to skew younger, but is being careful about sending mixed signals to the core audience. "We don't want to lose the 'tweens, teens, and young adults by transforming this into a juvenile program."

For example, there'll be smaller apparel sizes and more role-play elements in the toy line. The Two Towers also heralds the introduction of the first Lord of the Rings video games, from Electronic Arts.

New Line is shifting into full merchandise gear for the third installment of Austin Powers due July 26, provocatively titled Goldmember, the name of yet a fourth character portrayed by Austin mastermind Mike Myers. "People will be surprised how fresh the approach is," says Imhoff.

The goal for the third Powers, he says, "is to grow the brand internationally." There are two dozen licenses, including toys, games, apparel, stationery, publishing, and novelty, and retail partners including Spencer Gifts, Musicland, and Tower Records.

SONY PICTURES CONSUMER PRODUCTS Spider-Man. Stuart Little 2. Men In Black 2. That's Sony Pictures' enviable box office trifecta for summer 2002. Asked if he's ever had this kind of summer in his long tenure, Al Ovadia says, "I've never had this kind of anything with three films like this."

In an exclusive promotion for the film, supported by Kellogg's, Hershey, and Dr. Pepper, all 2,700 Wal-Marts have free-standing displays four-feet wide by seven-feet high. Each of the display's four sides offers customers a Spider-Man activity.

The consumer products group works closely with other company units, such as home entertainment. "Wal-Mart is their biggest customer and our big customer," Ovadia says, "so we'll all sit in one meeting that takes us from pre-theatrical to video. It's pretty convenient."

Ovadia explains that most domestic promotional partners do not have global reach, such as Cingular, and Hardy's quick service restaurants, for Spider-Man. "So we work with [Sony senior vice president, global promotions] George Leon to fill in the gaps."

As a result, there are seven fast-food partners around the world for Spidey, including McDonald's in Switzerland. Burger King is a global partner for Men In Black 2, says Ovadia, "so we would not go after a quick service restaurant for MIB2." On the Stuart Little sequel, Wendy's is the qsr partner in the U.S., with other qsr partners in South America. "It creates the opportunity for us to work together to find the best partner in each territory," he adds.

Leon adds it's a "very cyclical business. Last year it was all about Shrek or all about The Grinch. Nice to see it's finally Sony's turn. Stuart Little was a huge success for the studio. The promotions on the first movie helped Radio Shack get into a business it is not usually in."