Legendary Entertainment has purchased Smart Girls at the Party, a site founded by comedian Amy Poehler. Launched in 2008, the women’s empowerment forum offers original video content that focuses on giving a voice to young women. The Austin, Texas, site has grown to have more than 550,000 Facebook fans and 5 million views on its YouTube channel. Smart Girls will join the Burbank studio’s digital division, which includes geek culture site Nerdist and recent acquisition Geek & Sundry. Legendary Digital Network is looking to expand beyond offering geek and fanboy content. “We at Smart Girls are excited to be working with Legendary and look forward to providing funny and inspirational content for all of the goofballs out there,” Poehler said in a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal follows news last week that Legendary Pictures received a $250 million investment from SoftBank Corp., a Japanese telecom company that reportedly has bid $3.4 billion for DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Legendary Chief Executive Thomas Tull said the partnership was an opportunity for SoftBank, and its newly formed unit SoftBank Internet and Media Inc. unit, to extend its reach into entertainment and media. Digital content quality control firm My Eye Media announced on Tuesday that it is opening an office in New York to expand its business operations. My Eye, based in Burbank, located its east coast headquarters in the CNN building in midtown Manhattan. My Eye Media reviews files used for home entertainment products and online downloads and streaming for entertainment clients such as Warner Bros., Paramount, and Comedy Central, as well as post-production services. Chief Executive Michael Kadenacy said opening the office was in line with My Eye’s growth strategy. “New York boasts robust intellectual capital, and opening a new location in the media center there is a critical component of My Eye Media’s evolving service offerings and worldwide expansion plans,” Kadenacy said in a prepared statement. The company is planning further expansion into Europe, Asia and Latin America in the months ahead, he said.
