Feature film producers Roger Lay Jr., and Eric Carnagey of North Hollywood production company Lay/Carnagey Entertainment want to bring back the type of movies they watched when they grew up in the 1980s. That would include films from the late John Hughes such as “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Some Kind of Wonderful.” The pair finds the same sensibilities in the young adult novels of bestselling author Jennifer Smith. So they have optioned two of Smith’s books – “This is What Happy Looks Like” and “The Geography of You and Me” – to make into their own movies. “That is what we aim for and that is what Jen’s stories bring to life,” said the 38-year-old Lay. The duo will film “This is What Happy Looks Like” first, after getting several other projects completed. They hope to get into production by the late summer as it is a love story set in that season. “We’ve got to be able to film this before the summer weather goes away,” Lay said. “We are doing our best to get everything prepped and finalized so we can be rolling cameras by the end of the summer. That is the ideal scenario.” The film will be based on a screenplay written by Smith, her first. Lay and Carnagey, 34, thought it best that she adapt her book in order to keep the voice and tone of her young characters. Lay called the script “fantastic,” in that it captures the essence of the source material and condenses it. “It was great to work with the author to come up with the best interpretation for our needs,” he added. “This is What Happy Looks Like,” published in 2013, is a story about the relationship between teenage movie star Graham Larkin and small-town girl Ellie O’Neill. It was interesting to hear from Smith’s publisher that her books are not only popular with young women but also women in their 40s, Lay said. He figures that is because they, too, grew up watching the same movies that he and Carnagey did. “(They) grew up in the ’80s when these movies we are talking about were part of the shared teen experience,” Lay explained. “Now they are reading Jen’s novels because they remind them of that era.” Lay and Carnagey have already brought out one film version of a popular young adult novel – “Aliens Ate My Homework,” the 1993 book by Bruce Coville and the first in a four-book series that sold 16 million copies. “Aliens” is currently streaming on Netflix and was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Universal Pictures. Movie Trailer Channel Loop Media Inc. made its debut last month on streaming service Xumo TV, based in Irvine. The Burbank short-form video distributor brought the Preview Channel to Xumo and made its content available via smart TVs, mobile devices and set-top boxes. The Preview Channel is a 24-hour ad-supported channel for film trailers and video game previews from Loop’s library and through licensing deals with the major Hollywood studios, independent studios and production houses. Loop Media Chief Content Officer Mark Vrieling said the channel was a first-look source for entertainment fans across the country who want the most up-to-date information on upcoming projects. “Xumo, a strong and proven (over the top) leader, is the first of many compelling partnerships we look forward to announcing this year as we continue to find innovative and engaging ways to bring our premium short-form videos to audiences where they live,” Vrieling said in a statement. Creative Marketing Manager Aspect, a creative advertising agency for the entertainment industry, has named Jason Chappelle as its new executive creative director. In that role for the North Hollywood firm, Chappelle will secure new clients and projects, manage high-level creative for those clients and work with Co-Presidents Lisa Feldman and Nati Braunstein on charting the company’s future growth. “I’ve always retained a tremendous respect for Aspect’s creativity. As I now transition from ‘competitor’ to ‘collaborator,’ I couldn’t be more excited to start this new chapter of my career,” Chappelle said in a statement. Prior to joining Aspect, Chappelle had been a senior vice president and creative director at Mocean, with offices in Los Angeles and Burbank, where his most recent feature film campaigns included those for “The Lego Movie 2” and “Alita: Battle Angel.” Aspect, founded in 1978, specializes in creating marketing materials for theatrical, home entertainment, on-air, videogame and digital content clients and campaigns. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or [email protected].