STORIES INTERNATIONAL, INC., the production arm and joint venture of iconic video game brand SEGA and Hakuhodo DY Group, seventh-largest ad agency worldwide, has named Evan J. Cholfin Head of Development and Production for the company’s film, television and digital division.

Cholfin was most recently Director, Entertainment Development for Break Media, where he produced and oversaw a slate of film, TV and premium digital content, including sci-fi action thriller HIGHER POWER, which he produced with Lorenzo di Bonaventura (TRANSFORMERS franchise). Cholfin also produced commercials and branded content for dozens of top international brands.

At STORIES, Cholfin will focus on adapting SEGA’s video game properties and other Japanese stories into live action and animated film, TV series, and digital entertainment, working closely with STORIES’ president and CEO Tomoya Suzuki. Cholfin will also be spearheading STORIES’ US-based commercial and branded entertainment division, connecting U.S. and international directors directly to Hakuhodo DY Group’s major international brand clients to create content for Asian and worldwide markets.

STORIES currently controls the rights to forty SEGA intellectual properties, including the beloved game franchises SHINOBI, GOLDEN AXE, ALTERED BEAST, VIRTUA FIGHTER, and CRAZY TAXI, and is looking to partner with the major studios, A-list producers and filmmakers to adapt these properties into English-language feature films, television and digital series for worldwide release.

This is part of a focused effort by STORIES to build out an in-house commercial and literary management division, by leveraging for its talent direct access to SEGA IP, major international brands and properties through its parent companies and publishing partners.

Previously, Cholfin also worked in development for Oscar-winning screenwriter and filmmaker Steven Zaillian (SCHINDLER’S LIST, MONEYBALL, David Fincher’s THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO), and at Creative Artists Agency. He is a graduate of USC School of Cinematic Arts Peter Stark Producing Program (’08).

“With his impeccable taste and experience developing and producing entertainment in nearly every format imaginable, Evan is the unique executive to revitalize and canonize our partners’ brands by working with Hollywood to create stories that will last for centuries,” Suzuki said.