Jagger series satisfies A&E

Stone signs small screen pact

By JOHN DEMPSEY

Jagger

DeBitetto

Hell-bent on luring in more young viewers, A&E has signed a deal with Mick Jagger's Jagged Films for a series of eight hourlong cinema verite profiles of celebrities called "Being ..."

"I look on this project as a new direction, an evolution, of A&E's 'Biography' franchise," said Bob DeBitetto, senior VP of programming for A&E.

DeBitetto said these profiles will be more day-in-the-life-of pieces than the traditional narrated hour loaded with film clips and stock footage that takes the subject from birth to the present day.

The first episode will focus on Jagger himself in "Being Mick," a 60-minute 2001 docu that Kevin McDonald directed for Channel 4 in England and ABC in the U.S.

A&E will not include the eight "Being ..." hours within the "Biography" series but will play them as specials, promoting them to an audience younger than the typical viewer of "Biography."

Jagger is exec producer of "Being ..." with the exec producer for A&E Didi O'Hearn. Jagger's partner Victoria Pearlman is the producer.