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RLJE Films Acquires the Nicolas Cage Action-thriller “A Score to Settle”

Following the success of ‘Mandy,’ Nicolas Cage reuniteswith RLJE Films.

LOS ANGELES, April 23, 2019 – RLJE Films has acquired the action-thriller A SCORE TO SETTLE. Written by John Newman (“Get Shorty”) and directed by Shawn Ku (Beautiful Boy), produced by Goldrush Entertainment’s Eric Gozlan (Beautiful Boy) and Minds Eye Entertainment’s Kevin DeWalt (The Humanity Bureau), and Danielle Masters (The Recall), the film stars Nicolas Cage (Mandy), Benjamin Bratt (Doctor Strange) and Noah Le Gros (Wolves). A SCORE TO SETTLE will be In Theaters and On Demand on August 2, 2019. Mark Ward, Chief Acquisitions Officer for RLJE Films, made the announcement today.

“We are excited to collaborate for the fifth time with the legendary Nicolas Cage,” said Ward. “Following the success of Mandy, we cannot wait to take audiences on another adventure.”

In A SCORE TO SETTLE, Frank (Cage), a former mob enforcer, is released from prison after serving 22 years for a crime he didn’t commit. Now free, he sets out on a path for revenge against the people who wronged him.

Ward and Jess De Leo from RLJE Films and Arianne Fraser and Alana Crow from Highland Film Group negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers. Highland Film Group is also handling international sales.

Fraser commented: “After our experience collaborating on Terminal, we are delighted to be partnering again with Mark and the team at RLJE Films. A SCORE TO SETTLE has found its perfect home and we can’t wait for audiences to experience this action-packed ride come summer!”

“We at Goldrush Entertainment are thrilled to have worked with Nicolas Cage whom brilliantly embodied the complex character of Frank Carver,” says Producer Eric Gozlan of Goldrush Entertainment. “We are ecstatic to have found a home for A SCORE TO SETTLE at RLJE Films!”

“It has never been more difficult to produce a truly independent film,” says Producer Kevin DeWalt of Minds Eye Entertainment. “We are delighted to have amassed such an outstanding cast for A SCORE TO SETTLE and to be working with great distribution partners such as the Highland Film Group and RLJE Films.”

A SCORE TO SETTLE is a Goldrush Entertainment and Minds Eye Entertainment Production and was produced by Spartiate Films in association with Paragon Media Productions. Produced by Eric Gozlan, Kevin DeWalt and Danielle Masters, the film is Co-Produced by Benjamin DeWalt and the Executive Producers are Nicolas Cage, Richard Iott, Mark Weissman, Robert Bricker, Arianne Fraser, Delphine Perrier, Henry Winterstern, Daniel Negret, Stephen Dailey, Simon Williams, Silvia Schmidt, Sam Ai, Mike King, Jeff Rice, Luke Daniels and Co-Executive Producer Ryan Winterstern.

ABOUT RLJE FILMS

A privately-owned subsidiary of AMC Networks, RLJ Entertainment, Inc. is a premium digital channel company serving distinct audiences primarily through its popular OTT branded channels, Acorn TV (British TV) and UMC (Urban Movie Channel), which have rapidly grown through development, acquisition, and distribution of its exclusive rights to a large library of international and British dramas, independent feature films and urban content. RLJE’s titles are also distributed in multiple formats including broadcast and pay television, theatrical and non-theatrical, DVD, Blu-ray, and a variety of digital distribution models (including EST, VOD, SVOD and AVOD) in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Additionally, through Acorn Media Enterprises, its UK development arm, RLJE commissions and co-produces new programs and owns 64% of Agatha Christie Limited. For more information, please visit RLJENTERTAINMENT.COM.

RLJE Films Acquires “Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich”

RLJE Films to Release the Reimagining of the Franchise Classic in August 2018 Following its World Premiere at The Overlook Film Festival

LOS ANGELES, April 23, 2018 – RLJE Films, a brand of RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE), has acquired all North American rights to highly anticipated horror movie Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich. The reimagining of the Full Moon Features cult classic stars Thomas Lennon (TV’s “Reno 911!”), Jenny Pellicer (TV’s “Cocaine Godmother”), Nelson Franklin (TV’s “Veep”), Charlyne Yi (This is 40), Michael Pare (Eddie and the Cruisers), and Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator). The iconic Udo Kier (Brawl in Cell Block 99) stars as the titular character. Written by S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk) and directed by Sonny Laguna (We Are Monsters) and Tommy Wiklund (Wither), RLJE Films plans to release the movie in theaters in August 2018.

Dallas Sonnier and Amanda Presmyk produced Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich for Cinestate, the Texas-based entertainment company that recently acquired Fangoria magazine. This shall be the first feature released under the resurrected Fangoria label. Sonnier and Zahler courted original franchise creator Charles Band for the right to produce an all new take on the idea, with Band serving as Executive Producer.

“We are incredibly excited to be able to bring the first film under the new Fangoria brand to audiences this summer,” said RLJE Films’ Chief Acquisitions Officer Mark Ward. “With an amazing script from S. Craig Zahler and performances from horror legends Barbara Crampton and Udo Kier, we know Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich will thrill fans of the original films and new audiences alike.”

In Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, recently divorced and reeling, Edgar (Lennon) returns to his childhood home to regroup his life. When Edgar finds a nefarious looking puppet in his deceased brother’s room, he decides to sell the doll for some quick cash at a small-town convention celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders. Girl-next-door Ashley (Pellicer) and his comic book shop boss, Markowitz (Franklin), join Edgar for the doomed road trip. All hell breaks loose when a strange force animates the puppets at the convention, setting them on a bloody killing spree that’s motivated by an evil as old as time.

In addition to the talented cast and filmmakers involved in Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, the legendary Fabio Frizzi (Zombi 2, The Beyond) composed the score for the movie and two-time finalist of Syfy’s FACE-OFF, Tate Steinsiek, served as puppet creator/SFX artist.

Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich maintains all of the brutally inventive puppet kills infused with the comedic tendencies that made the original franchise so popular with fans, while expanding upon Toulon’s backstory and developing richer dialogue, characters, and narratives.

The original Puppet Master is an American horror movie franchise that focuses on a group of anthropomorphic puppets, each equipped with their own unique and dangerous device. Produced by Band and his Full Moon Features label, the series was established in 1989 with the eponymous first installment, which has since been followed by numerous sequels, comic books, collector’s items and toys.

Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich was also produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura (1492) and Mark Vahradian (Transformers). It was executive produced by Adam Donaghey (A Ghost Story), Johnathan Brownlee (The Incident at Sparrow Creek Lumber), Wayne Marc Godfrey (The Foreigner), Robert Jones (The Usual Suspects), Rick Prince (Enuattii) and Red Sanders (A Bad Idea Gone Wrong). Frequent Laguna & Wiklund partner David Liljeblad also produced.

Ward and Jess De Leo from RLJE negotiated the deal with Sonnier on behalf of Cinestate.

# # #

ABOUT RLJ ENTERTAINMENT

RLJ Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLJE) is a premium digital channel company serving distinct audiences primarily through its popular OTT branded channels, Acorn TV (British TV) and UMC (Urban Movie Channel), which have rapidly grown through development, acquisition, and distribution of its exclusive rights to a large library of international and British dramas, independent feature films and urban content. RLJE’s titles are also distributed in multiple formats including broadcast and pay television, theatrical and non-theatrical, DVD, Blu-ray, and a variety of digital distribution models (including EST, VOD, SVOD and AVOD) in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Additionally, through Acorn Media Enterprises, its UK development arm, RLJE co-produces and develops new programs and owns 64% of Agatha Christie Limited.

For more information, please visit RLJEntertainment.com, Acorn.tv, and UMC.tv.

RLJE Films’ new and upcoming features include Brawl in Cell Block 99 starring Vince Vaughn and written & directed by S. Craig Zahler, I Kill Giants with Zoe Saldana and Madison Wolfe, and Terminal starring Margot Robbie, Simon Pegg and Mike Myers. www.us.rljentertainment.com.

Out of the Blue Enterprises Acquires Colorforms

New Colorforms Animated Series, Extensive Toyline and Digital Apps Planned for New Generation to Love

Toy Industry Veteran George Vorkas Tapped as President of Colorforms Brand LLC

New York City – October 6, 2014 – Out of the Blue Enterprises LLC, a leader in children’s educational media founded by the creators of Super Why and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, has acquired the legacy brand Colorforms, named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Toys of All-Time. Out of the Blue focuses on multi-platform interactive, curriculum-based entertainment and consumer products, and are planning an extensive new toyline, animated series and digital apps based on the beloved Colorforms brand.
With over one billion sets sold throughout the past 60+ years, Colorforms vinyl stick-on playsets are one of the best-known toy brands. They provide safe, creative, open-ended and imaginative play, and have been trusted by generations of parents and grandparents. Colorforms began with basic shapes of squares, triangles and circles, and has evolved, incorporating relevant licensed characters and other innovations that engage kids in storytelling.

Colorforms Brand LLC, the new division of Out of the Blue, will showcase its new Colorforms toyline to retailers at the Dallas Fall Mass Market Preview this week in booth 12-414, and expects to debut product at retail in Fall 2015, based on popular and classic brands including, Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer, Bubble Guppies, SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Peter Rabbit, Pete the Cat and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

“We are very excited to expand our portfolio of owned IP with this acquisition,” said Samantha Freeman, CEO of Out of the Blue and Colorforms Brand. “Our focus has always been toys and entertainment that elicit creative play, and Colorforms is the ideal property. We see so much potential to expand the toys, and simultaneously develop across our current lines of business — TV and digital – to really bring Colorforms to life. This treasured brand infused with classic and contemporary applications will only strengthen its appeal to the next generation.”

Out of the Blue also recently appointed toy industry veteran George Vorkas to head up its Colorforms Brand division as President. Vorkas previously held senior positions with The Bridge Direct and Li and Fung.

“From Michael Jackson to Mickey Mouse, many of the biggest and most iconic entertainment characters of our time have been featured on Colorforms,” said Vorkas. “Colorforms is a premier creativity brand, and we have exciting plans for expansion, including new formats, price points and features for the toyline as well as new entertainment, licenses and digital content. I am honored to help bring this brand into the future with the team at Out of the Blue.”

Angela Santomero, Chief Creative Officer of Out of the Blue, will be creating a new animated series based on Colorforms. Santomero has extensive experience in children’s entertainment as the Creator/Executive producer of preschool entertainment hits, including Blue’s Clues, Super Why and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.

Connect with Colorforms on Social Media! https://www.facebook.com/colorforms

ABOUT OUT OF THE BLUE ENTERPRISES
Out of the Blue Enterprises is a leader in children’s educational media, with a portfolio of breakthrough,
interactive and multi-platform, curriculum-based entertainment for television, video, mobile apps and
consumer products. Out of the Blue creates and produces Super WHY, the hit Emmy-nominated literacy series
on PBS KIDS; Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, for The Fred Rogers Co/PBS Kids Galaxy and the upcoming
Wishenpoof for Amazon Studios and Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Room, and handles all licensing and merchandising
activity for Super WHY and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. The company also develops top-rated mobile
educational game apps, including Super WHY, Chuggington: Terrific Trainee, and Colorforms: Revolution. Led
by Co-Founders Angela C. Santomero, Creator of the hit preschool entertainment franchise, Blue’s Clues; and
Samantha Freeman, a former Nickelodeon and toy industry executive, Out of the Blue aims to engage kids and
families with age-appropriate, entertaining, and engaging learning

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Filed Under: Toys Tagged With: acquires, blue, colorforms, enterprises

Maya Entertainment Acquires Domestic Rights to “La Hora Cero”

MAYA ENTERTAINMENT ACQUIRES DOMESTIC RIGHTS TO “LA HORA CERO” (Aka THE ZERO HOUR) FROM HSI FILMS

VOD and Home Video Release Slated for 2012

“La Hora Cero” Set Box Office Record As Highest Grossing Film In Venezuelan Film History

LOS ANGELES, CA – Maya Entertainment has acquired from Los Angeles based HSI Films the domestic rights to “La Hora Cero”, a non-stop action/thriller shot entirely on location in the streets of Venezuela. The deal for domestic rights includes plans for a 2012 VOD on Maya’s Comcast and Time Warner branded folders, Blu-Ray/DVD, and iTunes and other digital platforms.

Quickly becoming the highest grossing local film in Venezuelan history, “La Hora Cero” (aka The Zero Hour) is a gritty, fast-paced heist film. Set in Caracas during the 24 hours of a controversial medical strike, it follows Parca, a tattooed hit man as he takes a private hospital hostage in order to save his girlfriend. What seemed like a perfect plan will end in a frenetic outcome, as Parca is forced to come to terms with his past, and as he discovers that his worst enemies are much closer than he ever imagined. A love story told in the midst of chaos, “La Hora Cero” is a timely and universal story about the mythic rise to power and the inevitable fall from grace.

“Maya Entertainment is extremely proud to have acquired the in-your-face action picture “La Hora Cero”, and even more thrilled to be working with the talented writer/director Diego Velasco and writer/producer Carolina Paiz,” said David Rand, EVP of Home Entertainment for Maya Entertainment.

Hollywood Studios International (parent company to HSI Films) Chairman and CEO Steven Saxton said, “We’re extremely pleased to have found the perfect partner in Maya Entertainment for the US release of one of the most exciting and influential films to come out of Latin America this past year.”

“La Hora Cero” was produced by Open Studios and Factor +RH in association with Anonimo Studio and Centro Nacional Autonomo de Cinematografia (CNAC). The deal was negotiated by Tonantzin Esparza, Director of Acquisitions on behalf of Maya and Eric Christenson of HSI Films on behalf of Executive Producer Sergio Aguero and producers, Diego Velasco and Carolina Paiz.

MAYA ENTERTAINMENT | www.maya-entertainment.com

Based in Los Angeles, Maya Entertainment Group, Inc. is an independent multi-platform content and distribution company that has established itself as the leader of media product that appeals to the “new mainstream” of American Latino and Multi-cultural audiences. Led by entertainment industry pioneers, Moctesuma Esparza (Selena, Gettysburg) and Jeff Valdez (Sí TV, QuePasa.com), Maya Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes entertainment programming and has established a library of over 100 titles, which are available at retail, for rental, and on VOD through Time Warner Cable, Comcast, iN DEMAND, and TVN.

Maya International Distribution, headed by Elias Axume, sells rights to its entertainment properties worldwide and has a presence at key markets including Berlin Film Festival/European Film Market, Hong Kong FILMART, Cannes Film Festival, MIP-TV, Toronto International Film Festival, MIPCOM and AFM. Currently, Maya International is selling rights to La Mission, starring Benjamin Bratt; The Jesuit, starring Michelle Rodriguez and Willem Dafoe; Café, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie Kennedy; Without Men starring Eva Longoria Parker, Christian Slater and Oscar Nunez; Across the Line, starring Aidan Quinn and Mario van Peebles; and The Last Rites of Joe May, starring Dennis Farina, among others.

Maya’s recent theatrical and home video releases include the Official 2010 Sundance selection The Dry Land, starring America Ferrera, Jason Ritter, and Wilmer Valderrama; the action-drama Across the Line starring Aidan Quinn, Mario Van Peebles, and Andy Garcia; and Sins of My Father (Pecados de mi Padre), the true story of Pablo Escobar, the infamous boss of Colombia’s Medellin drug cartel, as told through the eyes of his son; Sympathy for Delicious, directed by and starring Mark Ruffalo, Orlando Bloom, Laura Linney and Juliette Lewis; Without Men, starring Eva Longoria Parker, Christian Slater and Oscar Nunez; and Café, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt.

ABOUT HSI FILMS

HSI Films is a worldwide theatrical motion picture financing, production and distribution division of Hollywood Studios International. The company handles all aspects of marketing and distribution for both its own internally developed motion pictures, as well as acquired films. HSI Films Distribution is led by Eric Christenson, who has licensed films that represent more than 50 Academy Award nominations, including: Academy Award “Best Picture” winners “The Hurt Locker” and “The Departed,” as well as “Traffic”, “The Aviator,” and “Gangs of New York”. HSI Films Production is overseen by Producer Paul Schiff. Schiff has an in-house first-look production deal with HSI. Some of the films produced by Schiff include “Young Guns I & II,” “My Cousin Vinny,“ “The Vanishing,” “Rushmore,” “Maid in Manhattan,” “Mona Lisa Smile,” and “Solitary Man.”

ABOUT HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS INTERNATIONAL

Hollywood Studios International is a media holding company focused on the intelligent deployment of capital in the entertainment industry. The company has developed a portfolio of fee-based businesses ranging from talent representation to international distribution.

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Filed Under: Film Headlines Tagged With: acquires, cero, domestic, entertainment, hora, la, ...

CBS Films Acquires TIFF Crowd Pleaser “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”

CBS FILMS ACQUIRES TIFF CROWD PLEASER SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN

TORONTO – September 12, 2011 – CBS Films announced today that they have acquired the U.S. distribution rights to SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN which made its world premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival this week. The announcement was made jointly today by CBS Films’ COO Wolfgang Hammer and EVP of Acquisitions Scott Shooman.

Directed by Oscar©-nominee Lasse Hallström (Chocolat), SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN is an extraordinary, beguiling tale of fly-fishing and political spinning, of unexpected heroism and late-blooming love and of an attempt toprove the impossible, possible. Ewan McGregor (Beginners) and Emily Blunt (The Adjustment Bureau) star in the feature film alongside Oscar©-nominee Kristen ScottThomas (I’ve Loved You So Long).

Based on Paul Torday’s acclaimed novel, SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN is written by Oscar©-winner Simon Beaufoy (Slumdog Millionaire) and produced by Paul Webster (The Motorcycle Diaries) and executive produced by Jamie Laurenson, Stephen Garrett, Paula Jalfon, Zygi Kamasa and Guy Avshalom.

“I am so happy to have the support of the team at CBS Films for the distribution of our labor of love, ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.’ I had the best of times working on it with producer Paul Webster, writer Simon Beaufoy and the cast, Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Amr Waked and Kristin Scott Thomas,” said Hallström.

“Lasse Hallström has done it again with this beautiful, heartwarming, and elegant picture. The performances are amazing from top to bottom,” commented Shooman who continued, “We are honored to have the opportunity to bring this extraordinary film to American audiences.”

UTAIndependent Film Group set up the film’s financing and brokered the deal with CBS Films.

About CBS Films

CBS Films is a division of CBS Corporation. CBS Films will release four to six movies a year, spanning all genres. For more information, log on to www.cbsfilms.com.

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Filed Under: Film Headlines Tagged With: acquires, cbs, crowd, films, fishing, pleaser, ...

Tribeca Film Acquires US Rights to Tony Kaye’s Detachment”

Photo Credit - Tony Kaye

TRIBECA FILM ACQUIRES US RIGHTS TO TONY KAYE’S DETACHMENT

***

Provocative Drama Features A Stellar Lead Performance From Adrien Brody, Anchoring An Ensemble Cast That Includes James Caan, Bryan Cranston, Blythe Danner, Marcia Gay Harden, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, William Peterson, Betty Kaye and Sami Gayle

***

“Brody delivers his finest performance since ‘The Pianist’… an award-caliber turn.”

– The Hollywood Reporter

“A wrenching and powerful achievement… tremendous cast … I was swept along by the spectacular visual journey.”

– Salon.com

New York, NY – September 8, 2011 – Tribeca Film announced today that it has acquired all US distribution rights, including theatrical, VOD, digital, TV and DVD, to Detachment, a vivid and compelling ensemble drama from acclaimed Director Tony Kaye (American History X, Lake of Fire) that had its World Premiere at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival.

Tribeca Film, supported by Founding Partner American Express, plans a 2012 release via a multi-city theatrical engagement, running day-and-date with nationwide VOD and digital distribution, followed by DVD, pay-TV, and a range of other platforms.

In Director Tony Kaye’s Detachment, Academy Award® winner Adrien Brody stars as Henry Barthes, an educator with a true talent to connect with his students. Yet Henry has chosen to bury his gift. By spending his days as a substitute teacher, he conveniently avoids any emotional connections by never staying anywhere long enough to form an attachment to either students or colleagues. When a new assignment places him at a public school where a frustrated, burned-out administration has created an apathetic student body, Henry soon becomes a role model to the disaffected youth. In finding an unlikely emotional connection to the students, teachers, and a runaway teen he takes in from the streets, Henry realizes that he’s not alone in his life and death struggle to find beauty in a seemingly vicious and loveless world.

Kaye, molding a contemporary vision of people who become increasingly distant from others while still feeling the need to connect, directs a stellar ensemble cast from a script by Carl Lund. Anchored by an award-worthy performance from Brody, Detachment also features memorable roles by Christina Hendricks, Academy® Award nominee James Caan, Academy® Award winner Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu, Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson, Bryan Cranston, William Petersen and newcomers Betty Kaye and Sami Gayle.

“I was personally drawn to make the movie because I wanted to take the character of Henry Barthes and make him universal, make him all of us, and learn myself from that journey. He is the baton in a relay race, an infinite piece of clay to sculpt, a human being formed out of pain and sent to the masses to teach in the education system. Our purpose in being born is to learn and teach, and to be happy,” Kaye said. “Looking at the ever changing landscape of film distribution, I think the Tribeca Film team is perfectly positioned to shepherd Detachment into this new exciting era.”

“Detachment is a singular experience. Tony Kaye combines a range of filmmaking techniques, terrific ensemble acting and a wonderful lead performance by Adrien Brody,” said Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “The film truly demands to be seen; we look forward to bringing it to a wider audience through Tribeca Film.”

Detachment is produced by Paper Street Films’ Austin Stark, Benji Kohn, Chris Papavasiliou and Bingo Gubelmann, Kingsgate Films’ Greg Shapiro, and Carl Lund. It is executive produced by Brody, Peter Sterling and Andre Laport. Marco Frigeri is co-executive producer.

The US distribution deal was negotiated by Nick Savva and Randy Manis for Tribeca Film, and International Creative Management, which also represents Kaye.

Celluloid Dreams has recently acquired all worldwide sales rights. Mongrel Media has acquired the Canadian rights and will distribute the film in 2012. Pretty Pictures has taken the French rights and is planning a winter 2012 release. Detachment can next be seen at the 37^th Deauville Festival.

About Tribeca Film:

Tribeca Film is a comprehensive distribution label dedicated to acquiring and marketing independent films across multiple platforms, including video-on-demand, theatrical, digital, home video and television. It is an initiative from Tribeca Enterprises designed to provide new platforms for how film can be experienced, while supporting filmmakers and introducing audiences to films they might not otherwise see. American Express continues its support of Tribeca and the independent film community by serving as the Founding Partner of Tribeca Film.

Tag: acquires

RLJE Films Acquires the Nicolas Cage Action-thriller “A Score to Settle”

Following the success of ‘Mandy,’ Nicolas Cage reuniteswith RLJE Films.

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