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OPTIMUM RELEASING ACQUIRES WHITEOUT FOR UK DISTRIBUTION
03.06.08
2008 SLATE BOOSTED BY FIRST TITLE IN MULTI PICTURE DEAL BETWEEN JOEL SILVER’S DARK CASTLE AND OPTIMUM Cannes Titles include Soderbergh’s two CHE films, Matteo Garrone’s inside look at modern Italian crime families GOMORRA and Kusturica’s MARADONA documentary Building on the existing relationship between parent company Studio Canal and Joel Silver’s Dark Castle, Optimum Releasing announced today that they will release Dominic Sena’s action thriller WHITEOUT next year. This marks the first title in a multi-picture deal with Dark Castle for the ambitious UK distributor. “Developing strong relationships with companies such as Dark Castle is key to our plans for growing the mainstream side of our slate, “ commented Optimum CEO Will Clarke. “We are delighted to be working with such a great team, and look forward to building on the relationship.” In the adrenaline-fuelled thriller WHITEOUT, based on Greg Rucka's award winning graphic novel, Kate Beckinsale stars as the lone US Marshal stationed in Antarctica, whose investigation of the continent’s first murder draws her into a terrifying mystery. With only three days until winter is over, she must solve the crime before Antarctica is plunged into darkness and she's stranded with the killer. Optimum have enjoyed a strong start to 2008 at the UK Box Office, taking more than $18 million to date on such successful releases as SON OF RAMBOW,THE ORPHANAGE and PERSEPOLIS. Highlights of the strong and varied Optimum Releasing slate for the rest of 2008 include: The first two films from Warp X, the three way production pact between Optimum, Warp and FilmFour - Chris Waitt’s COMPLETE HISTORY OF MY SEXUAL FAILURES (June 27) and Olly Blackburn’s DONKEY PUNCH (July 18) , both of which enjoyed positive, high-profile Sundance Premieres. CASS (August 1), written and directed by Jon S. Baird (and Executive Produced by Optimum’s Will Clarke), is the extraordinarily powerful and true story of Cass Pennant, an orphaned Jamaican baby, adopted by an elderly white couple and brought up in an all white area of London, who became one of the most feared men in Britain, finding respect through violence. A strong British cast features newcomer Nonso Anozie as Cass, with Nathalie Press, Leo Gregory, and Linda Bassett in support. José Padilha’s Berlin Golden Bear winner ELITE SQUAD (TROPA D’ELITE) (August 8), an intense and astonishing look at Rio de Janeiro’s notorious favelas, the volatile slums on the edge of the city. The film is set in 1997 and presents an intimate look at the city’s vast and intricate web of corruption. The story is based on the shocking true-life accounts of military police officers. The film is directed by José Padilha, (Bus 174), and written by Padilha, Academy Award® nominated writer Bráulio Mantovani (City of God) and Rodrigo Pimentel. After the success of This is England, Optimum will now release Shane Meadows’ SOMERSTOWN (August 22). Set in London, this is a film about inhospitable suburbs, broken families and loneliness than can only be eased by friendship – like that of Tomo, who left his native Midlands at age 16, and Marek, a sensitive young Polish émigré. Cedric Klapisch’s PARIS (July 25) is a rich, sweeping emotional drama with a truly stellar cast – Romain Duris, Juliette Binoche, François Cluzet and Karin Viard to name but a few – in which Klapisch regular Romain Duris sees Paris and its wide array of inhabitants in a totally different light when confronted by his apparently life-threatening illness. On a different note, Optimum will follow up on the successful release in the UK of Paramount Vantage’s Son of Rambow with another title from them - Nanette Burstein’s Sundance smash documentary Sundance smash AMERICAN TEEN - four average Midwestern teenagers struggle through trials and tribulations in this insightful and fun look at High School life. Another Optimum acquisition, Armando Iannucci’s razor-sharp political comedy IN THE LOOP, has just started shooting, featuring a stellar cast including Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini, Chris Addison, Peter Capaldi, Gina McKee and Steve Coogan. Notes to Editors: About Optimum Releasing Established in May 1999, Optimum Releasing is a key element within StudioCanal, the pan European film, production and sales distribution arm of French media group, Canal+. Optimum Releasing has established a reputation for an innovative approach to distribution and has enjoyed success with a varied mix of film titles across all genres. A passion for film and commitment to creativity is central to all of Optimum's activity. Recent and upcoming theatrical releases include Michael Moore’s FAHRENHEIT 9/11, Shane Meadows’ THIS IS ENGLAND, Guillermo del Toro’s PAN’S LABYRINTH, Paul Haggis’ IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, Marjane Satrapi’s PERSEPOLIS, Dominique Sena’s WHITEOUT and Garth Jennings’ much anticipated SON OF RAMBOW. Optimum Home Entertainment, the company's stand alone DVD division, was established in 2004 and has released over 400 titles to date, with sales in excess of $70 million generated in 2007. Optimum Releasing, StudioCanal and Lionsgate UK last year jointly acquired Elevation Sales. Elevation now handles the joint sales and distribution of home entertainment product for both Optimum Releasing and Lionsgate UK. Optimum Releasing has also expanded its production ambitions with the establishment of Warp X with Warp Films, the Film Council and Film Four. Warp X titles DONKEY PUNCH (Olly Blackburn) and A COMPLETE HISTORY OF MY SEXUAL FAILURES (Chris Waitt) have had high profile Premieres at this year’s Sundance Festival.
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11.02.08

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IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, PERSEPOLIS and SICKO get Oscar© nods
22.01.08
Three Optimum titles have been nominated for Academy Awards© in three different categories: Tommy Lee Jones has been nominated in the Best Actor category for his performance in IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH; PERSEPOLIS has been nominated for Best Animated Feature Film; and, SICKO has made the shortlist for the Best Documentary Feature award.
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Audience favourites THIS IS ENGLAND and BRICK LANE receive three BAFTA nominations
16.01.08
UK filmmakers Shane Meadows and Sarah Gavron have both received nominations for this year’s British Academy Film Awards. Shane Meadows’ critically acclaimed THIS IS ENGLAND is nominated for BEST BRITISH FILM and BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY while Gavron is nominated for the Carl Foreman Award for her first feature film, BRICK LANE.
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05.11.07

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12.09.07

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23.05.07

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23.05.07

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14.05.07
OPTIMUM RELEASING ACQUIRES TWO NEW TITLES FOR UK DISTRIBUTION London 11th May. Leading independent distributor Optimum Releasing has picked up two new titles for distribution. Optimum has acquired Film4 backed INCENDIARY from producer Archer Street Films and RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER from Carnaby International. Written and directed by Sharon Maguire (Bridget Jones’s Diary) and starring Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain), Ewan McGregor (Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Moulin Rouge, Trainspotting) and Matthew Macfadyen (Pride and Prejudice), INCENDIARY charts the story of an adulterous woman whose life is torn apart when her husband and infant son are killed in a suicide bombing at a football match. The film is currently shooting on location in London. RISE OF THE FOOTSOLDIER is written and directed by Julian Gilbey (‘Rollin’ with the Nines) and stars Ricci Harnett (28 Days Later), Roland Manookian (The Business) and Frank Harper (Lock Stock). The film follows the inexorable rise of Carlton Leach from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals in London and Essex through the late eighties, eventually becoming one of the most feared and respected criminals in the country. Recent and upcoming theatrical releases from the Optimum slate include Guillermo del Toro’s Bafta and Oscar winning fantasy PAN’S LABYRINTH, David Lynch’s INLAND EMPIRE and Shane Meadow’s BIFA winning drama THIS IS ENGLAND. Other recent acquisitions include Paul Haggis’ IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, Jeffrey Blitz’s ROCKET SCIENCE and SMOTHER, starring Diane Keaton. For further information please contact: Emma Pycroft Tel: +44 207 1509 UK mobile: +44 7817 147973 emma@optimumreleasing.com ENDS/ Notes to Editors: About Optimum Releasing Established in May 1999, Optimum Releasing, part of StudioCanal*, is now enjoying its seventh year in film and DVD distribution. The company has established a reputation for an innovative approach to distribution and has enjoyed success with a varied mix of film titles across all genres. A passion for film and commitment to creativity is central to all of Optimum's activity. Optimum Home Entertainment, the company's stand alone DVD division, was established in 2004 and has released over 400 titles to date. Optimum Releasing has also expanded its production ambitions with the establishment of Warp X with Warp Films, the Film Council and Film Four. Recent and upcoming releases include The Host, Guillermo del Toro’s Bafta and Oscar nominated Pan’s Labyrinth, David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Shane Meadow’s This is England. *On May 5th 2006 Optimum Releasing agreed a deal for StudioCanal to acquire Optimum Releasing including its theatrical and home entertainment distribution operations. StudioCanal is the film, production and sales distribution arm of French media group, Canal+. Film4 Film4, Channel 4 Television’s feature film division, is headed by Tessa Ross. The company develops and co-finances films and is known for working with the most innovative talent in the UK, whether new or established. Channel 4’s involvement in British film dates back 25 years to the year of its launch in 1982 when it established its own film commissioning department Film On Four, later re-branded FilmFour and now known as Film4. Channel 4’s film department has built an enviable reputation for developing and financing the defining British films of the last quarter of a century – films like My Beautiful Launderette, Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, East is East, Motorcycle Diaries, Touching the Void, Road to Guantanamo, Venus, The Last King of Scotland,. Kevin Macdonald’s The Last King of Scotland, which opened the 50th Times BFI London Film Festival in November last year, has since garnered numerous awards, including the Best Actor Oscar for Forest Whitaker in addition to his SAG Best Actor award and Best Director for Kevin Macdonald at the British Independent Film Awards. It has also received 3 BAFTA awards for Best Actor for Forest Whitaker, Best Adapted Screenplay and the Alexander Korda Award for Best Film. Fox is currently distributing the film in the US where it has reached over US$16m at the box office and is also distributing the film here in the UK where the box office currently totals in excess of £5m. Roger Michell’s Venus, which Miramax is currently releasing to huge acclaim in the US and BVI is releasing here in the UK, received 2 BAFTA nominations and a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Peter O’Toole. Film4’s upcoming releases include Shane Meadows’ This is England (winner of Best Independent Film and also the Most Promising Newcomer Award for Thomas Turgoose at the BIFA’s), released by Optimum 27th April 2007. Julien Temple’s Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten to be released by Vertigo in May and David Mackenzie’s Hallam Foe, winner of a Silver Bear in Berlin, which will be distributed by BVI later this year. Currently in production are; Sarah Gavron’s Brick Lane, Anand Tucker’s And When Did You Last See Your Father?, Asif Kapadia’s True North, Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, Lenny Abrahamson’s Garage, Duane Hopkins’ Better Things, Harmony Korine’s Mr Lonely , plus a new Mike Leigh film and Ken Loach’s next project These Times. Three further films that have just gone into production are Michael Winterbottom’s Genova, Sharon Maguire’s Incendiary, Fabrice Du Welz’s Donkey Punch and Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated The Lovely Bones from the best selling novel by Alice Sebold.
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19.04.07
OPTIMUM RELEASING ACQUIRES NEW ZEALAND COMEDY
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