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NEW MOOD FOR NEW TRAILER
INDUSTRY WORKS TOGETHER FOR LATEST PUSH
OC CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY…
…WITH NEW BRANDING
UNIVERSAL HAS SPIRIT
STRAY FINDS A HOME
FIND ALICE IN STORES
STUDIOCANAL TRUSTS INSTINCT
EUREKA UNVEILS JULY SLATE…
…AND GOES ON THE LAM
AT THE MOVIES
TWEET OF THE WEEK
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
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The industry is returning with a new sense of purpose and, as noted this week, riding on the “swell of hope” that went hand in hand with the reopening of shops, not least that of hmv and sister retailer Fopp. And to match this new mood the latest industry quarterly trailer has offered a new message. Under the banner of New Beginnings, New Entertainment, the trailer, released through findanyfilm.com as a cross-industry initiative featuring BASE members, the trailer highlights the best currently available and titles in the way too. With a new feel, the trailer is aiming to highlight the breadth of titles on offer from our industry, from family fare such as Disney and Pixar’s Soul and pre-school and primary favourites such as Thomas and Barbie through to Oscar bait such as Sound Of Metal, and from television goodies like Line Of Duty on to comedies such as Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar and from documentaries like Tina, which charts the tempestuous and turbulent life and loves of Tina Turner, on to classic fare given a 4K Ultra HD lease of life such as Snatch. It pulls together such distributors as Disney, Universal, BBC Studios, Mattel and Warner Bros alongside Acorn and Altitude too.
Comment on the new trailer came from BASE ceo Liz Bales who said: “We hope this brilliant new iteration of our Quarterly Trailer series really helps consumers make those all-important choices about what to watch next. As the lockdown continues to lift, we hope this trailer informs, excites and inspires fans to either go out and support their entertainment store of choice through the purchase of DVDs or Blu-rays, or to continue their love affair with their digital libraries, and download and keep these brand-new titles from the digital store of their choice, and the comfort of their now very familiar sofa.” See below for a link to the trailer…
Creative marketing agency OC is celebrating its 15th birthday this year and to mark the occasion it is unveiling a new branding this week. The new brand comes as the agency said it has “been lucky” over the past year, growing its business during the pandemic despite the turbulence in the market and beyond. As reported here previously, the company, which works with Indies and major studios alike (it says itself its clients range “from indies to blockbusters, from sofas to cinemas”), pivoted quickly, smartly and effectively to working remotely, and has added staff, new clients and partners and projects, delivering a high volume of work as well as adding new strings to its bow offering new services. The branding further reinforces the company’s commitment to the entertainment industry. The company said the new look is “an injection of colour and enthusiasm much needed in the world right now, but it also expresses our very joy of working in the industry our team loves”. We can testify to the company’s passion and commitment to the industry, which is reflected in the new brand and its slogan for the anniversary year is “Celebrating 15 Years of the Art of Entertainment”.
Comment on the company’s new look came from Alex Carter, ceo and founder, who said: “We’ve always been a commercially aware, forward thinking agency, but our new brand is here to express our ethos with much more clarity. For us, it’s more than a shiny logo, it enables us to act on our ambitions and to deliver on what OC is all about – creativity and diverse expertise in entertainment. There’s a reason why we’ve decided to rebrand the agency now. In the last 12 months, we’ve marked a strategic growth through investing in talent and broadening our services. From establishing a strong senior management team, to bringing in highly skilled individuals to bolster our already talented team has changed the shape of the agency many positive and impactful ways. Our evolution and commitment to talent also means we are now perfectly positioned to support our industry creatively even further, especially around lifecycle marketing. The shared experience within the agency gained across the value chain including physical distribution, theatrical, VOD, EST and streaming, means we can support our partners more than ever with fully integrated creative services offering.” And commercial director Richard Benjamin added: "Working closely with Alex and the senior management team, we’ve adopted an ‘eyes wide open’ approach to enable rapid growth and diversification, ensuring we not only expanded our support within the UK entertainment landscape, but also chased opportunities globally (especially in the past year where covid has effected markets differently). The global reach has led to so much in the past year. We’ve engaged with global clients such as Sony collaborating on innovative projects and working on campaigns with international partners such as Britbox in Australia and the US. We’ve worked on creating industry initiatives in Germany and the Nordics, promotional gifting in Singapore, and delivering theatrical campaigns and steaming OOH creative in safer territories such as Australia.The reconfiguration of our structure and investment in services, along with staying commercially aware are the key factors in helping us get to where we are. The launching of our new brand finally gives us the platform to shout about it.”
Monday releases now and the latest title from documentary specialist Dogwoof, Elizabeth Lo's Stray saunters onto DVD and Blu-ray from April 26. A shaggy dog-umentary following its titular strays as they wander the streets of Istanbul, the near-dialogue-less film was launched digitally via Dogwoof On Demand and other platforms in March, and will come complete with two exclusive short films and a Q&A with the director hosted by Edith Bowman. Commenting on the release, Dogwoof's head of home entertainment Daniel Green said: "With Stray, it was love at first sight as far as the Dogwoof team were concerned - how could we not release a doc on humankind's most loyal companion! We're delighted to have Fopp and HMV stores back open again and have been really pleased with their level of support for this film and our upcoming slate of physical releases.”
Universal has a big release scheduled for Monday April 26 too in the shape of Blithe Spirit, which arrives on home entertainment formats following its high profile airing on Sky Original, complete with Sky’s big marketing clout behind it. It’s the latest take on Noel Coward’s classic comedy tale, this newest version stars Dan Stevens as the struggling writer, Isla Fisher as his second wife, Leslie Mann as the ghost of his first and Dame Judi Dench as the charlatan medium who inadvertently manages to summon a real spirit. Universal’s marketing will build on the awareness created by Sky and introducing the film to non-Sky customers. Commenting on the release, Universal’s Emily Evans said: “We are concentrating on highlighting the great cast and the comedy in the film with an ATL media campaign on VOD platforms. It’s been described as a “charming adaptation” of the Noel Coward play and is a fun, quirky film – it’s exactly the sort of light relief that we all need right now.”
Also due in stores on Monday from Studiocanal is Keeley Hawes and co starring in the high profile ITV series Finding Alice, due on DVD after its successful TV transmission. Commenting on the release, the company’s Mona Schlotter said: "Monday sees the release of the new darkly comic drama TV series Finding Alice on DVD. From the producers of Years and Years and It’s A Sin and written and directed by Roger Goldby (The Durrells, Call The Midwife), Finding Alice tells the story of Alice after she finds her husband dead and soon secrets and lies start to unravel. The show hosts an exceptional cast which includes Keeley Hawes, Joanna Lumley, Nigel Havers, Gemma Jones and many more. Thanks to Elevation, the title has distribution in Tesco and we’re supporting the release with PR and Social, targeting the 35 years old-plus TV drama audience. Renewed for a second series due to the success of series one, this title is a great addition to our TV portfolio.”
Studiocanal has this week confirmed the release date of its forthcoming restoration of the classic critic thriller Basic Instinct. The title is due to land in stores on June 14 across assorted SKUs, taking in 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and Steelbook. The film has been restored to the kind of high standard that Studiocanal has made its name on, as the announcement noted: "Commissioned by Studiocanal, the film was restored from the original 35mm negative and supervised by the director himself, with invaluable input to the bonus material from Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas.” As well as a new trailer and assorted commentaries and featurettes, the package boasts a brand new 52-minute documentary entitled `Basic Instinct: Sex, Death & Stone, which features director Paul Verhoeven, stars Douglas and Stone, writer Joe Eszterhas, cinematographerJan de Bont and more talking about the film and its legacy. Two brand new artwork designs have been created by French artist Flore Maquin, whose recent output includes official posters for the Cannes Film Festival. Commenting on the title, Studiocanal’s Alison Arber said: “We are thrilled to have worked with Paul Verhoeven in restoring his classic 1992 thriller Basic Instinct to 4K. The release will include a brand-new documentary, looking back on the making of the film and includes new interviews from stars Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas. The collector’s edition includes a booklet, poster of the new artwork by celebrated artist Flore Maquin and artcards.”
Summer’s here, at least it is for Eureka and its Masters Of Cinema imprint as the independent has unveiled its titles due out in July with classic titles alongside a healthy dose of martial arts action, as revealed by the company’s Marcus Garwood. He said: ”It's all-out action and comedy for our July slate here at Eureka Entertainment. Starting off we are extremely excited to be unleashing another martial arts gem from the mighty Sammo Kam-Bo Hung. The Millionaire’s Express fuses the Far East with the Old Wild West to deliver a hugely entertaining fusion that’s full of death-defying stunts, dynamic martial artistry and physical comedy. To say this limited edition release is a lavish affair would be an understatement. Spread across its two Blu-ray discs are four versions of the film, all presented from brand new 2K restorations. It’s also crammed with extras, many of them brand new for this release. The limited O-card sleeve art is stunning and there is also a limited edition reversible poster inside featuring new and original artwork. The second bonus disc (available only in this limited edition) features both the English language version of the film originally prepared for the international theatrical release; and a new cut of the film prepared exclusively for this release that combines footage from the original theatrical and extended cuts of the film to present a hypothetical ‘complete’ version.”
Continuing Eureka and Masters Of Cinema’s July releases, Marcus Garwood went on: “Next up we have Hong Kong Director Ringo Lam’s 1989 action Cop Drama Wild Search. A loose reimagining of Peter Weir’s 1985 film Witness, Wild Search showcases Ringo Lam’s often underrated versatility as a director. With beautiful cinematography by Andrew Lau (Infernal Affairs) and a dreamy score by Lowell Lo. Released with a limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by Grégory Sacré (Gokaiju) [first print run of 2000 units only], plus a limited edition collector’s booklet featuring new writing by David West (NEO Magazine) [first print run of 2000 units only]. A couple of standard edition reissues round off the month (both of which sold out in their limited edition incarnations in double quick time). Firstly, it’s the Buster Keaton Vol 3 set; featuring Keaton comedy gems Our Hospitality, Go West and College across three discs together with a host of extras, plus a Collector’s Booklet it represents incredible value for any classic comedy fan. Then (as an addition to our May schedule) it’s the 1967 Russian horror gem Viy. Hailed by Indiewire as ‘one of the greatest horror movies of all time’ if you didn’t manage to get your hands on a limited edition copy, you simply cannot miss the opportunity to own this essential disc of demonic mayhem.”
AT THE MOVIES
It’s been one of the most unlikely successes of recent years, spawning a strong success from a truly unbelievable story. So, even though the film ended with a genuine feelgood moment, Fisherman’s Friends, the film about trawler lads who spawn an unlikely hit records, is going to be followed by a sequel. The film, Fisherman’s Friends 2, will shoot in Cornwall and elsewhere, and follows the hitmakers as they catch the wave of interest and become pop stars. Entertainment will again distribute. Writer/Directors Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft said: “We're thrilled to be back in Cornwall directing the second part of the band's extraordinary true story. It's a joy to be reunited with so many of our amazing original cast as well as introducing exciting new characters.”
He’s one of the world’s biggest footballing superstars and now Manchester United and France star Paul Pogba is to get his own Amazon series. Cameras will follow him up close and personal for the series, entitled Pogmentary and due to air in 2022. As we noted on Twitter, in a week when the European Super League was first unveiled, we can’t help but thinking that Amazon calling it Pogmentary rather than the more logical Pogumentary is the daftest thing to happen in football over the past 14 days or so. Meanwhile, Georgia Brown, Head of European Originals, Amazon Studios, said: “Paul Pogba is one of the most prominent talents of his time, so we are thrilled to be collaborating with him with an overall deal and his series The Pogmentary. We all know Paul for what he can do on a football pitch, but his influence reaches much further, and he is without doubt an icon for an entire generation. Through the unprecedented access afforded to us, Prime Video will show the man behind the fame, delving into his life off the pitch and letting him tell his story in his own words.” “Paul Pogba has such an inspiring story of how, with hard work, passion, and the support of a loving family, any goal can be within reach,” said Thomas Dubois, Head of French Amazon Originals for Prime Video. “This is exactly the kind of story we want to tell on Prime Video; and exactly the type of ambitious, once-in-a-generation talented people we want to highlight in our docuseries. This unique, behind-the-scenes look at Paul Pogba’s life will captivate Prime members in France and around the world.”
Marvel news – when isn't there any from the superhero comic book powerhouse? – and there’s been activity on the forthcoming Secret Invasion series due to air on Disney+. The series will focus on shapeshifting aliens trying to get a foothold on earth, as teased in Captain Marvel and the last Spider-man, involving Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson). Acting royalty is said to be signing up, as Olivia Colman joins the cast, and Emilia Clarke is set to transfer from one huge franchise, Game Of Thrones, over to another. Little is known about their roles, but it is likely to involve some kind of superheroes or something, You know the drill by now. It will film later this year, then likely to air in 2022.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Follow us on www.twitter.com/theraygun
TRAILERS OF THE WEEK
Here’s that industry trailer
Very metal, due at cinemas and home entertainment and now on Amazon…
New Marvel business…
Basic trailer…
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