Image Entertainment Acquires Thriller BLOOD Starring Paul Bettany

By: Apr. 22, 2013
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Image Entertainment, Inc., a subsidiary of RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE), has acquired all U.S. and Canadian rights to Nick Murphy's thriller BLOOD from IM Global genre division Octane. The film stars Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander), Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Sherlock Holmes), Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Identity) and Stephan Graham (Gangs of New York, "Boardwalk Empire"). The film was produced by Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, The Kite Runner, Jarhead), the BBC, and executive produced by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes. Bill Bromiley, Chief Acquisitions Officer for Image Entertainment made today's announcement.

"Blood had a great buzz among critics during its world premiere at the London Film Festival and it is a must-have for Image," commented Bromiley. "It's a film with good theatrical potential. We're pleased to have Blood on our slate."

Blood is a thriller which charts the moral collapse of a close police family. Two brothers, both cops, are smothered by the shadow of their former police chief father. Unspoken secrets and unvoiced suspicions drive the ominous suspense as the brothers spiral into an obsessive confrontation between crimes of the present and crimes of the past.

The deal was negotiated by Bill Bromiley, Mark Ward and Michael Bayer on behalf of Image Entertainment and IM Global's President of International Sales Jonathan Deckter and VP of Business and Legal Affairs Lauren Wilson on behalf of IM Global.

About RLJ Entertainment
RLJ Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLJE) is a premier independent licensee and distributor of entertainment content and programming in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia with over 5,200 exclusive titles. RLJE is a leader in numerous genres via its owned and distributed brands such as Acorn (British TV), Image (stand-up comedy, feature films), One Village (urban), Acacia (fitness), Slingshot (faith), Athena (educational), Criterion (art films) and Madacy (gift sets). These titles are distributed in multiple formats including DVD, Blu-Ray, digital download, digital streaming, broadcast television (including satellite and cable), theatrical and non-theatrical.

Via its majority-owned subsidiary Agatha Christie Limited, RLJE manages the intellectual property and publishing rights to some of the greatest works of mystery fiction, including stories of the iconic sleuths Miss Marple and Poirot. And through its direct-to-consumer business, RLJE has direct contacts and billing relationships with millions of consumers.

RLJE leverages its management experience to acquire, distribute, and monetize existing and original content for its many distribution channels, including its nascent Branded digital subscription channels, and engages distinct audiences with programming that appeals directly to their unique viewing interests. RLJE has proprietary e-commerce web sites for the Acorn and Acacia brands, and owns the recently launched Acorn TV digital subscription service.

About IM Global Octane
OCTANE is the genre label of IM Global, one of the industry's most prolific film financing and sales companies. Breakout success stories that the label has been associated with include the original Paranormal Activity, Insidious, and Sinister. The operation had two films in Toronto's 2012 "Midnight Madness" section: Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem and Barry Levinson's The Bay. The division also specializes in R-rated comedy, handling worldwide rights on last year's smash hit UK comedy The Inbetweeners, co-financing last summer's R-rated release The Babymakers, and the recently released box office success, Marlon Wayans R-rated comedy, A Haunted House. Currently in post-production is Plush from director Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Thirteen) and producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions (Paranormal Activity franchise, Insidious, Sinister), with Octane financing. Plush stars a sexy young cast, including Emily Browning (Sucker Punch, The Uninvited), Xavier Samuel (Twilight Saga Eclipse, Anonymous) and Cam Gigandet (Easy A, Never Back Down).



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