Gigapix Releasing Distributing Mother’s Day and More!

In forming Gigapix Releasing, Gigapix Studios, Inc. has teamed up with outside partners and investors (i.e., Geno Taylor, formerly CEO of Polychrome Pictures, and David Williams, head of New Legacy as the print and advertising provider). In addition to the New Legacy print and advertising fund, Gigapix Releasing and New Legacy are working to close an additional $100 million prints and advertising fund with several financial institutions and other outside investors. The partners and size of that facility will be announced shortly.

New Legacy’s president, David Williams, said “I am delighted to be working with the new team at Gigapix Releasing and its marketing partners to set up an independent theatrical distribution company. The studios have abandoned the independent film space, while at the same time the evolving digital media platforms have created an opportunity for new delivery mechanisms and marketing programs that can make theatrical distribution of niche and genre films a great business. David Pritchard and our team have created a more efficient approach to releasing films in North America making the economics more rewarding for traditional print and advertising investors.”

David Pritchard, president of Gigapix Studios, Inc. said, “There are a significant number of very strong independent films on the market. Many of these films have exceptional performances; however, they are just not able to get traction in the current market place, leaving an opportunity for a disciplined new releasing company like ours to bring quality made films to their specific audiences. Gigapix Releasing intends to conduct extensive audience testing on all of the films they release. As the testing and other mechanisms dictate, we’ll release between 6-10 films per year in all the most effective markets as determined by each film. Some of these films may be screened on 2000 plus screens, where the research warrants such expenditure and exposure. We have created distribution relationships with DVD and television partners, including Anchor Bay/Starz, and we’re in discussions with several other studio home entertainment divisions forging distribution relationships in both TV and DVD/VOD arena as well as developing ancillary markets and media around the world.”

The first films to be released by Gigapix Releasing are:

(a) “Mother’s Day,” produced by Richard Saperstein, Brett Ratner, Jay Stern, Curtis Leopardo, and Brian Witten among others and directed by Darren Lynn Bousman (“Saw II, III and IV”), starring Rebecca De Mornay (“The Hand that Rocks the Cradle”, “Wedding Crashers”) as “Mother” and Jaime King (“Sin City”, “Pearl Harbor”) as Beth, whose world comes crashing down upon the mother and her children’s unexpected arrival into their lives.

(b) “The Tortured,” produced by Mark Burg, Carl Mazzocone, Marek Posival (who also wrote the film) and Oren Koules among others and directed by Robert Lieberman (“D3: Mighty Ducks”, “Fire In The Sky”), and starring Erika Christensen (“The Upside of Anger”, “Swimfan”) and Jesse Metcalfe (“Beyond a Reasonable Doubt”)

(c) “The Bleeding” produced by Frank Capra III, Joe Di Maio, Michael Matthias and Emmett/Furla among others directed by Charlie Picerni (“Three Days to Vegas”), and starring DMX, Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones and Armand Assante.

Pritchard continued, “‘The Tortured’ and ‘The Bleeding’ appeal to niche audiences, as each has a strong appeal to a core ‘campy action zombie’ and ‘urban terror’ audiences respectively. ‘Mother’s Day’ will have a wider release with a potential for a 1000 to 1500 screens. ‘Mother’s Day,’ in particular, already has strong word of mouth, is tracking well in the internet blogosphere and has an exceptional resurgent genre performance by Rebecca De Mornay orchestrated by director Darren Lynn Bousman, who has a large blog following since the early ‘Saw’ franchise launching. This film, a remake of a cult classic, will deliver on its advance buzz. ‘Mother’s Day’ and ‘The Tortured’ are targeting a first quarter release with ‘The Bleeding’ scheduled for fourth quarter of this year. This week at the Fantastic Fest in Austin Texas, ‘Mother’s Day’ is already playing to rave reviews.”

The deal on “The Tortured” and “Mother’s Day” was brought to Gigapix and brokered by the Paradigm Motion Picture Finance Group.