LIONSGATE AND ODD LOT ENTERTAINMENT SPREAD THE SPIRIT FOR CHRISTMAS 2008
Studio Moves Up Nationwide Release For Frank Miller’s Hotly Anticipated Adaptation Of Classic Will Eisner Comic Series
Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes Topline
SANTA MONICA, CA (May 6, 2008) – LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, announced today that it has moved up the nationwide release of THE SPIRIT, directed by Frank Miller, to Christmas, December 25, 2008, from the original date of January 16, 2009. The move came on the heels of a rapturous response at the New York Comic-Con in March. The announcement was jointly made today by Lionsgate President of Theatrical Films Tom Ortenberg and producers Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker of Odd Lot Entertainment.
THE SPIRIT stars Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Stana Katic, Dan Lauria, Jaime King, Paz Vega and Louis Lombardi. The film is written and directed by Frank Miller, creator of SIN CITY and 300, and based on the classic series by comic legend Will Eisner.
Odd Lot Entertainment and Lionsgate are production partners on THE SPIRIT. Odd Lot’s Deborah Del Prete and Gigi Pritzker are producing along with Michael Uslan of Batfilm Productions Inc. Batfilm co-founder Benjamin Melniker and Steven Maier are executive producing, along with Odd Lot’s Bill Lischak and Lionsgate’s Michael Burns and Michael Paseornak. Odd Lot’s Linda McDonough and Batfilm/Comic Book Movies’ F.J. DeSanto are co-producing.
Said Ortenberg, “Comic-Con fans resoundingly confirmed what we felt in our bones about THE SPIRIT: this is a great film and an irresistible piece of entertainment. Frank Miller is a visionary as a comic book artist and filmmaker, and THE SPIRIT completely expresses his sensibility and that of the great Will Eisner. Gabriel Macht gives a riveting performance, and every member of the all-star cast is simply inspired. For all of us, it was an easy decision – we had to give audiences THE SPIRIT for Christmas 2008.”
“We are thrilled about the decision to release THE SPIRIT on Christmas Day,” said producer Del Prete. “We know we have an amazing movie, with an engrossing story, appealing characters, and stunning visuals. Plus, there’s a lot of snow, which makes it a perfect gift for the holiday season.”
International release dates will soon be announced by Sony Pictures Releasing International, which is handling distribution in many European territories and Latin America, and by Odd Lot International, which is distributing to the rest of the world, except for the United Kingdom and Australia, where the film is being released by Lionsgate.
SYNOPSIS
Adapted from Will Eisner’s legendary comic strip, THE SPIRIT, an action-adventure-romance, is the story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead as the SPIRIT (Gabriel Macht) to fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His arch-enemy, the OCTOPUS (Samuel L. Jackson) has a different mission: he’s going to devastate the Spirit’s beloved city as he pursues his own version of immortality. The Spirit tracks this cold-hearted killer from Central City’s rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront… all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader.
ABOUT ODD LOT ENTERTAINMENT
Founded in 2001 by producers Gigi Pritzker and Deborah Del Prete (producers of THE WEDDING PLANNER), Odd Lot Entertainment is a Los Angeles-based company that develops, finances, produces and arranges distribution for commercial film properties in the $5-$60 million range, both in the domestic and international markets. Its projects include SUBURBAN GIRL, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alec Baldwin and Maggie Grace; the SXSW Special Jury Award winner GREEN STREET HOOLIGANS; the Independent Spirit Award-winner MEAN CREEK; RICOCHET RIVER, starring Kate Hudson and directed by Del Prete; BURIED ALIVE, starring Tobin Bell; the zombie comedy UNDEAD OR ALIVE with Chris Kattan and James Denton; and creature feature LIVING HELL. Currently in post-production is THE SPIRIT, written and directed by Frank Miller based on the comic series by graphic novelist Will Eisner, starring Gabriel Macht, Scarlett Johansson, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, and Samuel L. Jackson and writer/director Michael Meredith’s THE OPEN ROAD, starring Oscar-nominated Jeff Bridges, Justin Timberlake, Kate Mara and Mary Steenburgen. The company handles foreign sales through its Odd Lot International division.
ABOUT BATFILM PRODUCTIONS
Formed by industry legend Benjamin Melniker and comic book authority Michael Uslan, Batfilm Productions, Inc. on October 3, 1979 acquired all feature motion picture and allied rights on &rlquo;Batman” from DC Comics. Batfilm Productions, Inc. has been the successful builder of franchises and brands based on comic books and on other media. In addition to every Batman film from 1989’s BATMAN to 2005’s BATMAN BEGINS and 2008’s THE DARK KNIGHT, as executive producers, Uslan and Melniker earned Emmy Awards when they brought to television with DIC the franchise, “Where On Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?” Involved in major motion pictures including CONSTANTINE and NATIONAL TREASURE, Batfilm has also worked in other areas of the business with the acclaimed mini-series, “Three Sovereigns For Sarah” with Vanessa Redgrave; the MOW bringing best-selling author Robin Cooke to TV based on his novel “Harmful Intent”; animation ranging from the “Batman” original animated DVD’s to 65 half-hours of the children’s series “Dinosaucers,” the live action 72 episode TV series based on the DC comic book “Swamp Thing”; and even the historical and cultural segments for NBC’s Summer Olympics coverage in Korea.
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, winning the 2005 Best Picture Academy Award® for CRASH, and the Company is a premier producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of nearly 12,000 motion picture titles and television episodes is a valuable source of recurring revenue and a foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.
For further information, contact:
For Lionsagte:
Sarah Greenberg
310-255-3856
sgreenberg@lionsgate.com
For corporate inquiries, please contact:
Peter D. Wilkes
pwilkes@lionsgate.com
310-255-3726
For Odd Lot Entertainment:
Linda Dorf
B/W/R Public Relations
310-248-6138
ldorf@bwr-la.com