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SUNDANCE SELECTS ACQUIRES NORTH AMERICAN RIGHTS TO ERROL MORRIS DOCUMENTARY TABLOID

Posted Tuesday, January 18th, 2011 - Comments Off on SUNDANCE SELECTS ACQUIRES NORTH AMERICAN RIGHTS TO ERROL MORRIS DOCUMENTARY TABLOID
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Theatrical and VOD Release Planned for Summer 2011

New York, NY (January 18, 2011) – Sundance Selects announced today that the company is acquiring North American rights to Errol Morris’ highly acclaimed documentary TABLOID.  The dark, funny and altogether surreal film was one of the standout hits at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival winning indieWIRE’s critics poll for Best Documentary.  The film was produced by regular Morris collaborators Julie Bilson Ahlberg (THE FOG OF WAR, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE), and Mark Lipson, (THE THIN BLUE LINE, co-produced FAST, CHEAP AND OUT OF CONTROL). The company plans to play the critically acclaimed film at key film festivals before aggressively rolling it out theatrically and on their video on-demand platform in the summer of 2011.

The deal was negotiated for Sundance Selects by Arianna Bocco, Senior Vice President, Acquisitions & Productions, and by Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment on behalf of the filmmaker. Robert Fernandez and Angus Wall executive produced the project, with Moxie Pictures presenting.

With TABLOID, Errol Morris further redefines and pushes the boundaries of documentary film with the tale of Joyce McKinney and the infamous “Case of the Manacled Mormon.” In 1977, Miss Wyoming Joyce McKinney flew to England with a pilot and a bodyguard to abduct the love of her life.  Or was it to liberate him from a cult? Joyce, all of the people that cross her path, and the British tabloids help construct an epic RASHOMON-like tale that is as hilarious as it is unbelievable. Part black comedy, part film noir, TABLOID is always surprising and features one of the most captivating characters of Morris’s career.

President of Sundance Selects Jonathan Sehring said, “I’m very happy to continue my relationship with Errol Morris, who continues to bring non-fiction filmmaking to the next level. We have had a long history working together on films like MR. DEATH and the TV series FIRST PERSON.  I think TABLOID is not only one of his best films but one of his most enjoyable.  We look forward to releasing it into major theaters and on our national video on demand platform where we are confident it will connect with a wide audience.”

“TABLOID is a return to my favorite genre – sick, sad and funny – but of course, it’s more than that,” said Morris. “It is a meditation on how we are shaped by the media and even more powerfully, by ourselves. Joyce is a woman profoundly influenced by her dreams and, in a sense, she was living in a movie long before she came to star in my film. It’s good to be working with Jonathan Sehring and his team again. They are creative and innovative distributors.”

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Rainbow Media Holdings LLC

Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC).  Rainbow Media owns and operates some of the world’s most popular and award-winning entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv, Wedding Central, Sundance Selects and IFC Entertainment (IFC Center, IFC Festival Direct, IFC Films, IFC In Theaters and IFC Productions).  Additional information about Rainbow Media’s multiplatform brands is available at www.rainbow-media.com.

About Errol Morris

Errol Morris is the director of nine feature-length documentaries including the Academy Award winning THE FOG OF WAR, THE THIN BLUE LINE and GATES OF HEAVEN.  Besides the Oscar, he has won an Emmy, the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, the Golden Horse from the Taiwan International Film Festival and the Edgar from the Mystery Writers of America.  He has also directed over 1000 television commercials, short films for the 2002 and 2007 Academy Awards as well as for charitable and political organizations as Stand Up to Cancer and moveon.org.  He is also a regular contributor to The New York Times.  This year Penguin will publish a collection of essays “Believing Is Seeing.”

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