ASTONISHING X-MEN: TORN – on DVD 8/14/12

From Joss Whedon, the Mastermind Behind the Motion Picture Release
Marvel’s The Avengers
And Award-Winning Artist John Cassaday

MARVEL KNIGHTS ANIMATION PRESENTS
ASTONISHING X-MEN: TORN
HITS HOME ENTERTAINMENT SHELVES NATIONWIDE

OWN IT ON DVD AUGUST 14, 2012 FROM SHOUT! FACTORY

The chart-topping super-team of Joss Whedon (Marvel’s The Avengers) and John Cassaday (Captain America, Planetary) return for more action on home entertainment shelves this summer in Astonishing X-Men: Torn! Comic book pages from the third story arc of this acclaimed series by one of Marvel’s greatest collaborations between Whedon and Cassaday come alive when Shout! Factory, in association with Marvel Knights Animation, unleash the highly anticipated ASTONISHING X-MEN: TORN on DVD August 14, 2012. This DVD invites viewers to delve deep inside the imaginative world of the Marvel Universe. A must-have for collectors and loyal fans, this deluxe DVD is featured with a graphic rich cover and a unique replica of comic book-style packaging that bridges the comic book to DVD concept. It is priced to own at $14.97. Fans and collectors can pre-order now on Amazon.com.

Marvel Knights Animation
Marvel Knights Animation remains true to the heritage of panel-by-panel graphic storytelling, boasting groundbreaking illustrations, sensational soundscapes, and of course, the explosiveness of the Mighty Marvel Universe. Behind every image and every word lies the genius of Marvel’s celebrated creators like Robert Rodi, Esad Ribic, Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Joss Whedon, Reginald Hudlin, John Romita Jr, Warren Ellis, Adi Granov, John Cassaday, and more.

ASTONISHING X-MEN: TORN
Synopsis:
This third installment brings more action and adventure as Emma Frost’s erratic behavior has the X-Men spinning in a nonstop downward spiral. Will an unlikely union be the final straw? After secretly lying in wait for months, the new Hellfire Club makes its move!

Written by Joss Whedon with art by John Cassaday, Marvel Knights Animation’s ASTONISHING X-MEN: TORN is produced by Atomic Cartoons.

Product Details
Street Date: 8/14/2012
SPR: $14.97
TRT: +/- 81 min.
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.  For more information visit www.marvel.com.  Super Hero(es) is a co-owned registered trademark.

About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing their music, television and film faves with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s DVD offerings serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series, riveting sports programs, live music, animation and documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras. The company’s audio catalogue boasts GRAMMY®-nominated box sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable “best of” compilations. These riches are the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Santa Monica, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com.

Turner Classic Movies and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Bring Four Rare Dramas Starring Jean Arthur to DVD for First Time

Following in the footsteps of last year’s comedy collection featuring beloved actress Jean Arthur, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) are now proud to present The Jean Arthur Drama Collection. This four-disc set, available exclusively through tcm.com as part of the TCM Vault Collection, features the actress’ dramatic side in Whirlpool (1934), Most Precious Thing in Life (1934), The Defense Rests (1934) and Party Wire (1935).

Most movie lovers know Jean Arthur for her delightful comedic performances in such key films as The More the Merrier (1943) and for her unforgettable work for director Frank Capra (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) and You Can’t Take it With You (1941). The brilliant actress was capable of playing any type of role convincingly and had plenty of training behind her with more than 50 shorts and feature films by the time she signed and made her debut for Columbia Pictures in Whirlpool (1934).

The Jean Arthur Drama Collection showcases the actress’s early promise in four rare but striking dramatic features from her Columbia years. Presented for the first time on DVD, restored and digitally re-mastered, these four features showcase Arthur’s wide range and virtuosity playing everything from melodramas and tearjerkers to courtroom dramas and morality tales.

The following are the four films included in The Jean Arthur Drama Collection:

Whirlpool (1934) – This melodrama stars Jean Arthur as a newspaper reporter who discovers that the crooked nightclub manager she is investigating is really the father she never knew.  Roy William Neill directed.

Most Precious Thing in Life (1934) – Jean Arthur plays a poor girl who marries a rich college boy against the wishes of his parents, who begin pushing her out of the family after she bears a son. Donald Cook and Anita Louise co-star.

The Defense Rests (1934) – Disgusted by her boss’s legal tactics,  a lawyer (Jean Arthur) launches her own investigation into a murder. This early legal drama penned by Jo Swerling also stars Jack Holt and Nat Pendleton.

Party Wire (1935) – Jean Arthur plays the daughter of a town’s leading citizen who becomes the victim of a vicious gossip campaign over her romance with a local dairy heir. Victor Jory, Helen Lowell, Robert Allen and Charley Grapewin co-star in this adaptation of a novel by Bruce Manning.

In October 2011, TCM and SPE marked the first release from their new joint venture with the four-DVD Jean Arthur Comedies Collection. The set includes digitally re-mastered versions of The Public Menace (1935), Adventure in Manhattan (1936), More Than a Secretary (1936) and The Impatient Years (1944).

About Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 159 countries. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/

About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)
Turner Classic Movies is a Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world. Currently seen in more than 85 million homes, TCM features the insights of veteran primetime host Robert Osborne and weekend daytime host Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests. As the foremost authority in classic films, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, along with regular programming events that include The Essentials, 31 Days of Oscar and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also stages special events and screenings, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood; produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs; and hosts a wealth of materials at its Web site, http://tcm.com, TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

The Note 3: Notes from the Heart Healer Coming to DVD July 10th

Based on Characters from the Books by The New York Times
Best-Selling Author Angela Hunt

THE NOTE 3:
NOTES FROM THE HEART HEALER

“A heartwarming story of second chances.”
- Francine Brokaw, LA Family

Third Installment in the Cherished
Hallmark Channel Original Movie Series ‘The Note’
Starring Emmy Award® Winner Genie Francis and Ted McGinley

Coming to DVD July 10th
- Bonus Features Include Deleted Scenes and Behind-the-Scenes Featurette –

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (May 14, 2012) – Emmy Award® winner Genie Francis (TV’s “General Hospital”) and Ted McGinley (TV’s “Hope and Faith”) reprise their roles in the latest installment of Hallmark Channel’s heartwarming The Note series in THE NOTE 3: NOTES FROM THE HEART HEALER, coming to DVD July 10th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. This inspirational tale of family, faith and forgiveness follows Peyton MacGruder (Francis) and her new husband King Danville (McGinley) as they form a bond with a baby left abandoned on Peyton’s doorstep with nothing but an anonymous note, pleading for her to take care of the infant. Based on characters from the books by The New York Times best-selling author Angela Hunt, the film also stars newcomer Laci J. Mailey.  The DVD bonus features include deleted scenes, as well as a behind-the-scenes featurette, “Perfect Partners: Genie Francis & Ted McGinley,” in which the pair reveals what they like most about working with each other, and reflect upon the many lessons of the film.

Synopsis
Daytime Emmy® Award Winner Genie Francis (TV’s “General Hospital”) returns as advice columnist Peyton MacGruder in a new film inspired by Angela Hunt’s unforgettable characters.  A romantic getaway for Peyton and husband King Danville (Ted McGinley) takes an unexpected detour when an infant is abandoned at their doorstep, transforming them into temporary parents.  Petyon is reminded of her secret past and relies on her journalistic instincts to uncover the baby’s story in this all-new tale of hope, inspiration and second chances.

THE NOTE 3: NOTES FROM THE HEART HEALER, an Odyssey Networks and Muse Entertainment Production, was originally presented by Hallmark Channel. It was directed and written by Douglas Barr and produced by Harvey Kahn with Maura Dunbar, Michael Prupas and Joel S. Rice serving as executive producers.

Bonus Features Include:
§  Deleted Scenes
§  “Perfect Partners: Genie Francis & Ted McGinley” Featurette

THE NOTE 3: NOTES FROM THE HEART HEALER aired on Hallmark Channel on May 13, 2012.  The film has a runtime of approximately 87 minutes and is not rated.

Visit Sony Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.

Emmy® is the registered trademark of the ATAS/NATAS.

About Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 159 countries.  For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: SEASON ONE, VOLUME ONE – on DVD 8/21/12

GET READY TO SUPER-CHARGE YOURSELF WITH THE SERIES THAT STARTED A GLOBAL POP CULTURE PHENOMENON, POWER RANGERS

PRODUCTION NOW UNDERWAY FOR SEVERAL MULTI-DISC BOX SET COLLECTIONS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE DIRECTLY TO FANS THROUGH TIME LIFE

LOS ANGELES, CA, May 9, 2012 – Following its debut in 1993, Saban’s iconic live-action pop culture series, Power Rangers quickly became the most watched children’s television program in North America. Emphasizing the importance of teamwork, responsibility and helping others by following the adventures of a group of ordinary young people who “morphed” into superheroes, this long-running series has been seen in more than 60 countries, translated into numerous languages, and remains a mainstay in children’s programming blocks. For 19 years, the highly entertaining saga and fan favorite characters from Power Rangers have captivated children and adults alike and are beloved by legions of fans worldwide.

Now you can return to where the phenomenon began and re-live these thrill-packed adventures when Shout! Factory, in collaboration with Saban Brands, unleashes a cornucopia of home entertainment offerings, many of which have never been released on DVD, from the original series Power Rangers. Through unprecedented access to Saban Brands’ vast archive of content, many of these DVD collections produced by Shout! Factory boast extensive bonus materials and collectible packaging, making them must-haves for loyal fans and collectors.

The first multi-disc set to be released will be the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season One, Volume One 3-DVD set, which will arrive in stores and will be available through select digital entertainment platforms on August 21, 2012. Marking the DVD debut of the original Power Rangers series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season One, Volume One features the first 30 original episodes from the first season and delivers over 10 hours of high-energy, family friendly entertainment. Poised to attract a new audience of kids as well as young adults who grew up with this popular series, this 3-DVD set is priced to own at a suggested retail price of $19.93. Pre-order is now available at Amazon.com and ShoutFactory.com.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season One, Volume Two 3-DVD set is slated to arrive on store shelves Fall 2012. Featuring the subsequent 30 original episodes, this DVD set continues more action-packed adventures of five teens, who quickly learn the full impact and awesome responsibility of their new powers and weapons. The evil villain, Rita Repulsa and her henchmen prove to be very worthy adversaries for the young super heroes, and they are challenged at every turn.

In an effort to provide avid collectors with an exclusive first-to-own experience, fans will have the first opportunity to collect upcoming box sets through a Time Life direct-response television and online campaign. Shout! Factory has teamed up with Time Life to make Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season One 6-DVD set and the 40-DVD collection of Power Rangers: Seasons One – Seven directly available to fans starting July 30, 2012 through Time Life’s direct-response on-air TV campaign, as well as online.

The Power Rangers: Seasons One –Seven 40-DVD collection will include:
All 145 original episodes from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Seasons One, Two and Three, plus the ten-episode series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Alien Rangers. It then continues on with Power Rangers: Seasons Four – Seven, featuring all of the original 183 episodes spanning the seasons entitled Power Rangers Zeo, Power Rangers Turbo, Power Rangers In Space and Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. In-depth bonus content includes: a retrospective featurette on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers phenomenon, brand-new interviews with members of the cast and the creative team and much more!

As excitement builds for these anticipated home entertainment releases, Shout! Factory, Saban Brands, and Time Life will announce additional news and activities for fans in the upcoming months. Meanwhile, fans will have the opportunity to learn more about upcoming collections by following us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/powerrangers) and Twitter (@shoutfactory). Join the excitement and relive the action on DVDs!

About Saban Brands
Formed in 2010 as a subsidiary of Saban Capital Group, Saban Brands (SB) was established to acquire and develop a world-class portfolio of properties and capitalize on the company’s experience, track record and capabilities in growing and monetizing consumer brands.  SB applies a strategic transmedia management approach to enhancing and extending its brands in markets worldwide and to consumers of all ages.  The company provides full-service management, marketing, promotion and strategic business development for its intellectual properties including comprehensive strategies unique to each brand, trademark and copyright management and enforcement, creative design, retail development, direct-to-consumer initiatives and specialized property extensions.  SB is led by a superior management team with decades of experience in media, content creation, branding, licensing, marketing and finance. For more information, visit www.sabanbrands.com

About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing their music, television and film faves with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s DVD offerings serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series, riveting sports programs, live music, animation and documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras. The company’s audio catalogue boasts GRAMMY®-nominated box sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable “best of” compilations. These riches are the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Santa Monica, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com.
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Kino Lorber Releases The Woodmans (2010) on DVD

New York, NY – May 8, 2012 – Kino Lorber is proud to announce the DVD release of The Woodmans (2010), a documentary by C. Scott Willis that examines the life of photographer Francesca Woodman, whose brilliant work was cut all too short by her tragic suicide. Drawing on interviews with Francesca’s parents, as well as access to videos and personal journals, Willis paints a revealing and thoughtful portrait of this remarkable artistic family.

Francesca Woodman’s groundbreaking work remains as relevant as ever, and is currently being exhibited in a retrospective at the Guggenheim in New York throughout the spring of 2012.

This powerful documentary comes to DVD with a street date of June 5th, and a SRP of $24.95.

Damages: The Complete Fourth Season arrives on DVD June 26th

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (April 23, 2012) – The compelling legal thriller is back in session when Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases DAMAGES: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON on DVD June 26th.  Glenn Close, six-time Academy Award® nominee and winner of two Best Actress Emmys® for her role as Patty Hewes, the country’s most revered high-stakes litigator, stars with Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids, 28 Weeks Later) as estranged protégé Ellen Parsons. The critically acclaimed series brings Patty and Ellen together embroiled in a wrongful-death suit against a private military contractor. The fourth season, which aired on DirecTV, also stars Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner John Goodman (TV’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” and “Roseanne”) and Dylan Baker (TV’s “The West Wing” and “The Good Wife”).

Arriving on DVD in a three-disc set, DAMAGES: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON will include all 10 episodes, deleted scenes and a blooper reel.  The set will also come with two new featurettes – A Case for War, a behind-the-scenes discussion of the fourth season with the cast and crew, and The Evolution of Patty Hewes, in which Glenn Close looks back over four seasons to examine and discuss the growth of her character.

DAMAGES was created and is executive produced by Todd A. Kessler, Daniel Zelman and Glenn Kessler, and co-executive produced by Mark A. Baker. The show is produced by KZK Productions and FX Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television.

SYNOPSIS
For brilliant attorney Patty Hewes (three-time Emmy® winner Glenn Close), the stakes have never been higher, professionally or personally, in the riveting Fourth Season of the hit legal thriller. When Patty joins former charge Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) to expose a corrupt security firm in Afghanistan, they unravel a cover-up at the highest levels involving an inscrutable mercenary agent (Dylan Baker), a key witness taken hostage (Chris Messina) and the powerful CEO (double Emmy® winner John Goodman) with his own explosive secrets. It all comes down to one final, fatal double-cross.

DAMAGES: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON episodes include:
There’s Only One Way to Try a Case
I’ve Done Way Too Much for This Girl
I’d Prefer My Old Office
Next One’s on Me, Blondie
We’ll Just Have to Find Another Way to Cut the Balls Off This Thing
Add That Little Hopper to Your Stew
I’m Worried About My Dog
The War Will Go On Forever
There’s A Whole Slew of Ladies With Bad Things To Say About The Taliban
Failure is Lonely

DVD Special Features Include:
·         Deleted Scenes
·         Two All-New Featurettes
o   A Case for War: The Cast and Crew Discuss the Fourth Season
o   The Evolution of Patty Hewes
·         Blooper Reel

Broadcast Year:         DirecTV 2011

DAMAGES: THE COMPLETE FOURTH SEASON has a run time of approximately 539 minutes and is not rated. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.

Academy Award® is the registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Golden Globe® is the registered trademark of the HFPA.
Emmy® is the registered trademark of the ATAS/NATAS.

SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; worldwide television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

Kino Lorber Releases “The Getting of Wisdom” (1978), a film by Bruce Beresford, on DVD

Kino Lorber Announces the DVD Release of a classic of Australian cinema, The Getting of Wisdom (1978), a film by Bruce Beresford.

New York, NY – April 16, 2012 – Kino Lorber is proud to announce the DVD release of The Getting of Wisdom (1978), a film by Bruce Beresford, a classic of Australian cinema which centers around one of the most celebrated and beloved characters of Australian literature, Laura Tweedle Rambotham (played by Susannah Fowle).

The Getting of Wisdom (1978) comes to DVD on April 17th, with a SRP of $24.95. Included on this disc is such bonus material as a feature length documentary, “Telling Schoolgirl Tales”, original posters, the original press kit, a stills gallery and the theatrical trailer.

In The Getting of Wisdom (1978), Oscar®-nominated director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies) crafts a tender coming-of-age tale that introduces one of Australian literature’s most beloved characters to the screen, Laura Tweedle Rambotham (Susannah Fowle).

Chronicling her stormy passage through the sedate halls of an expensive Melbourne finishing school, the film delivers a rich and amusing portrait of an imaginative country girl who refuses to be broken to fit the mold of a Victorian-era young lady. Arriving in the dowdy clothes of her rural home, Laura is mercilessly teased until she learns to give as well as she gets – until a tiny white lie about an imagined love affair blows up in her face and clouds her future.

Based on the immortal best seller by Henry Handel Richardson, and boasting a riveting lead performance from Susannah Fowle, The Getting of Wisdom (1978) is an Australian cinema classic.

Bonus Material
“Telling Schoolgirl Tales” feature-length documentary
Original posters
Original press kit
Stills gallery
Theatrical Trailer

1.85:1, 16×9 * 97 minutes * English Stereo * Not Rated * Color

The Getting of Wisdom (1978)
Director: Bruce Beresford
Genre: Drama
Street date: April 17, 2012
SRP: $24.95

SWITCHBLADE PICTURES LICENSES Oniroku Dan’s THE DEVIL’S FEAST

HOUSTON, April 10thth,  2012 — Switchblade Pictures has tied up the rights to THE DEVIL’S FEAST, the suspense and shibari erotic thriller from the late, internationally acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Oniroku Dan (FLOWER AND SNAKE, ROPE HELL, LADY BLACK ROSE.)   Widely considered to be  Japan’s greatest master of dark erotica, Dan, who passed away in May of 2011, wrote over two hundred novels over his career, as well as the screenplays for many of Japan’s most successful and influential features, being especially known his popularization of the Japanese rope-bondage art of Shibari.  Directed by Kenji Hanyu from an adaption by Hiroshi Yoshino, THE DEVIL’S FEAST was distributed theatrically in Japan by Shintoho and stars Chihiro Koganezaki (CRUEL RESTAURANT,) Yuya Matsuura (ZOMBIE HUNTER RIKA,) Hitoshi Kajiki (RINKO 18) and famed AV model Arisa Matsumoto.

When the beautiful Kumiko joins the editorial desk at a small local newspaper, the most deeply kept secrets of the rich and powerful leader of a religious cult suddenly begin finding their way into print in blistering exposes… scandalous exposes which have even more shocking repercussions for the paper’s sales manager, Okomoto, and his elegant wife Shizuyo.   Ensnared in the escalating war of wits and chains between the sadistic cult master and Kumiko, his former sex slave, Shizuyo finds herself strung in the rope bonds of a ruthless game that mixes sensuality with humiliation.  Could it be that Shizuyo’s only hope of release may come in the form of her own husband’s mistress?  Or is that exactly what the Devil has been planning on all along?  From the novels of the late legendary SM Master Oniroku Dan, prepare to be served a dark and unsettling vision of twisted lust and inhuman bondage:  THE DEVIL’S FEAST!

THE DEVIL’S FEAST will begin Home Video release on subtitled DVD July 31st 2012.

About Switchblade Pictures:
Switchblade Pictures is a distributor of Japanese exploitation films in North America, with a rapidly growing roster of releases that includes cult phenomenons like ATTACK GIRLS SWIM TEAM VS. THE UNDEAD, ZOMBIE HUNTER RIKA, A FISTFULL OF FUKU and SIREN,) and together with sister company and anime specialist Maiden Japan (GLASS MAIDEN, HIMAWARI!, RAY and POLYPHONICA CRIMSON S)  is dedicated to bringing the best in international entertainment to the western hemisphere.

About Section23 Films:
Section23 Films provides home video marketing and distribution services for a variety of companies, including Sentai Filmworks, Switchblade Pictures, Maiden Japan and AEsir Holdings.  With its special focus on genre entertainment, Section23 Films distributes some of the very best anime, martial arts, and horror titles on the market today.

Franklin & Bash: The Complete First Season arrives on DVD June 19th

Starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer

FRANKLIN & BASH:
THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

Debuts on DVD June 19th

Also Starring Reed Diamond, Dana Davis, Garcelle Beauvais, Kumail Nanjiani and Malcolm McDowell

Culver City, CA (April 10, 2012) – The first season of the hit offbeat legal drama, FRANKLIN & BASH, airing on TNT, debuts on DVD June 19th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.  Following the personal and professional escapades of two young, fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants street lawyers, the series stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar (TV’s “Raising the Bar,” “NYPD Blue”) as Peter Bash, the confident ladies’ man who has a knack for connecting with judge and jury, and Breckin Meyer (TV’s “Robot Chicken,” Road Trip) as Jared Franklin, his quick-witted best friend who loves sticking it to authority every chance he gets.  The unconventional duo, newly recruited by a legendary, button-down law firm, is ready to shake up the establishment with their nontraditional courtroom approach to every new case. The Sony Pictures Television original series also stars Reed Diamond (Moneyball, TV’s “24”), Dana Davis (TV’s “10 Things I Hate About You,” Prom Night), Garcelle Beauvais (TV’s “NYPD Blue”), Kumail Nanjiani (Life as We Know It) and Malcolm McDowell (TV’s “Entourage,” A Clockwork Orange).

The three-disc set of FRANKLIN & BASH: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON comes with all 10 episodes and is loaded with special features, including: a never-before-released blooper reel; a free first episode of “Men at Work,” created and written by Breckin Meyer; three “Franklin & Bash” commercials, advertising the duo’s services; and, seven behind-the-scenes featurettes, providing an inside look at the making of the show.

FRANKLIN & BASH is produced by Four Sycamore Productions, Left Coast Productions and FanFare Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television. FRANKLIN & BASH is executive-produced by Jamie Tarses (TNT’s HawthoRNe, Mr. Sunshine and Mad Love), Jason Ensler (The West Wing, Chuck), Kevin Falls (Journeyman, The West Wing) and Bill Chais (Shark, Dirty Sexy Money).

SYNOPSIS:
Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer star as Peter Bash and Jared Franklin, two fly- by-the-seat-of-their-pants attorneys who are recruited by senior partner Stanton Infeld (McDowell) to bring new energy into the Infeld Daniels law firm.  Despite their antics and sometimes shocking tactics, this pair of devoted pals are good lawyers that will do whatever it takes to win for their client.

FRANKLIN & BASH: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON includes a full docket of special guest appearances by Natalie Zea (TV’s “Justified”), Beau Bridges (The Descendents), Tom Arnold (TV’s “Roseanne”), Jason Alexander (TV’s “Seinfeld”), Kathy Najimy (TV’s “Veronica’s Closet”), Tommy Chong (Up in Smoke), James Van Der Beek (TV’s “Dawson’s Creek”), Tricia Helfer (TV’s “The Firm”) and Danny Trejo (Grindhouse).

The Three-Disc FRANKLIN & BASH DVD Set Includes:
Never-been-released Blooper Reel
Free first episode of “Men at Work,” created and written by Breckin Meyer
Seven Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
Creating the Cases, discussing the cases that Franklin & Bash take on
Franklin & Bash & Friendship, delving into the duo’s friendship
Franklin & Bash Behind the Scenes, a look at the making of the show
Behind the Behind, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar talking about the scene where he exposes his bottom
Malcolm McDowell Office Tour
Working for Franklin & Bash, a look at the two actors (Nanjiani and Davis) that work for Franklin & Bash
Man Cave Tour, in which Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer give us a tour of their home/office/man cave
Three “Franklin & Bash” commercials, advertising the duo’s services

BROADCAST YEAR: 2011 TNT

FRANKLIN & BASH: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON has a run time of approximately 471 minutes and is not rated. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.

The Three Stooges Ultimate Collection Arriving on DVD June 5th

All 190 Short Films, Plus 11 Hours of Movies, Shorts
and Never-Before-Released Material!

The Masters of Mayhem — Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard, Shemp Howard, Joe Besser and Curly Joe Derita — Are in One Definitive Collection on DVD June 5th  

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (April 9, 2012) – Fans will enjoy more than 60 hours of fun and laughter for the whole family from the masters of mirth, merriment and mayhem when Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases THE THREE STOOGES ULTIMATE COLLECTION on DVD June 5th. The entire Three Stooges Columbia shorts catalog spans three decades of slapstick silliness, featuring 190 shorts, plus three discs of rare and unreleased content. Fans will revel in this chance to see several of the Stooges work separately in solo shorts, developing the comic skills that would lead them to their roles as successors to Curly in the comedy trio.  The collection includes 28 never-before-released short films starring Stooges actors Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, and Joe DeRita, as well as the feature length films Have Rocket, Will Travel and Rockin’ in the Rockies available for the first time on DVD.  From the classic teaming of Moe, Larry and Curly to later cast members Shemp, Joe and Curly Joe, this 20-disc set is a must-own collection for any Stooges fan.

ABOUT THE THREE STOOGES
The Three Stooges were the longest-running comedy act in motion picture history. The team included Moe Howard (born Harry Horwitz, June 19, 1897 – May 4, 1975), Larry Fine (born Andrew Feinberg, October 22, 1902 – January 24, 1975), Curly Howard (born Jerome Horwitz, October 22, 1903 – January 18, 1952), Shemp Howard (born Samuel Horwitz, March 4, 1895 – November 22, 1955), Joe Besser (August 12, 1907 – March 1, 1988) and Joe “Curly-Joe” DeRita (born Joseph Wardell, July 12, 1909 – July 3, 1993).

Moe Howard and brother Shemp started in 1922 as noisy assistants to lead comedian Ted Healy in the vaudeville act, “Ted Healy and His Stooges;” Larry Fine joined the team in 1925. Five years later, the act would make its screen debut in Fox’s Soup to Nuts (1930). The Stooges quit Healy soon after and struck out on their own as “Howard, Fine and Howard.” Healy begged them to return, and in 1933 they did, with young brother Jerry (aka Curly) replacing Shemp. After a single film at Universal, they were signed by MGM, making shorts and feature films until the Stooges left Healy for the last time and signed with Columbia in 1934.

After the boys’ first two-reelers, Woman Haters and Punch Drunks (both 1934), Healy relinquished his claim to the word “Stooge,” and they were rechristened “The Three Stooges,” beginning with the Oscar®-nominated Men in Black (1934). Curly stayed until 1946, when a stroke forced him into retirement. Among his personal best were Violent is the Word for Curly (1938), A-Plumbing They Did Go (1940), In the Sweet Pie and Pie and An Ache in Every Stake (both 1941), Micro-Phonies (1945) and You Nazty Spy! (1940), the classic Hitler spoof that earned the boys a prominent place on the Nazis’ death list.

Shemp rejoined the Stooges as Curly’s replacement in 1946. He would make 73 two-reelers with the team, as well as an unsold TV pilot, “Jerk of All Trades,” and a feature, Gold Raiders (1951) with George O’Brien. A gifted comedian with an unrivaled talent for zany ad-libs and non sequiturs, Shemp is considered by some the funniest Stooge of all and appeared in numerous classics, including Brideless Groom (1947), Hot Scots, Squareheads of the Round Table (both 1948), Merry Mavericks (1950) and a pair in 3D, Spooks! and Pardon My Backfire (both 1953).

When their popularity skyrocketed after the release of their shorts to television in 1958, the Stooges returned to Columbia, where they made five hit feature-length films: Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959); The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962); The Three Stooges in Orbit (1962); The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze (1963); and The Outlaws is Coming (1965).

In 2002, Punch Drunks (1934) was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” the first Stooge film to achieve such an honor.

The Three Discs of Rare and Unreleased Content Features:
§  11 hours of Stooges content never before released on DVD
§  Full-length Columbia films starring the Stooges:
o   Have Rocket, Will Travel (1959)
o   Rockin’ In The Rockies (1945)
§  A collection of 28 short films starring Stooges actors Shemp Howard, Joe Besser and Joe DeRita
§  The Three Stooges in Columbia Pictures’ animated shorts:
o   Bon Bon Parade
o   Merry Mutineers
o   Hollywood Detour

The Three Stooges Ultimate Collection has a running time of approximately 635 minutes and is not rated.

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