FLOWER MOUND, TX (9/25/13)- FUNimation, Group 1200 Media and Giant Ape Media announced today plans to partner again with Austin based, TUGG. Using a grassroots movie distribution business model, FUNimation plans to expand the release of live-action Korean zombie coming of age melodrama, LET ME OUT to additional cities across the country. The film will be released theatrically in AMC theaters and open back to back in Atlanta, GA on Wednesday, October 23rd and in Chicago, IL on Thursday, October 24th. Advance ticket sales are available for purchase online and a minimum number of tickets must be sold ONE WEEK prior to date of screenings to guarantee screenings will happen; otherwise, the event will be cancelled. Tickets for screenings can be purchased online via TUGG’s website, www.tugg.com/titles/LET-ME-OUT. LET ME OUT is screening simutaneously in three cities: San Francisco, Dallas and NYC in theaters tonight (Wednesday, September 25th) at 7:30pm.
Directed by Chang Lae Kim and Jae Soh, the film stars popular K-drama actors, Hyun-Sang Kwon (THE KING 2 HEARTS, QUEEN OF AMBITION, VAMPIRE PROSECUTOR 2) and K-pop star, Hee-von Park from SM Entertainment’s girl band, MILK and star of (GRAND PRIX, READ MY LIPS, FAMILY and GOD’S QUIZ SEASON 3). LET ME OUT is Kwon’s first lead role in a motion picture and he is the son of acclaimed Korean director, KWON-TAEK IM (Director of CHIHWASEON and Winner of Best Director at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival).
TUGG is a web-platform that enables individuals and organizations to host special movie events in their theater and choose the films that play in their local theaters. Individuals are empowered to select a film, screening time, and nearby theater, and then spread the word to their immediate and online community. Once a necessary amount of people commit to attending, the event will be confirmed, and Tugg will reserve the theater, manage ticketing and ensure delivery of the film; allowing the audience to sit back and enjoy the show.
For additional information about how to buy tickets in Atlanta or Chicago; please go to TUGG.com and search by film title for more details. The film will be released in theatres in three major markets on Wednesday, 9/25/13 at 7:30pm in SF, NY and Dallas, TX on the same night.
Below please find the participating theaters:
Atlanta, GA
Theater: AMC Parkway Pointe 15
Date: 10/23/2013
Time: 7:30pm
Chicago, IL
Theater: AMC Loews 600 North Michigan 9
Date: 10/24/2013
Time: 7:30pm
“Due to the overwhelming success of the TUGG campaign for LET ME OUT, we are pleased to be able to bring the movie to the big screen in additional markets,†says Adam Zehner, VP of Distribution, FUNimation Entertainment.
“We gave our fans the power to demand LET ME OUT on the big screen and it paid off, showing that our fan community is the most passionate about the brands they love, †says Scott Lonski, Director of Marketing Services, Group 1200. “Now we can continue to build off the momentum of this film and bring other FUNimation and Giant Ape brands to the big screen in cities across the country by using the TUGG platform,†continues Lonski.
“We believe TUGG is a solid business model. We were blown away by the amount of support we saw online for the September screenings in SF, NY and Dallas, TX in such a short amount of time. Our distributor received requests for additional cities and now it’s becoming a reality. Through TUGG, filmgoers can be empowered to curate unique theatrical engagements with the support of their immediate and online community, proof that all types of films can find their own audience,†says Irene Cho, Producer, LET ME OUT.
FUNimation & Giant Ape Media are partnering with Drama Fever again on these four LET ME OUT screenings to help spread the word and are planning contests for free screening tickets and unique film experiences similar to the one in LA where Giant Ape hosted a contest with an opportunity to attend a dinner with the film’s director, lead actor and VIP tickets to the premiere.
Written, directed and produced by Koreans and Korean Americans, LET ME OUT is written and directed by Jae Soh and Chang Rae Kim. Produced by Min Soh and Irene Cho. Executive Produced by Jae Soh. LET ME OUT is the first Korean independent film released back to back in both Korea and the U.S.
LET ME OUT is a Korean language coming of age melodrama and pays homage to Day For Night (France), Living In Oblivion (USA) and Korean cinema. LET ME OUT pokes fun at director Yang Ik-June who won the 2009 Rotterdam Film Festival’s Tiger Award for his film, Breathless. Director of M, Duelist, Nowhere To Hide and Korean film icon, Lee Myungse is cast as himself.
SYNOPSIS:
This zombie melodrama is Mu-Young film school opus. An eternal senior, he knows everything about cinema but nothing about actual filmmaking. Critical of everyone else, he heckles the famous indie director Ik-June Yang at a campus screening and somehow receives film funding. His dream of working with his love-interest Ah-Young becomes a nightmare. Everything that can go wrong does. Barely surviving a disastrous shoot, Mu-Young learns making a movie is like love, you can’t do it alone. LET ME OUT is a tribute to guerrilla, indie, amateur, low-budget cineastes struggling to create. It is hope.
LET ME OUT opened in Korea on August 15, 2013 and is being distributed through Baekdu Daegan Film Company in approximately 15 theaters including Art House Momo (Baekdu’s Art House theaters), CGV Movie Collage (the Art House division of CJ Entertainment), and Artplus Cinema Network in various cities throughout Korea, including Seoul. The film had its red carpet US Premiere at the Downtown Independent Theater in LA on August 16, 2013 to a sold out audience with director, Jae Soh and Kwon Hyun-Sang, the film’s lead actor attending from Korea. LET ME OUT is the first Korean independent film released back to back in both Korea and the U.S. and is distributed in the U.S. by Funimation Entertainment, a Group 1200 Media company, based in Flower Mound, TX.
About Group 1200 Media
Group 1200 Media is a multifaceted entertainment conglomerate encompassing FUNimation(R) Entertainment, Giant Ape Media and Group 1200 Products (GameSamba and Immerz). This production, marketing, and distribution corporation strives tirelessly to accomplish its mission of delivering the highest quality entertainment brands – along with their associated products – across a multitude of genres. Group 1200 Media is committed to continually releasing and developing exciting new properties representative of its diverse background in the entertainment industry. Additional information may be found at www.group1200.com .
About TUGG
Tugg, Inc. (“Tuggâ€) is a crowdsourcing platform that enables individuals, organizations and companies to host special events in theaters nationwide. Through Tugg, people are empowered to curate unique theatrical engagements with the support of their immediate and online community. With Tugg’s nationwide network of exhibitors, fans everywhere can showcase Tugg’s expansive library of studio and independent films. www.tugg.com