Roadshow Films to distribute Weinstein films in NZ

Roadshow Films to distribute The Weinstein Company’s films in Australia and
New Zealand

NEW YORK, NEW YORK (May 18, 2006) - The Weinstein Company announced today a multi-year deal with Roadshow Films to distribute upcoming motion pictures released by The Weinstein Company throughout Australia and New Zealand. The announcement was made jointly by Glen Basner, President, international for The Weinstein Company and by Joel Pearlman, Managing Director of Roadshow Films The Weinstein Company recently closed a deal with TFI to become the company’s exclusive distributor in France.

The Weinstein Company and Roadshow Films recently collaborated on “Wolf Creek,” Greg McLean’s first acclaimed tour de force that took audiences on a fact based road trip through the darkest parts of Australian Outback and the depraved human mind.

Basner stated, “As we continue to build our business internationally, I am so thrilled to have Joel and his amazing team at Roadshow Films on board to bring our diverse slate of films to audiences in Australia and New Zealand. They are the perfect partner for TWC.”

Pearlman commented, “Roadshow Films is thrilled to have been confirmed as the Australian and New Zealand distributor for The Weinstein Company (TWC) product. The upcoming slate is incredibly strong and will resonate in both the Australian and New Zealand marketplace. We are excited to be working with Glen and the entire Weinstein Company team.”

Lisa Hubbard, General Manager of Roadshow Film Distributors New Zealand is delighted that the deal between Roadshow Films and The Weinstein Company will bring a slate of exciting new films to New Zealand. “We have an incredible line up of sensational movies this year and with The Weinstein Company slate, we can really offer New Zealand film goers an even wider range of movies to experience.”

This year sees an incredible line up of movies Roadshow Films has already set Australia and New Zealand release dates for three Weinstein Company films including thriller “Lucky Number Slevin” on August 10th, starring Josh Hartnett, Lucy Lui, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and Ben Kingsley; the CGI animated U.S. box office hit “Hoodwinked” on August 3rd , with voiceover by Glenn Close, Anthony Anderson, Jim Belushi, Anne Hathaway and Xzibit; and “Stormbreaker” on September 21st, the explosive, thrilling, and action-packed adventure of 14 year-old Alex Rider as a reluctant spy starring Ewan McGregor, Alicia Silverstone, Mickey Rourke, Bill Nighy and Alex Pettyfer.

Glen Basner, president of international distribution, and Michal Podell, vice president of international business and legal affairs negotiated the distribution agreement on behalf of The Weinstein Company, and Joel Pearlman and Kathryn Carroll negotiated on behalf of Roadshow Films

ABOUT ROADSHOW FILMS
Roadshow Films is the distribution arm of Village Roadshow and is the leading distributor in Australia and New Zealand with affiliate distribution divisions in Greece and Singapore.

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY AND DIMENSION FILMS
The Weinstein Company (TWC) was created by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films Corporation in 1979. TWC is a multi-media company that officially launched on October 1, 2005. Dimension Films, the genre label that was founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, is also included under the TWC banner.

Since launching on October 1, 2005, The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films have released “Derailed,” “Wolf Creek,” “Transamerica,” “The Matador,” "The Libertine," "Mrs. Henderson Presents," “Hoodwinked,” “Doogal” and “Scary Movie 4.”

“Lucky Number Slevin,” a Weinstein Company presentation, was released on April 7th by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM).

Upcoming Weinstein Company films to be domestically distributed in theatres by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) are; “Clerks II,” the sequel to writer/director Kevin Smith’s 1994 Sundance favourite “Clerks;” “Stormbreaker,” based on the 1st book in the Alex Rider teenage superspy series by best selling author Anthony Horowitz; “Bobby,” the political-culture drama with an all star ensemble cast; “Breaking & Entering,” by Academy Award winning director Anthony Minghella, starring Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn and Vera Farmiga; “Killshot,” from Academy Award winning director John Madden starring Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Thomas Jane, Rosario Dawson, and Johnny Knoxville; and “Miss Potter,” the Beatrix Potter biopic.

Other upcoming films to be released by The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films include: “Pulse,” a remake of a Japanese horror film starring Kristen Bell, Christina Milian, and Ian Somerhalder; “DOA: Dead or Alive,” based on Tecmo’s best-selling “Dead or Alive” videogame franchise; “School for Scoundrels,” a hilarious remake of the classic 1959 comedy directed by Todd Phillips and starring Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder; “Superhero!” a spoof on the latest trend of comic-book inspired films; “Grind House,” a groundbreaking film that will unite two of the world’s most legendary
filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez and “Sin City 2,” the second installment in the franchise based on the electrifying graphic novels from Frank Miller, which will be co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Miller.

During the Weinsteins' tenure at Miramax Films the company released some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful independent feature films, including fifteen Best Picture nominations and three Best Pictures of the Year for “The English Patient,” Shakespeare In Love” and “Chicago.” The films, which received 249 Academy Award® nominations and won 60 Oscars®, have generated billions of dollars in worldwide box office receipts and billions more in home video sales. In its history, Dimension Films has released some of the most successful franchises including “Scream,” “Spy Kids” and “Scary Movie.”

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