Last night it was announced that the Weinstein Co. is forging an exclusive, seven-year output pay-TV deal with Showtime that begins with TWC's 2009 slate, will cover 95 films, including such upcoming titles as Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Bastards" and Rob Marshall's "Nine." It also encompasses such Dimension Films titles as "Youth in Revolt" and "6 Billion Dollar Man." This afternoon we got our hands on the full press release that tipped off that the remake of David Cronenberg's Scanners, Piranha 3D and Scream 4 (!) are also included in the deal. Read on for the full release! More details forthcoming. Where do you guys think they should take the franchise? Any ideas?
(New York, NY 7/14/08) –In a move that enhances its slate of theatrical motion pictures, Showtime Networks Inc. has entered into an exclusive seven-year film distribution arrangement with The Weinstein Company (TWC). The joint announcement was made today by Matthew C. Blank, Chairman and CEO of Showtime Networks and Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Co-Chairmen of TWC.
The new output deal is effective with TWC’s 2009 release schedule and includes such highly anticipated films as "Nine," directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) and featuring an all-star cast including Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench and Sophia Loren, and Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards.”
“This exclusive agreement with The Weinstein Company will deliver our subscribers an enormous and diverse slate of films at a price to SHOWTIME that is consistent with today’s marketplace,” said Blank. “Bob’s and Harvey’s films are known for quality and promotability, making them a perfect fit with the acclaimed and award-winning original series that have generated strong momentum and subscriber growth for SHOWTIME. We will continue to pursue such value-enhancing deals in the future.”
The agreement with TWC – combined with upcoming deals from other theatrical distributors and future product from CBS Films – will form a potent feature film portfolio alongside SHOWTIME’s award-winning, critically acclaimed original series and sports programming. These series include Dexter, Californication, The Tudors, Weeds, Brotherhood, The L Word, Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union, Penn & Teller: Bullshit, , Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and the just announced series, United States of Tara, from Executive Producer Steven Spielberg, written by Academy Award ® winning screenwriter (“Juno”) Diablo Cody and starring Toni Collett. SHOWTIME is also the new home of “Inside The NFL,” with hosts James Brown, Cris Collinsworth and Phil Simms which premieres September 10 as well as Showtime Championship Boxing and Elite XC, Showtime Networks’ entry into the fast-growing sport of mixed martial arts that will be airing its second national broadcast on July 26, with SHOWTIME airing the first hour, from 8-9 before going live on the CBS Television Network at 9.
"This long-term strategic partnership is a tremendous initiative for our company and provides our films with a critically important pay-tv home for the next seven years,” said Harvey Weinstein. “SHOWTIME is one of the hottest brands in television and we have tremendous respect for Matt Blank and his team's passion, dedication and creativity. In this changing media environment, we are thrilled to have now secured distribution for our films across a variety of media, and we look forward to continuing to build our diverse slate and creating movies that will entertain SHOWTIME's audience," he added.
Additional titles included from TWC are: Andrew Jarecki’s “All Good Things” starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, a modern remake of Kurosawa’s legendary “Seventh Samurai,” the screen adaptation of author Paulo Coelho's best-selling novel “The Alchemist,” and Richard Shepard’s “Panic” based on Jeff Abbott’s best-selling book.
The output deal also includes releases from Dimension Films such as "Youth In Revolt," based on C.D. Payne’s bestselling book and starring Michael Cera, “6 Billion Dollar Man,” the remake of David Cronenberg’s “Scanners,” re-starting the “Scream” franchise with “Scream 4,” and “Piranha 3D.”
This deal furthers the relationship between Showtime Networks and TWC's Dimension Films which began in 1997 with SHOWTIME airing “Mimic,” and “Scream 2.”
"Dimension Films has enjoyed an outstanding relationship with Showtime and we are glad to be re-united with Matt Blank,” added Bob Weinstein. “We are excited to build upon our past success with this new partnership and our upcoming slate.”
i'm very excited for a new entry in the scream franchise. i just hope they do the series justice. i wonder if any of the original cast will make appearances or cameos.
Im VERY happy with this news, first off it should of happened within 3 years of part 3, and is about 2 years too late of prolly making any real dent at the box office.
Fact is, getting the arquettes back will be all i need to see the movie, but if its DTV, fuck it.
its really the only modern franchise that had any cred in my opinion, minus part 3 i thought they series was awesome.
Might be too late. The self aware horror ship set sail a few years back. On the other hand, the CW is loaded with attractive twenty-somethings who haven't been gutted yet.
tszilla, you are so correct. self aware horror is a caricature of itself now & has been lampooned so many times (Scary Movies 1-?). i think they need to go in a NEW original-ish direction for the 4th film.
oh, i forgot, the Weinsteins are god awful at their film's releases/promotions (i.e. Grindhouse, The Mist etc.). let's hope when they release this movie (and the upcoming Piranha 3D) they do a good/better job!
It would be awesome if Sidney came back for Scream 4. But I recall Neve Campbell saying she'd only do a fourth entry if Sid was an insane asylym or something like that.
I'm cool with this. It was going to happen eventually in one form or another, and I'd prefer a sequel to a remake. What I would like, though, is a recurring killer.
i'd like to see someone else direct Scream 4 (i know, don't kill me!). it needs to re-invent itself or something. i DO like the trilogy but it got a little hokey towards in part 3. the NEED to make it scary.
Scream sucked....that's all we need is more Scream movies that wink! wink!
Make fun of horror movies and don't take them serious.
I hated this franchise with a passion. Maybe i'm in the minority but I can say whatever I want. It's the internet. bitches
it says it's a "re-starting" of the scream franchise. this likely means its a brand new story with new characters, which is the only way they can do it in my opinion. maybe a cameo or 2 from characters in the original trilogy but thats it. this COULD be good
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