Lionsgate has signed a three-year production and distribution deal with After Dark Films, the company from filmmaker Courtney Solomon and financier Allan Zeman, who produced the indie film An American Haunting, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Read on for more details on this major deal and a reminder about a special festival coming in November.
Before I hit you with the specifics of the announcement, I want to remind you all about the teased National horror festival, After Dark Horrorfest, which will hit limited theaters for one weekend only starting on November 17th. Apparently the fest will show six of Lionsgate's direct-to-video titles one time only in theaters. I'm sure an announcement is coming soon.
The deal calls for ADF to supply Lionsgate with multiple wide release films each year and as many as two specialty films a year, with ADF putting up the P&A expenses. Lionsgate will retain ancillary rights to all the films. Also, as ADF ramps up its production operations, Lionsgate and After Dark also will co-produce films with P&A to be determined for each film. ADF also will produce and acquire its own films for wide release through its alliance with Mark Borde and Mike Doban's Freestyle Releasing, which will serve as ADF's distribution arm. Lionsgate will retain all ancillary rights to this product as well. ADF will manage its own P&A and marketing for these films under the leadership of Solomon and vp creative affairs Stephanie Caleb.
Ummm......
Didn't take long for me to see this as yet another oppotunity for Todd "The Devil We Know" McFarlane to get a SPAWN remake made.
SPAWN redux is a 50 to 60 million dollar film that should be quite simple to make. If Todd would just be humble enough to get Neil Gaiman and Rob Liefeld to license the characters Angela, Cogliostro (Gaiman) and Chapel (LieFeld).
After Dark Films is trailblazing an alt path with the efforts of the An American Haunting release to theaters. For LionsGate to take notice and later arrange this deal is just great.
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After Dark Horrorfest (limited)
STARRING:Various DIRECTOR: Various WRITER: Various
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