Home Entertainment
September 17, 2007
Warner Home Video Acquires Next Three “Raw Feed” Films From Tony Krantz, John Shiban And Daniel Myrick
(September 17, 2007 - Burbank, CA) – Warner Home Video (WHV) today announced an agreement to acquire the next three films being produced under the “Raw Feed” branded series of direct-to-DVD films by Tony Krantz (Exec. Producer “24”), John Shiban (“X-Files”) and Daniel Myrick (Co-Creator "The Blair Witch Project").
The announcement was made by Jeff Baker, WHV’s Senior VP and General Manager for Theatrical Catalog, and comes on the heels of the successful made-for-DVD releases "Rest Stop" (October, 2006), directed and written by Shiban, and "Sublime" (March, 2007), directed by Krantz. The third film in the “Raw Feed” series, "Believers," directed and co-written by Myrick, is set for release on October 16. The film recently won Best Feature Film and Best Actor at the Solstice Film Festival.
Films under the “Raw Feed” brand integrate elements of horror, sci-fi and thriller genres and will be supervised and produced by the trio of filmmakers. The next projects are tentatively titled "Otis," "Supermarket" and "Rest Stop 2," the sequel to the very successful first “Raw Feed” release which Shiban is now writing and will star Jaimie Alexander reprising her role from the original. The dark satire "Otis" centers on an abduction and begins principal photography in September with Krantz directing a cast led by Daniel Stern ("Home Alone," "City Slickers"), Illeana Douglas ("Ghost World," "Cape Fear"), Kevin Pollack ("Hostage," "The Whole Ten Yards") and Jere Burns (TV’s “Help Me Help You,” “Good Morning, Miami”). "Supermarket" is a sci-fi film. All three films will be shot in the Los Angeles area. At least two of the films will be released to the home video market in 2008, day-and-date with a VOD release.
Each film will be supported with a strategic marketing campaign geared specifically to the sci-fi, horror and thriller audience including robust online viral campaigns, national television spots, print and online advertising. In addition, “Raw Feed” branded films will continue to have a presence at film festivals, horror conventions and other key venues and events throughout the year.
“We have had a great experience working with Warner Home Video in building the ‘Raw Feed’ label. We have been able to create exciting, edgy films just as we had envisioned for the brand,” said Tony Krantz. “We’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with Warner Home Video in creating visionary, cutting-edge entertainment.”
Baker commented, “Building this brand has been an exceptionally exciting and rewarding experience from the very beginning. We are very pleased with this acquisition and the opportunity to continue working with such talented filmmakers to extend the ‘Raw Feed’ brand with more amazing projects. To date, these films have been both genre and story driven, and the success they’ve achieved has been based on great production and marketing execution. In the case of "Otis," we have added a third component of ‘cast driven’ with the casting of Daniel, Ileanna and Kevin who have demonstrated throughout their respective careers a tremendous capacity to dig deep and embrace a role. Their attraction to this script speaks volumes about their passion for this project, and the substance of the story.”
Tony Krantz, Executive Producer for the hit series “24,” has many other producing credits, including “Felicity,” Aaron Sorkin’s “Sports Night,” “The PJs,” starring Eddie Murphy, and the theatrical film "Mulholland Drive." Krantz made his directorial debut with the “Raw Feed” film "Sublime," starring Tom Cavanagh (“Ed”) and Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs (“Welcome Back, Kotter!”). Upcoming, Krantz is set to direct the theatrical feature film "American Voodoo."
Emmy-nominated writer-producer John Shiban served as an Executive Producer on Fox’s “The X-Files” as well as Co-Creator for the spin-off series “The Lone Gunmen.” Among his many writer-producer credits are UPN’s “Star Trek: Enterprise,” ABC’s “Threat Matrix” and USA Network’s “Frankenstein.” Currently, Shiban is serving as Consulting Producer of the WB’s hit series “Supernatural,” while writing and producing Lifetime Network's four-hour mini-series "The Gathering." Shiban directed and wrote the first “Raw Feed” film, "Rest Stop."
Daniel Myrick is best known for co-creating "The Blair Witch Project" with his partners at Haxan Films, considered the most profitable independent movie of all time with a worldwide gross of over $250 million. Myrick’s other credits include "Curse of the Blair Witch," "Split Screen" and “The Strand” for television. He recently finished production on the feature film "Solstice" and the third “Raw Feed” film, "Believers," due out this fall. He is currently in post-production with another feature, "The Objective."
With operations in 90 international territories Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video’s film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.# # #