Entertainment One acquires Canadian assets of THINKFilm

- Acquisition includes 235 title THINKFilm library

- Ouput agreement covers all THINKFilm releases through 2010

TORONTO, March 27 /CNW/ - Canadian distribution powerhouse Entertainment One (E1), and U.S. independent studio THINKFilm jointly announced today that E1 will be the exclusive Canadian distributor for THINKFilm movies through 2010. The multi-year output deal which covers all rights to Think movies in Canada was announced today by THINKFilm President and CEO Jeff Sackman, E1's Filmed Entertainment President Patrice Théroux and Seville's Pictures President David Reckziegel. E1 subsidiary Seville Pictures will handle distribution in Canada.

Affirming its place as one of the leading Canadian film distribution businesses, E1 has also acquired THINKFilm's library of 235 critically acclaimed and commercially proven features, for the remainder of the term that Think owns such pictures. The acquisition brings E1's filmed entertainment catalogue to 700+ titles, totaling more than 1,500 hours of content, which constitutes one of the best quality and most important film libraries in Canada.

THINKFilm's current and upcoming U.S. slate of feature releases includes BORDERTOWN, starring Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas; IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, winner of the World Cinema Audience Award at Sundance 2007; BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke; THE WALKER, directed by Paul Schrader and starring Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall, Ned Beatty and Willem Dafoe; director Jieho Lee's feature debut THE AIR I BREATHE, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kevin Bacon, Brendan Fraser, Forest Whitaker, Andy Garcia and Emile Hirsch; two award-winning documentaries: NANKING, directed and written by both Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, starring Woody Harrelson, Stephen Dorff and Mariel Hemingway and Best Documentary Feature Academy Award(R) winner TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE directed by Alex Gibney.

The newly acquired film library includes Ang Lee's break-out hit CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, which grossed more than USD$200m worldwide; Pedro Almodovar's Golden Globe and Academy Award(R) winner, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER, starring Penelope Cruz; Ed Harris' POLLOCK, starring Harris and Academy Award(R) winner Marcia Gay Harden; SHORTBUS; HALF NELSON, starring Ryan Gosling ; ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON starring Academy Award(R) winner Sean Penn, Academy Award(R) winner and Golden Globe-nominee Don Cheadle and Academy Award(R) nominee Naomi Watts; Woody Allen's SWEET AND LOWDOWN starring Academy Award(R) winner Sean Penn and Academy Award(R) nominee Samantha Morton, CANDY, from debut film-maker Neil Armfield and starring Academy Award(R) nominee Heath Ledger and Academy Award(R) winner Geoffrey Rush; and Chris Smiths' acclaimed documentary AMERICAN MOVIE.

This important agreement marks another milestone in rapidly-expanding E1 Filmed Entertainment's strategy to establish itself as a leader on a worldwide basis. In the past months, Entertainment One has been very active in developing its network for filmed entertainment distribution which now includes Canada, the UK, Holland, Belgium and the U.S. E1 also has been actively building up its library of content with the acquisition of Contender Entertainment Group in the UK, Seville Entertainment in Canada, RCV in the Benelux, the signing of Summit for the UK and Canada and the signing of Yari Film Group for Canada to ensure a supply of top films for these markets. E1 is now expanding its Toronto operation to accommodate the increased volume of titles from the Summit, Yari and THINKFilm deals while capitalizing on the immediate synergies of streamlining releases through distribution subsidiary Seville.

THINKFilm President and CEO Jeff Sackman said "We are extremely happy to have found such a great partner to take care of our films in Canada. David Reckziegel and his team at Seville Pictures have a long history of nurturing some of the best films from around the world and we are pleased to add our selection of films to their offering and to be collaborating with them. We could not think of a better fit for our films in Canada."

E1 Filmed Entertainment President Patrice Théroux added, "This long term output agreement and the acquisition of their 235 titles library is another important step in establishing our Canadian and worldwide distribution infrastructure. We are very focused on consolidating assets in the markets we have a presence and reaping the benefits of the resulting synergies. The addition of these 235 titles to our library also allows us to bring more recurring revenues from our library in Canada, which constitutes another corner stone of our global strategy."

Said Seville Pictures' David Reckziegel, "THINKFilm has a history of bringing high quality independent films to the marketplace. Their product line is very complimentary with Seville's existing line-up and will increase our Canadian theatrical slate to over 50 films per year. We very much look forward to working with the THINKFilm team and retaining the distinctiveness of the Think brand which has been so well defined since its inception."

The deal was negotiated for THINKFilm by Jeff Sackman and Marc Hirshberg and E1's Patrice Theroux and David Reckziegel.

Note to the Editors:
--------------------

Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE: ETO) AIM listed, Entertainment One Ltd's strategy is to build a leading global independent entertainment content ownership and distribution business which acquires films, television programs and music content and exploits these rights in all media throughout the world. Entertainment One is one of the world's leading international entertainment companies with operations in Canada, the U.S, Holland, Belgium and the UK, where it distributes, acquires and owns filmed entertainment and music content in all medias. Entertainment One also owns Koch Entertainment, the largest independent record label in North America and a leading independent distributor of music and video in the United States. www.entertainmentonegroup.com

About THINKFilm LLC THINKFilm is a privately held production and distribution company founded in September 2001. In the fall of 2006, it was bought by film financier and producer David Bergstein, who is now the company's Chairman. Boasting five Academy Award nominations in as many years, most recently with Ryan Gosling nominated for Best Actor in 2006 for HALF NELSON, and a win for Best Documentary with BORN INTO BROTHELS in 2005, THINKFilm's recent releases include: David Sington's IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON; Sidney Lumet's BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD with Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke and Marisa Tomei; Tony Kaye's LAKE OF FIRE, festival favorite WAR/DANCE from filmmakers Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, Paul Schrader's THE WALKER starring Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lauren Bacall, and Alex Gibney's Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winner TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE. For more information, please visit www.thinkfilmcompany.com

SOURCE E1 Entertainment

DDA Public Relations, Lawrence Atkinson, E: [email protected], T: [phone]; Alice Gledhill Hall, E: [email protected], T: [phone], W: www.ddapr.com