Screen Media Parent Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment Acquires 1091 Pictures In $15.6M Indie Combo

EXCLUSIVE: An untitled James Ellroy project and reimaginings of Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea and Gary Sherman’s Death Line comprise part of Chicken Soup for the Soul-owned Halcyon Entertainment’s latest development slate.

EXCLUSIVE: An untitled James Ellroy project and reimaginings of Ernest Hemmingway’s Old Man and the Sea and Gary Sherman’s Death Line comprise part of Chicken Soup for the Soul-owned Halcyon Entertainment’s latest development slate.

EXCLUSIVE: Screen Media has acquired North American rights to Chris Sivertson’s psychological horror pic Monstrous, starring Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets), ahead of its weekend world premiere at Glasgow FrightFest. The Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company plans to release the film in theaters and on demand on May 13.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterDigital distributor Giant Pictures has acquired Drafthouse Films, the genre movie label formed by Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League.Giant Pictures general manager Nick Savva will serve as CEO of the company, which will continue to operate under the title Drafthouse Films. League will become the chairman of Drafthouse Films.“Giant Pictures’ investment enables Drafthouse Films to continue releasing the provocative, visionary, and artfully unusual genre films from around the world that have always defined the Drafthouse brand,” Savva said.

Mark Ruffalo, 54, may be a successful actor, but his wife Sunrise Coigney, 49, is every bit as impressive as he is. The beauty and supporter of the star got married to him in 2000 and has led her own successful life and career over the years. Mark once admitted that their love story began when he was struggling and she is the one that turned things around for the better.

Amelia Dimoldenberg has finally found love with Manchester rapper Aitch.Amelia, best known for her YouTube series Chicken Shop Date in which she interviews a variety of musicians (and er... Louis Theroux?), hasn't had the best luck if her on screen persona is anything to go off.However the chemistry between Amelia and Aitch back in 2019 was undeniable.

Angelique Jackson Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American rights to distribute “The Walk,” which tells the story of the court-ordered forced integration of the Boston School System in the 1970s.The film, starring Justin Chatwin and Terrence Howard, will be released in theaters and digitally on June 10.“The Walk” follows Bill Coughlin (Chatwin, pictured above), a Boston Irish cop, who must contend with social pressure and bigotry in his neighborhood and within the police force after being assigned to protect Black students bused into the all-white South Boston High. The plot chronicles the political and social fallout following the court’s 1974 decision, which resulted in brutal violence and city-wide protests, as three stories collide during the fateful first day of school.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterTech-centric holding company Ballantyne Strong has launched Strong Studios to create content under the company’s Strong Entertainment division. David Ozer, formerly CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment’s Landmark Studio Group, will serve as president of the new studio.Based in New York, Strong Studios will develop and produce original feature films and television series, as well as acquire third party rights to content for global multiplatform distribution.

Diversified holding company Ballantyne Strong has launched Strong Studios, a new wing of its entertainment division, with two scripted series already in the works for 2022.

EXCLUSIVE: Tony Amendola (Stargate SG-1) will topline Rough Magic: Exit Shakespeare, a new film from veteran TV director Andy Wolk (The Practice) and Silver Spring Road Films that has recently wrapped production.

Sam Fender to appear on her popular YouTube interview series Chicken Shop Date.The YouTuber and comedian was speaking to NME last night (March 2) on the red carpet at the BandLab NME Awards 2022, which took place at the O2 Academy Brixton in London.Prior to co-presenting the award for Best TV Actor, which went to This Way Up‘s Aisling Bea, with Munya Chawawa later on in the night, Dimoldenberg told NME that she was “a big fan” of Fender.“I really want to get him on my show Chicken Shop Date,” she said. “So I want to hang out with him and persuade him to go on a date with me.”Dimoldenberg added: “I feel like [the BandLab NME Awards] is the perfect place to spot new dates, so I’m super-excited.

Sox Entertainment, the production and distribution company of former top CBS distribution executive Scott Koondel, has acquired the 2001 Imax concert movie All Access: Front Row. Backstage. Live!. The film, produced two decades ago for theatrical distribution exclusively on IMAX, will be taken to the marketplace shortly, targeting global streamers. All Access has never been exposed to digital platforms; the film is available for broadcast and streaming for the first time after a 10-year distribution moratorium.

Editor’s note: The Deadline Watchlist is a feature spotlighting small-screen specials, events and can’t-miss episodes of ongoing series each week.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorChicken Soup for the Soul, the parent company of Crackle and other streaming platforms, has reached an agreement to acquire production-distribution outfit 1091 Pictures for $15.6 million.The pact calls for Chicken Soup to acquire the New York-based company for $8 million in cash and the rest in stock. The deal brings to Chicken Soup a library of movies and TV series as well as its own streaming distribution platforms.Chicken Soup plans to merge 1091 Pictures assets with its Screen Vision division to enhance both companies’ ability to provides on-demand distribution options for independent filmmakers.“The 1091 Pictures team transformed their large content library into a scalable, modern distribution platform with a compelling slate of channels that are a pragmatic addition to our existing assets,” said David Fannon, president of Screen Media Ventures.

Chicken Soup for the Soul, one of the largest operators of ad-supported video on demand, on Tuesday announced plans to acquire the assets of 1091 Media to nearly double its content library.

Born in Barbados in 1688, Stede Bonnet was known as “The Gentleman Pirate.” Riding the waves in the early 18th century, history distinguished him because he owned land and had been born into a wealthy family before giving it all up to become a pillager and a plunderer. He reportedly even met and sailed with the notorious Blackbeard.

Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week.MOVIES— The Ryan Reynolds action comedy “Free Guy,” one of the few big-budget original movies to come out in theaters last year, arrives Wednesday on Disney+. And in Shawn Levy's genially self-aware film, which racked up $331 million at the box office, originality is very much at the heart of a story about a nonplayer videogame character (Reynolds) who breaks free of his coding.

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EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has acquired North American and UK/IRE rights to the political comedy The Hater, from writer-director Joey Ally (Uproot, Are You Still Singing), in which she stars alongside Bruce Dern (Nebraska, The Hateful Eight), Meredith Hagner (Search Party, Palm Springs), D’Angelo Lacy (aka musical artist Black Gatsby), Ian Harding (Pretty Little Liars, Ford v Ferrari), Ali Larter (The Last Victim, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter), and Nora Dunn (Together Together, The Lost Husband). The independent distributor has slated it for a day-and-date release on March 18.