Cinedigm Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM) and Robert Halmi Jr.'s Great Point Media announced they have entered into a multi-picture distribution and production output deal. In this multi-year deal, Great Point Media will deliver a minimum of eight cast-driven films primarily in the sci-fi and thriller genres. Cinedigm will distribute all US rights to the films, including theatrical, digital and video-on-demand, physical home entertainment and television. Additionally, Cinedigm will have a first look at Great Point Media's extensive development slate. The first two films are expected to be delivered by late 2014, with the balance of the initial slate delivered in 2015.
Great Point Media is a boutique media business specializing in the production and finance of film and television. The company was set up in 2012 by Robert Halmi Jr. and Jim Reeve. The Great Point Media team has over 60 years' experience in entertainment media and have recently financed over 100 prime time television shows. Robert Halmi Jr. is an Emmy Award® and Golden Globe® Award winning film producer. His career as a film producer began in 1980 and since that time he has produced more than 300 movies and miniseries for television, including Dinotopia, Arabian Nights, The 10th Kingdom, Cleopatra, Alice in Wonderland, The Baby Dance and Lonesome Dove, which earned seven Emmy®Awards and a Golden Globe®Award for Best Miniseries. Besides being the UK's leading authority on film finance, Jim Reeve is also an Emmy® award winning producer with 25 years' experience in the development, production, financing and distribution of television programs and films, with credits including Foyle's War and Jack Higgins' On Dangerous Ground.
The deal provides Cinedigm with high quality, marketable films that will feature well known stars for its digital and physical retail platform partners, as well a consistent flow of content to enhance Cinedigm's growing direct-to-consumer digital network business. To date, Cinedigm has announced plans for a Comic Con branded digital channel, a Dove branded family and faith-based channel, and a documentary channel called Docurama.
"We are excited to be in business with Cinedigm," said Robert Halmi Jr., Chairman of Great Point Media. "We have over 30 films, 2 mini-series and 6 television series in various stages of production and development and by collaborating with Cinedigm we feel these projects will all have a better chance of success."
"I've admired the prolific work of Robert Halmi Jr. for years and am thrilled at the opportunity to be his distribution partner," said Bill Sondheim, President of Cinedigm Entertainment. "Given the need to feed Cinedigm's growing – and hungry – distribution pipelines, including theatrical, VOD, TV, and digital networks, securing quality cast-driven films is vital. The initial eight films are just the beginning as we dig into Great Point's vast reservoir of projects yet to developed."
About CINEDIGM
Cinedigm is a leading independent content distributor in the United States, with direct relationships with over 60,000 physical retail storefronts and digital platforms, including Wal-Mart, Target, iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon, as well as the national Video on Demand platform on cable television. The company's library of over 52,000 films and TV episodes encompasses award-winning documentaries from Docurama Films®, next-gen Indies from Flatiron Film Company®, acclaimed independent films and festival picks through partnerships with the Sundance Institute and Tribeca Films and a wide range of content from brand name suppliers, including National Geographic, Discovery, Scholastic, WWE, NFL, Shout Factory, Hallmark, Jim Henson and more.
Cinedigm™ and Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp™ are trademarks of Cinedigm Corp. www.cinedigm.com.
About GREAT POINT MEDIA LIMITED
Great Point Media Limited was founded in 2012 by Jim Reeve and Robert Halmi Jr. Based in Covent Garden, London, Great Point Media is a boutique media business specializing in:
- Development and exploitation of intellectual property in entertainment media
- Distribution of media content for theatrical, television, and online platforms
- Executive production services
- Media project finance
- Alternative investments (EIS and SEIS)
Source: Cinedigm Corp.