Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, his production company Warrior Poets, Virgil Films and Richard Abramowitz’s independent distribution company Abramorama have partnered to acquire and release distinctive fiction and documentary features theatrically and on cable VOD. The films will be distributed under the banner “Morgan Spurlock Presents,” beginning with the highly anticipated documentaries A Brony Tale and the award-winning Two: The Story of Roman & Nyro. A Brony Tale will first premiere at The Tribeca Film Festival this April.
The partners’ aim is to discover and release quality narrative fiction and documentary films with targeted audiences that might otherwise be overlooked. The films will be released in 20 to 30 theatrical markets just prior to being available on cable VOD through agreements with various VOD partners.
Spurlock, Virgil and Abramowitz all have proven expertise in filmmaking and distribution. Spurlock is the Oscar-nominated director of Super Size Me, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden, One Direction: This Is Us and the host/creator of the CNN series Morgan Spurlock Inside Man, which is currently airing its second season. Abramowitz has executive produced such nonfiction films as Wigstock: The Movie and Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead, while his Abramorama has released such documentaries as the Spirit Award-winning, Oscar® nominated Exit Through The Gift Shop, Spirit Award-winning ANVIL! The Story of Anvil, and the current hit Particle Fever. Virgil’s successful documentary releases include the Oscar® nominated documentary Restrepo, Forks Over Knives, American Made Movie and Bridegroom.
“I think it is our duty as filmmakers to help champion and support the work of the next generation of talented filmmakers whose films deserve to be recognized and available to audiences around the country,” said Morgan Spurlock, Founder, Warrior Poets. “We are incredibly grateful to our theatrical and cable VOD partners in creating this world class platform(s) in which to showcase these projects.”
Amodei said: “This line has been created to build awareness, via theaters and video on demand, of incredible and important documentaries and feature films. I’m happy and fortunate to be partnered in this adventure with Morgan Spurlock and Richard Abramowitz, who are true champions in the documentary field.”
Abramowitz said: “We’ve only just started and we’ve already discovered a few gems. I’m excited to be working with Morgan and Joe to bring all of these terrific films out into the world.”
A Brony Tale and Two, both set for release this year, perfectly represent the one-of-a-kind documentaries to come from ‘Morgan Spurlock Presents.’ Brent Hodge’s A Brony Tale, made over a two-year period, explores the phenomenon of the “Brony” – an adult male who is obsessed with the little girls’ cartoon series My Little Pony. Traveling across North America, Hodges locates Bronies in the unlikeliest of circumstances; he also follows actress Ashleigh Ball, the voice of several Pony characters, to the 2012 BronyCon event in New York City. A Brony Tale will premiere at April’s Tribeca Film Festival and will be released in July.
Two: The Story of Roman & Nyro is from first-time director Heather Winters, executive producer of Super Size Me. Utilizing years of footage, the film tells the uplifting story of legendary rock songwriter Desmond Child (“You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “I Was Made for Lovin’ You”) and his longtime partner Curtis Shaw Child as they raise their two sons, the charming and articulate preteen twins Roman and Nyro. Two will be released later in 2014.
About Warrior Poets
Warrior Poets is a New York based production company founded in 2004 by Academy Award® nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock. Since its creation, he and producing partner Jeremy Chilnick have produced multiple award winning films, television programs and digital series. Films include “One Direction: This Is Us,” “POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,” “Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope,” “Mansome,” “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?”, and “Freakonomics. Television projects include the award-winning FX series “30 Days,” ESPN’s “The Dotted Line,” Emmy and Writer’s Guild nominated “The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3D on Ice!, “New Britannia” for Sky Atlantic HD and the award-winning CNN series “Morgan Spurlock Inside Man.” Warrior Poets’ slate of digital series include Hulu’s “A Day in the Life” as well as Yahoo!’s “Failure Club,” “Mansome” and “Losing It with John Stamos.”
About Virgil Films
Virgil Films & Entertainment was founded in 2003 by Joe Amodei to acquire, market and distribute DVD, TV and Digital product in the theatrical feature film, documentaries, special interest and sports categories. The company has built partnerships with OWN, Sundance Channel Home Entertainment, National Geographic Cinema Ventures, ESPN, MLB Productions, Morgan Spurlock’s Warrior Poets and other high-profile entertainment brands since their inception. Recent releases from Virgil Films & Entertainment include the documentary Miss Representation; Todd Solondz’s Dark Horse, the critically acclaimed documentary Bridegroom, the timeless Forks Over Knives, and the Oscar® nominated documentary Restrepo. They have also released the compelling Gunhill Road, The House I Live In, Paul Williams: Still Alive and others. Follow us on twitter: @virgilfilms | www.VirgilFilmsEnt.com.
About Abramorama
Abramorama is an industry leader in the personalized, focused form of film marketing/distribution that bypasses traditional film studios and their methodology, providing invaluable distribution alternatives to current content makers and owners. The company’s distribution projects include Particle Fever, the award-winning documentary about realizing the Nobel Prize-winning theory of the Higgs boson, aka “The God Particle;” Academy Award nominated director Robert Stone’s provocative Sundance entry Pandora’s Promise; Cameron Crowe’s celebrated documentary Pearl Jam Twenty; Banksy’s Spirit Award-winner and Academy Award-nominee Exit Through the Gift Shop; and, Sacha Gervasi’s Spirit Award-winning music documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil.
