NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 2, 2015 / Independent production and distribution company Hannover House, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: HHSE), has entered into a distribution agreement with Freestyle Digital Media covering this summer's production of "The Summoning" from director Steven Rumbelow and Renegade Motion Pictures. The agreement calls for a launch of the picture onto a minimum of 600 theatres in January, 2016, followed by a simultaneous digital V.O.D. and DVD / Bluray release, and capped with a placement into the Freestyle-Netflix agreement for qualifying theatrical titles. The film's theatrical release will reach more than twice as many theatres than any prior Hannover House title, including last year's "On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter" on 252 screens, and 2010's "Twelve" onto 231 screens.
"We're very excited to be working with the team at Freestyle on Hannover's first wide theatrical launch," said Eric Parkinson, C.E.O. "Freestyle has enjoyed significant success with many of their theatrical titles, and this has led to them enjoying superior access to V.O.D. platforms and a structured Netflix placement agreement. Our release of 'The Summoning' to 600 or more theatres places the title into the top tier of consumer visibility and will drive our revenues from Netflix, other V.O.D. portals as well as our sale of packaged goods videos to key retailers," he concluded.
The Netflix agreement with Freestyle is reported to be similar to theatrical output agreements the subscription service has in place with the major studios. The subscription licensing fees for each film are paid on a formula that considers the breadth of a film's theatrical release as well as the box office results, and the Netflix fee can reach multimillion dollar levels for more popularly received films. A modestly performing film can reasonably generate a fee of more than $3-million from Netflix under this subscription V.O.D. model, while a top tier film such as Freestyle's "God's Not Dead" from last fall can earn more than three times that amount. While Hannover House has licensed the subscription V.O.D. rights to films to Netflix on a "direct" basis in the past, the tiered-theatrical performance levels only exist for the major studios and a handful of independents, including Freestyle.
Fred Shefte, president of Hannover House, Inc. negotiated the agreement with Chris Charalambous of Freestyle Digital Media.
Principal photography on the suspense thriller is slated for June in Louisiana, and several notable stars are expected to attach to the project. The budget is set at under $2-million, with financing provided through bank financing, private investors, distribution presales and state tax benefits, with Hannover House as lead.
"The Summoning" (previously known as "The Unwelcome") was written by Adam Roberts and Steven Rumbelow; producers are Tony Wonnacott, Dan Griffin and Steven Rumbelow. The film chronicles the story of two researchers of paranormal activity that are hired to investigate strange occurrences at an old, Louisiana plantation.
More information on "The Summoning” will be released as the cast members are announced and as the film approaches commencement of principal photography. For more information on Hannover House, visit the company's website at: www.HannoverHouse.com, or view the company's financials and public filings at: www.otcmarkets.com/stock/HHSE/quote.
ABOUT HANNOVER HOUSE - Hannover House, Inc. has been a consistent performer in the USA independent media market for more than 20-years, with DVD releasing activities since 2002 and book publishing going back to 1993. The Company now owns or controls a film and television library of more than 260 titles, and operates the multi-studio releasing venture, "Medallion Releasing, Inc." which represents six independent video labels. The core revenues for Hannover House are generated from the release of DVD and Bluray videos to mass merchants, including Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and other video source outlets, including Redbox and Netflix. The company believes that enhanced revenues from Theatrical and International distribution of properties offer significant promise for growth in the coming years.
ABOUT FREESTYLE - Freestyle Digital Media, LLC was launched in November 2011 as a digital media division of top independent theatrical distributor Freestyle Releasing, LLC and North American sales company Turtles Crossing, LLC. Freestyle Digital Media supplies quality commercial film and TV content directly to all US VOD/SVOD platforms, including Netflix, using the latest cloud-based technologies to automate digital workflow. Freestyle's goal is to provide fresh, well-marketed product and stay on the cutting edge of the ever-compressing windows to ensure that their partners benefit from a platform that delivers an anytime-anywhere capability in the medium of their choice and a positive digital viewing experience on any device in any location.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Sections 27A & 21E of the amended Securities and Exchange Acts of 1933-34, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Although the company believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these statements included in this press release will prove accurate.
CONTACT:
Eric Parkinson
[email protected]
479-751-4500
SOURCE: Hannover House, Inc.