KOCH Expands Home Video Roster
(Port Washington, NY) December 12, 2005 -- KOCH Entertainment Distribution is pleased to announce that it has expanded its home video roster with the signing of four new and exclusive labels that include the Rumur Releasing, Mercury Entertainment Group, Crash Media Group, and Blank Stare Films. KOCH will exclusively distribute all catalog and forthcoming home video releases from each label in North America.
“We’re very pleased to welcome all these new labels to our roster as we continue to grow and strengthen our home video division,” says Michael Rosenberg, President of KOCH Entertainment Distribution.
Rumur Releasing, a new paradigm in motion picture distribution, was formed by
motion picture producers Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley and David Beilinson, along with veteran media and entertainment attorney Jeff Sanders. Rumur’s mission is to efficiently build audiences for thought-provoking films. After self-distributing their highly acclaimed feature doc “Horns and Halos” in 2003, the partners decided to form Rumur to more effectively reach audiences with their work and the work of other independent filmmakers who are not being well-served by traditional distribution systems. Rumur will release five films theatrically and in all ancillary media in 2006. The company will also release at least another five titles directly to DVD, television and interactive platforms without theatrical release.
“KOCH Entertainment gives us an instant connection to the top video retailers across the country. Their sales force and reputation ensures that our titles will get premium national exposure. We’re thrilled to be working with them!”
Jeff Sanders, Founding Partner, Rumur Releasing
Mercury Entertainment Group was founded in February of 2001 by five partners, Alix Gilles, Gerard Gilles, Stephane Gilles, Grant Hemingway and Robert Roundtree in Margate, Florida. Mercury is a multi-faceted, producer of home videos, DVDs and music dedicated to the acquisition of content that is marketed directly to the urban audience. The company's mission is to provide a wide assortment of quality-driven titles marketed to each segment of the urban entertainment industry. Key forthcoming releases for 2006 include DJ Demp’s “Dirty for Life” and “Hip Hop Elements Volume I”.
"We are extremely excited about our deal with KOCH Distribution. This relationship will allow us to better place quality-driven urban music and home videos in the US marketplace. Partnering with the KOCH marketing and distribution “machine” will also
give us the best opportunity to effectively penetrate markets that we have not been able to crack. We are looking forward to a long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationship." Robert Roundtree, General Counsel, Mercury Entertainment Group, Inc.
Crash Media Group was first known for opening the Nation's first mainstream anime retail chain, Anime Crash in 1994. As time went on, Anime Crash became the number one place for the American market to be exposed to all facets of Asian pop-culture. In 1998 Crash Media Group brought "Crash Cinema" to the home media retail market and its premiere title "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms" was listed in the top 100 best-selling DVDs of 1999. In late 2001, The Crash Media Group joined forces with Abrams Gentile Entertainment Inc. in a strategic alliance and collaborative effort to further expand and continue to maintain its place as the premier source for Martial Arts Action, Japanese Animation, and Asian Pop-Culture. The Crash Media Group is now home to the largest library of classic martial arts films and footage in North America, and has licensed martial arts and anime content to such companies as MTV, Black Belt TV, Discovery Channel, and more.
"It is very refreshing to be at a distributor with so much video knowledge and experience and with such a diverse line. We are looking forward to adding to that diversity.”
Scott C. Mauriello, Managing Director of Crash Media Group
Based in Bloomington, Indiana, Blank Stare Films was founded in 2005 by the owners of Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar Records as an extension of years of sheer love for film. The label is an independent, owner–operated company devoted to supporting and releasing projects from the burgeoning micro-indie world of filmmaking. Their DVD catalog includes The Graffiti Artist (Mettray Reformatory Pictures, distributed by Blank Stare); the second film by James Bolton (Eban and Charlie) is a minimal meditation on the northwest world of skating, tagging and wanderers that inhabit it. Forthcoming DVD releases for 2006 include “Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?” and “The Shield Around the K: The Story of K Records,” slated for release in January.
“Our deal with KOCH comes at a perfect turning point with Blank Stare. Starting as a pure distribution company, Blank Stare will be releasing its first two DVD projects through its new home video division in January as its maiden voyage with KOCH’s infrastructure and experience. All of us here are super excited about it.”
Ben Swanson, Co-Founder of Blank Stare Films
KOCH Entertainment is the leading and fastest-growing independent music and video company in the U.S. and its operations encompass record and video labels and distribution companies in the U.S. and Canada. KOCH Entertainment is the market leader among independents in both the U.S. and Canada. KOCH is a leading force in home video entertainment and is one of the top independent suppliers of DVD products. Its own video labels KOCH VISION and KOCH LORBER FILMS are complimented by a roster of leading independent home entertainment companies that includes Capital Entertainment, Troma Entertainment, Crash Media Group, AnimEigo, Tommy Boy Films and many more.
For more information, please contact James Scileppi at (516) 484-1000 Ext. 243 or email james.scileppi@kochent.com.
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