Cannon Films Doc ELECTRIC BOOGALOO Picked Up by Drafthouse

Well, this makes a lot of sense. Mark Hartley's Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films has been acquired for U.S. distribution by Drafthouse Films, which plans a late 2012 theatrical release "to coincide with a traveling roadshow retrospective of Cannon's seminal films," according to a press release.

Our own Todd Brown, who works with Celluloid Nightmares and XYZ Films, posted news on the project last month. (Full disclosure: XYZ Films has an ownership stake in ScreenAnarchy.) Hartley previously made Not Quite Hollywood and Machete Maidens Unleashed, two very entertaining and tightly-edited docs, and in telling the story of Cannon Films, he certainly has the source material for some terrific stories and smash-bang movies ripe for rediscovery.

The idea of a traveling roadshow dovetails perfectly with Drafthouse Films' expertise. Here are a few paragraphs from the press release.

From acclaimed cult film documentarian Mark Hartley (NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD, MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED), the film centers on the story of two Israeli-born, movie-obsessed cousins, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, who in pursuit of the "American dream" launched an indie studio that would produce over 120 exploitation films from 1979-1989 turning a renegade outfit into the proclaimed "seventh Hollywood major." The film is currently in pre-production in Australia with Producer Veronica Fury and Executive Producers XYZ Films (upcoming Sony Pictures release THE RAID). A theatrical release is being planned for late 2012 to coincide with a traveling roadshow retrospective of Cannon's seminal films. 

 While best known for their explosive '80s action fare (MISSING IN ACTION, DEATH WISH sequels, Academy Award® Nominated RUNAWAY TRAIN), Cannon Films' diverse and ambitious production output also included body-count slashers (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2), musicals and comedies (THE APPLE, BREAKIN'), science fiction and fantasy epics (MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, LIFEFORCE), martial arts classics (AMERICAN NINJA series, KICKBOXER), neo-noir crime thrillers (52 PICK-UP, 10 TO MIDNIGHT), art-house dramas (BARFLY, John Cassavetes' LOVE STREAMS, Jean-Luc Godard's KING LEAR), in addition to launching the careers of many future genre superstars like Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme. 

"No other production organization in the world today," proclaimed Roger Ebert in 1987, "has taken more chances with serious, marginal films than Cannon." "Cannon Films was an enterprise that in many ways defined exploitation cinema of the 1980s," said Alamo Drafthouse Founder/CEO and Fantastic Fest Founder Tim League, "We are thrilled to share their untold legacy with movie fans around the country." Drafthouse Films Director Evan Husney elaborated, "With director Mark Hartley at the helm, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO is sure to be a wildly entertaining, comprehensive and frenetic no-holds-barred dive into the world of perhaps the most infamous production company in film history." 

 "I was lucky enough to have my first feature NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD screen at Fantastic Fest in 2008 - and ever since then the chance to revisit the festival and the Alamo Drafthouse has been one of the principal motivations for me to get out of bed and make more movies!" says director Mark Hartley. "The news that Drafthouse Films has joined the ELECTRIC BOOGALOO party is beyond awesome. I know that Tim League and his team will find the most inventive, outrageous and ridiculously entertaining ways to roll the film out across America - and personally I can't wait for the show to begin."