Anchor Bay Entertainment Coming to Shore Once Again, New Distribution Arm Launched
Say the name Anchor Bay Entertainment around your genre-loving parents and they'll probably go lie down in some dark corner of your home, clutchng their wallets in fear. That company alone is the sole reason I have at least half a dozen versions of Army of Darkness in my collection. I didn't need half a dozen versions of the same movie, but I bought them every damned time.
Back then Anchor Bay was owned by Starz, a subsidiary of Lionsgate, and they did a lot of good as far as genre fans were concerned, but every week it seemed like they were coming out with different versions of the same movie. That company went defunct in 2017 but the name is being ressurected in a brand new distribution arm of Umbrelic Entertainment.
Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck - Zambeck started is career at the former Anchor Bay Entertainment company - and Brian Katz made the announcement today and also announced the first two titles under this new brand.
Evan Marlowe's disturbing lifelike puppet film Abruptio and the documentary Dinner With Leatherface are going to be the first two releases. Abruptio enjoyed a long and award-winning festival run and Dinner With Leatherface is currently in post.
THOMAS ZAMBECK AND BRIAN KATZ OF UMBRELICTO LAUNCH NEW DISTRIBUTION ARM ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENTStudio Acquires ABRUPTIO and DINNER WITH LEATHERFACEUmbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz announced the launch of its new distribution arm, Anchor Bay Entertainment. The founders aim to curate a new library of films for distribution, projects that range from new release genre films, undiscovered treasures, cult classics, and remastered catalog releases."We had an opportunity to take the name of a beloved genre film brand, one we feel a personal connection to, for our new company,” says Zambeck. “This is a new venture, unaffiliated with any previous incarnations. We aim to honor the history and spirit of the past as we look for interesting films that break the mold, and will be discovered by new generations for years to come."Since the launch of Umbrelic Entertainment in 2018, Zambeck and Katz have produced and executive produced over 14 feature films. Recent releases include the Chris Sivertson-directed horror thriller Monstrous, starring Christina Ricci; the crime thriller American Murderer, starring Tom Pelphrey and Ryan Phillippe; the sci-fi thriller Share with Bradley Whitford and Alice Braga; director Adam Sigal’s dark comedy Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose, starring Simon Pegg, Minnie Driver and Christopher Lloyd; and the Emile Hirsch murder mystery Helen’s Dead. The pair are currently in post-production on three additional films: Hellfire, toplined by Stephen Lang and Harvey Keitel, Deep Six, starring Tom Welling and Cam Gigandet, and the screen life horror Stay At Home, featuring Jenna Davis and Lilah Pate. Umbrelic Entertainment is represented by Nick LoPiccolo and Babacar Diene of the Paradigm Agency.A 16-year post-production veteran who has shepherded more than 1,500 projects to global delivery, Zambeck who started his career at Anchor Bay Entertainment, has also previously held roles at Starz, Sony, and Post Haste Digital. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and currently resides in Los Angeles.Katz is a film production veteran and a sales professional with more than 20 years of experience within the technology, manufacturing and private equity fields. He resides in the Detroit Area.Anchor Bay Entertainment will distribute the following upcoming films:ABRUPTIO is the first of its kind feature horror film, enacted entirely with lifelike puppets in realistic settings, taking nearly eight years to complete from script to post-production.Set to release in Q2, ABRUPTIO was written and directed by Evan Marlowe (The Impact). The film stars James Marsters (House of Haunted Hill), Christopher McDonald (Thelma & Louise), Hana Mae Lee (Pitch Perfect Franchise), Jordan Peele (Get Out), Sid Haig (Halloween), Rich Fulcher (Wonka) and Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street Franchise).In ABRUPTIO, Les Hackel (Marsters) is a guy down on his luck who wakes to find an explosive device has been implanted in his neck. He must carry out heinous crimes in order to stay alive while trying to identify the mastermind manipulating the now twisted and strange world around him. The film is enacted entirely using lifelike puppets.Produced by Kerry Marlowe (The Impact) and who also executive produced the film along with Evan Marlowe, Barry Finlayson (Horror House), Sue Finlayson (Blood Rush) and Martin Lee White (A Right Fool), ABRUPTIO was an official selection at 35 film festivals during its 2023 run, including at Cinequest. It won 20 awards with 12 other nominations. It was also nominated for “Sight and Sound's” survey of the best films of 2023.Kerry Marlowe negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers, with Katz and Zembeck on behalf of Anchor Bay Entertainment.To release this fall is DINNER WITH LEATHERFACE, the anticipated documentary on Gunnar Hansen, the actor who portrayed the character Leatherface in the 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Friends, colleagues, filmmakers, and fellow actors share personal stories and discuss the dichotomy between the maniacal chainsaw-wielding character Hansen played on-screen and the very intelligent, creative, soft-spoken man he actually was in real life.Interviews with horror mainstays include Bruce Campbell, Barbara Crampton, Betsy Baker, Brian O'Halloran, Kim Henkel, Danielle Harris, Linnea Quigley, Kane Hodder, and Debbie Rochon. The film also features all of the remaining cast of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the original Director of Photography, Daniel Pearl and Producer/Co-Writer Kim Henkel.Written, executive produced and directed by Michael Kallio (The Skeptic), he also produced the film with Lowell Northrop (“Hap and Leonard”). DINNER WITH LEATHERFACE is currently in post-production through Umbrelic's subsidiary, OutPost X.Kallio negotiated the deal with Katz and Zambeck on behalf of Anchor Bay Entertainment.Both Zambeck and Katz are traveling to the Berlin International Film Festival to acquire additional films for Anchor Bay Entertainment.
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