Beverly Hills, CA—Jun 1, 2009
First-Ever LIVE Virtual Nationwide Theatrical Premiere Hosted by
Cinedigm
Actors KEVIN ZEGERS, VINCENT D’ONOFRIO and SOPHIA BUSH will interact with audiences across the country on film’s opening night June 19!
Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM) announced today that it will host the first-ever, live virtual Q&A between a film cast and theatre audiences nationwide as a part of the June 19, 2009 opening night of the feature film “The Narrows.”
The live Q&A will be simulcast to selected theatres across the country giving audiences direct access to the movie’s cast members. The cast members, including Kevin Zegers (“Transamerica”, “The Jane Austen Book Club”), Vincent D’Onofrio (“Law and Order”, “The Break Up”), and Sophia Bush (“One Tree Hill”), will be located in New York and will answer in real-time audience questions submitted via text message, as well as questions submitted prior to the event via “The Narrows” Facebook page.
“The Narrows” premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and will be released nationally on June 19, 2009. Directed by Francois Velle (“New Suit”), “The Narrows” is about a photography student from a tough neighborhood in Brooklyn who takes a job from the local mob boss in order to pay his college tuition. His double life becomes dangerous when the two worlds violently collide. “The Narrows” also features Eddie Cahill, Monica Keena, and Titus Welliver. It is adapted by Tatiana Blackington from the novel by Tim McLoughlin “Heart of the Old Country.”
The new virtual Q&A is made possible by digital broadcast of the film to theatres via satellite transmission using Cinedigm’s proprietary CineLive® technology which powered the BCS Championship and NBA All Star games earlier this year. Approximately 6,000 theatres nationwide have upgraded their systems from traditional film print to digital projection and broadcast, about 70% of which are managed by the market leader, Cinedigm. This new technology provides a number of benefits to audiences and theatres, including superior image quality, live 2-D and 3-D broadcasts as well as real-time virtual interaction with the audience.
“Digital cinema allows for this wonderful mashup of interactive media with traditional movie theatre entertainment. We are upgrading a passive viewing experience to be more dynamic, immersive and even interactive, and the possibility for continued innovation is endless,” commented Bud Mayo, CEO of Cinedigm. “We are truly excited to be able to present an event like this for the first time ever, and the release of ‘The Narrows’ provides the perfect opportunity to do so. We know both the cast and audience will be thrilled to share this kind of interaction.”
Leslie Urdang, producer of “The Narrows” stated, “We are extremely excited to be participating in this historic first-ever event with Cinedigm and ‘The Narrows’. The success of this experience in the changing landscape of film distribution will suggest important new options for filmmakers trying to reach audiences around the country.”
The film premieres in 17 cities nationwide on June 19, including New York, Los Angeles, Baton Rouge, Detroit, Little Rock, Las Vegas, Mobile, and more. For additional information on “The Narrows,” please visit www.narrowsthemovie.com.