Magnolia branches out with McAllister comedy
RELATED ARTICLES
Supplier launches new label Magnet
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 10/18/2007
OCT. 17 | Magnolia Home Entertainment is complementing its high-brow fare with some low in the first quarter, with the DVD bow of Moving McAllister.
The DVD supplier hopes the film, a broad teen comedy starring Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder and That 70’s Show’s Mila Kunis, will help diversify its portfolio.
Magnolia wants retailers and customers to know that it can excel with all sorts of subject matters, beyond its large selection of edgy, upscale fare. A key fourth-quarter driver at Magnolia is critical Iraq war documentary No End in Sight, streeting Oct. 31.
“Magnolia has been incredibly successful in bringing award-winning arthouse content—we are proud of our accomplishments with films like The World’s Fastest Indian, which won Entertainment Merchant Assn.’s ‘Rental Title of the Year’ award from an independent,” Magnolia VP Randy Wells said. “However, we have also worked hard not to be pigeon-holed as just an ‘arthouse' distributor.”
Wells believes Moving McAllister is a great first step into mainstream comedy. Magnolia discovered the film at May’s Cannes Film Festival and later acquired home entertainment distribution rights. First Independent Pictures handled the movie's limited theatrical run in September.
Following a road trip gone hilariously wrong, Moving McAllister is a great showcase for Heder’s silly but loveable humor, added Wells.
“[The] fast-food brawling, pimple-popping and cage fighting escapades are sure to make Moving McAllister a cult-favorite with Heder fans,” said Wells.
To house this burgeoning variety of content, Magnolia is launching the new genre label Magnet. The label will carry horror, action, Asian cinema and comedy titles. The first release from Magnet is Murder Party on Oct. 16.
