Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) opens the Columbia vault on September 13th offering a selection of films never before released on DVD with the launch of “Screen Classics by Request.” Consumers will now be able to purchase authentic, high-quality DVDs of more than 100 classic movie titles covering a 75 year span from the Columbia Film Library. Additional titles will be made available monthly through the new “Screen Classics by Request” Web site (www.Columbia-Classics.com) and will retail at $19.94 SLP, plus shipping.

To order movies, consumers visit www.Columbia-Classics.com, make their selection, and upon purchase, a state-of-the-art manufacturing on demand (MOD) system creates a made-to-order DVD showcased with original theatrical art when available.

Among the titles initially available will be The Pumpkin Eater (1964) with Anne Bancroft and Peter Finch, Footsteps in the Fog (1955) starring Stewart Granger and Jean Simmons, Sam Wanamaker’s The Executioner (1970) with George Peppard, The Juggler (1953) starring Kirk Douglas, the Sherlock Holmes mystery A Study in Terror (1965), I Never Sang For My Father (1970) with Melvyn Douglas and Gene Hackman, Genghis Kahn (1965) with Omar Sharif, and Les Voleurs (Thieves, 1996) with Catherine Deneuve.

“The launch of Screen Classics By Request is an important step in the evolution of our multiplatform distribution strategy,” said John Calkins, SPHE’s Executive Vice President of Global Digital and Commercial Innovation. “We look forward to making the rich history of the Columbia archive available in new ways through a variety of retail and distribution partners that best serve the appetite of the discerning movie enthusiast.”

Consumers can also visit the www.Columbia-Classics.com Web site for “first looks” at upcoming Blu-ray and DVD releases from the studio, to view “behind the scenes” still photography from some of the initial film productions, and to request their favorite films for release.

The scariest movie of all time, The Exorcist Extended Director’s Cut, returns to theaters nationwide for a one-night special event on Thursday, September 30 at 7:00 p.m. local time and again for a second showing at 10:30 p.m. in select theaters. The thrilling special in-theater event, shown in more than 450 select movie theaters nationwide, will feature never-before-seen on-set footage and interviews with Academy Award® winning director William Friedkin, writer William Peter Blatty and actress Linda Blair as well as members of the original cast and crew. Following The Exorcist Extended Director’s Cut, audiences will also be treated to a look behind-the-scenes showing how many of the legendary scenes were shot in this classic and thrilling tale of good vs. evil.

Tickets for The Exorcist Extended Director’s Cut are available at participating box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com

Released in 1973, “The Exorcist” caused a cultural earthquake that is still felt today, shocking and enthralling audiences who had never seen anything like it. Many viewers were frightened out of their wits – and literally out of their seats. Some ran out of the theater; others got physically ill or couldn’t sleep for weeks. Now audiences may experience the same visceral emotions again in their local movie theater with this masterpiece of suspense that haunted, intrigued and thrilled the world.

Adapted from the best-selling 1971 novel inspired by an actual exorcism case, “The Exorcist” tells the now-famous story of a young girl’s demonic possession, and her mother’s (Ellen Burstyn) desperate attempts to save her. Blair, in a breakout role, plays the possessed Regan, caught in a gripping fight between good and evil which culminated with an exorcism conducted by two priests. Terrifying audiences and chilling them to the bone, the theological thriller also starred Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, Lee J. Cobb, Jason Miller and Mercedes McCambridge. “The Exorcist” is still considered one of the most successful feature films of all time, grossing $440 million worldwide and earning 10 Academy Award® nominations (winning Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Sound).

“The cultural impact of this truly frightening thriller cannot be understated and to experience it in movie theaters on giant, 40-foot screens is amazing,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM Fathom. “With the stunning quality of this special event, fans will be on the edge of their seats like never before.”

BLUE CRUSH 2

Head Out To The Exotic Beaches of South Africa As Some Of The World’s Most Spectacular Waves Are Unleashed

Exclusively On Blu-Ray & DVD Spring 2011

Universal City, California, Thursday, July 15th, 2010—The search for the ultimate wave becomes an exotic and exhilarating journey of self-discovery and heartfelt friendship in Blue Crush 2, currently filming on location along the wild coast of South Africa, famous for its bone crushing waves. The all-new movie installment based on 2002’s hugely popular Blue Crush, which starred Kate Bosworth and Michelle Rodriguez, follows an adventurous young woman on the surf adventure of a lifetime. Blue Crush 2 is directed and produced by Mike Elliott (Beethoven’s Big Break). Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind, Blue Crush) and Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon, Angels & Demons) are also producing for Imagine Entertainment. The film is an official South African/German Co-Production, produced in South Africa by Universal Pictures Productions GmbH and Moonlighting Blue Crush Productions, and is co-produced by Genevieve Hofmeyr and Ralph Tuebben. The film will premiere exclusively on Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD Spring 2011 and will be distributed by Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

The film’s hot, young, international cast includes Sasha Jackson (“One Tree Hill”), Sharni Vinson (Step Up 3-D), Elizabeth Mathis (Enchanted), Ben Milliken (Newcastle) and newcomer Chris Fisher. In Blue Crush 2, a young California girl treks across her late mother’s beloved South African beaches riding some of the world’s most spectacular waves, while making lifelong friends and gaining new insights into her past and future. Filmed along the beautiful coastline of South Africa, Blue Crush 2 features some of the most picturesque beaches on the planet, including the renowned “home of the perfect wave,” Jeffrey’s Bay (aka “J-Bay”), North Beach, Glenmore, Banana Beach and Coffee Bay.

The film also features many world-class female surfers from the Roxy team, some of whom currently hold a Women’s World Ranking from the Association of Surfing Professionals including: Sally Fitzgibbons (#1), Laura Enever (#3), Bianca Buitendag (#14-tied) Rosy Hodge (#17-tied), Tanika Hoffman, and Danielle Le Roux. Additional female surfers featured in the film include Sarah Baum (#24-tied), Roxy Louw, Tarryn Chudleigh, Kirsty Delport, Mia Hordyk, Morag Steele and Heidi Palmboom.

Performing daring stunts and conquering some of the wildest surf ever seen on film on the men’s side is Taj Burrow, Jordy Smith and Travis Logie who are ranked #1, #2 and #36 respectively on ASP’s Men’s World Rankings. The film also features big wave surfer Grant “Twiggy” Baker, Rudi Palmboom Sr, Casey Grant, Warwick Wright, Mikey February and Andrew “Roosta” Lange.
-Press Release

This week FEARnet’s FREE streaming movies ensure audiences will have nightmares for weeks to come. The latest films, include “Simon Says” and “Brotherhood of Blood.”

FEARnet kicks off this week by bringing audiences William Dear’s (“Wild America,” “Journey to the Center of the Earth”) “Simon Says” starring Crispin Glover (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Beowulf”) and Blake Lively (“Gossip Girl,” “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”). In this tribute to over-the-top gore fests, five college friends head out on a camping trip and encounter their worst nightmares. There are dangerous things (and people) out in the wild – and this group crosses paths with sadistic twin brothers that kill off the campers in an extremely gruesome and creative fashion.

This week FEARnet also brings audiences a last chance viewing of “Brotherhood of Blood,” brought to FEARnet viewers by Ghost House Underground (from horror icons Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert). This thriller brings us a team of vampire hunters who must infiltrate a nest of the undead to save one of their own. As an added bonus, the movie teams up horror legends Sid Haig (“House of 1000 Corpses,” “Kill Bill 2”) and Ken Foree (“Dawn of the Dead”).

Other can’t miss movies on FEARnet this week include “Repo! The Genetic Opera” and “Bedroom Window.”

Here’s the complete list of free films available this week on FEARnet, starting today:

Simon Says
Repo! The Genetic Opera
The Servants of Twilight
Beast Within
Bedroom Window
Brotherhood of Blood
Dead Alive
Dance of the Dead
The Toxic Avenger
Wishmaster
Wishmaster 3
Wishmaster 4
Bruiser
The Children
Seventh Moon
Offspring
The Thaw
Rottweiler
Scourge
Shivers
Born Killers
Days of Darkness
Bloody Mallory
Voodoo
Trucks

The third installment of the Disney Fairies franchise is due to arrive on DVD and Blu-ray September 21. However, in honor of the Summer Solstice, we've been granted an eight minute sneak peek at the film. If you've read either of my reviews for the first two films -- Tinker Bell and Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure -- you know just how much care and attention has gone into crafting these stories. Gone are the days when Disney would crank out cheap direct-to-DVD adventures just to make a buck. Under the watchful eye of Pixar's John Lasseter, these are classic Disney tales worthy of repeat viewing, and I expect no less from Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue.

View this special preview

Synopsis: Years before meeting Wendy and the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell met Lizzy, a little girl with a steadfast belief in the power of pixie dust and the magic land of fairies. During the fairies’'summer visit to the flowering meadows of England, two very different worlds unite for the first time and Tink develops a special bond with a curious child in need of a friend. As her fellow fairies launch a daring rescue, Tinker Bell takes a huge risk, putting her own safety and the future of all fairykind in jeopardy. Experience Disney's astonishing all-new movie about the true power of faith and friendship. Bursting with excitement and imagination, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is magical entertainment for the whole family. You might even learn to fly.