Overture Lets Loose Crazy Comics, Games

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- As the "outbreak" of Overture Films' release of The Crazies draws closer, the studio is gearing up for an exciting launch of a comic book series inspired by the film along with various other multimedia content including a motion comic book series, Facebook "tower defense" game and more. The film is produced and distributed by Overture Films and co-financed by Participant Media.

The Top Cow printed comic book is broken into four chapters:  Hopman Bog, Dwyer Creek, Black Pond and Ogden Marsh. The comic series traces an outbreak that takes over the minds and bodies of the citizens in Ogden Marsh, Iowa and each chapter focuses on a different aspect of this epidemic. The first two issues will be available in comic book stores nationwide on February 17, 2010, with the next two available February 24, 2010. Jeff Katz of American Original produced the comic book on behalf of Overture Films and Participant Media. The covers of the comic book are available for download at www.thecrazies-movie.com/comicbooks.

Starz Digital Media, in association with Double Barrel Motion Labs, will release a four-part motion comic series as an animated companion to the film and based on the comic miniseries. Episode 1 of the motion comic series, "Hopman Bog," will be available for purchase on the iTunes and PlayStation® Networkplatforms on February 23, 2010. To embed or view a trailer of the motion comic series, please go to www.thecrazies-movie.com/motioncomictrailer.

Starz Digital Media and Merscom have also co-produced a social media game that brings Facebook members a chance to stop the Crazies in "The Crazies Tower Defense." Available at no charge, players must strategically place defenses around Ogden Marsh in order to prevent a perpetual onslaught of Crazies from attacking the town. The game utilizes the latest social networking functionality allowing players to share their progress and achievements with friends. For a small cost, users may purchase advanced weaponry and look for an edge in their battle against the Crazies. The Crazies Tower Defense may be played at apps.facebook.com/crazies.

Coinciding with the launch of the printed comic book series and the motion comic, the studio has also created the iPhone application "Beware the Infected". The iPhone app allows users to photograph themselves or friends, "crazify" their face, and insert that picture into a "wanted" style warning flyer. The resulting image is branded with The Crazies logo and can be saved or emailed to friends directly from the app. The application is available directly at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-crazies/id349550509?mt=8.

For those still wanting more, Overture has created an interactive game, "Battlemail," that is a viral application designed to allow users to "battle" their friends as a "Crazy" from the movie via email or through Facebook. Users access the application through The Crazies movie website at http://www.thecrazies-movie.com/#/battlemail, choose ten attack moves and send their challenge to their friends. Friends who have been challenged are given the opportunity to choose their own ten attack moves and the result is a live action movie clip where users can watch their battle. Resulting videos are either emailed or posted to the user's Facebook wall, and with a nearly unlimited number of combinations, the battles are always unique and fun.

The Crazies is a highly anticipated remake of the George Romero classic and is scheduled to hit theaters on February 26, 2010. Breck Eisner directed the screenplay, written by Scott Kosar and Ray Wright, about the inhabitants of a small Kansas town beset by insanity and then death after a mysterious toxin contaminates their water supply.  

The film stars Timothy Olyphant (Live Free or Die Hard) as the town's sheriff, Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill) as his pregnant wife Judy who also doubles as the town doctor, Joe Anderson (Across the Universe) as the deputy sheriff and Danielle Panabaker (Friday the 13th) as a medical assistant.  The film is produced by Michael Aguilar (Constantine, What Happens in Vegas), Dean Georgaris (The Manchurian Candidate) and Rob Cowan (Righteous Kill), with George Romero (Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow) executive producing.

ABOUT THE COMIC BOOK WRITERS

IVAN BRANDON - A rising star at both Marvel and DC Comics and creator of the Image Comics hit VIKING, Ivan Brandon also recently scripted the DC mini-series FINAL CRISIS: THE ESCAPE. He also co-created the Image series CROSS BRONX and edited the archive 24Seven. Check out www.ivanbrandon.com for more information.

JOSH FIALKOV - Fialkov first made his comics name on the acclaimed series ELK'S RUN and has gone on to work for most of today's top comic publishers. He launched the series ALIBI for Top Cow, which was recently acquired for film adaptation by Summit Entertainment. Fialkov also won the inaugural "Pilot Season" competition for his reboot of the Top Cow character Cyblade. Check out www.thefialkov.com for more information.

BRIAN REED - Working across the worlds of comic books and video games, Brian Reed is always on the move. Having tackled such iconic Marvel characters as SPIDER-MAN, MS. MARVEL and CAPTAIN MARVEL, Reed then moved on to tackle several spin-offs of Marvel's acclaimed SECRET INVASION series. Reed's video game credits include ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN and MERCENARIES 2.

MARC ANDREYKO - Andreyko, a Harvey nominee, is the co-writer of the acclaimed graphic novel TORSO. He may be best known for a popular run on the relaunch of MANHUNTER - one of the best female-driven superhero comics in recent history - for DC Comics. He works regularly for all the major comic publishers including DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and IDW.

ABOUT OVERTURE FILMS

Overture Films (www.overturefilms.net) develops, produces, acquires, and distributes feature length, theatrical motion pictures worldwide. The studio is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Capital Group (Nasdaq: LCAPA, LCAPB), a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation. Its affiliated companies, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Starz Entertainment, make the films available domestically to viewers via home video, premium television, Internet and other outlets.

About Starz Digital Media

Starz Digital Media, an operating division of Starz Media, LLC, is responsible for all digital and on-demand distribution of library content from Overture Films, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Starz Originals from Starz Entertainment, and Manga Entertainment. Through a range of distribution and marketing partnerships with multichannel video providers, Internet distributors and wireless operators worldwide, Starz Digital Media makes its content available under numerous business models including download-to-own/electronic sell-through, video-on-demand, pay-per-view, subscription video-on-demand and ad-supported streaming. The division also programs and supports numerous ad-supported broadband channels and develops games and gaming-related content from many of its properties for distribution worldwide.

About Participant Media

Participant Media is a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films, documentaries and television, as well as publishing and digital media. Participant Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky Strauss is President. Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives. For each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action and advocacy programs which provide ideas and tools to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Participant's films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, Darfur Now, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night and Good Luck., Syriana, Standard Operating Procedure, The Visitor, The Soloist, Food, Inc., The Informant! and The Crazies.

SOURCE Overture Films