Archstone Entertainment Acquires Worldwide Rights to Dawn of Depravity

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Mar 19, 2024, 06:00 ET

Dawn of Depravity: The Life and Deaths of Michael Thevis - A true crime story based on the "broke-to-billionaire" adult filmmaker who made the FBI's Most Wanted list for murder and arson, after out-earning General Motors and IBM combined.

LOS ANGELES, March 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Archstone Entertainment has acquired the worldwide film and television rights to the story based on Dawn of Depravity: The Life and Deaths of Michael Thevis. Written by Scott Collman, the book was released on March 1, 2024 and sold & streamed exclusively on DawnofDepravity.com. It tells the story about Michael Thevis, a broke newsstand owner who turned his family's failing business into a multi-million dollar empire and profoundly reshaped the adult industry.

Archstone Entertainment Acquires Worldwide Rights to Dawn of Depravity, true crime book on “broke-to-billionaire” adult filmmaker Michael Thevis

News media documented the meteoric rise of Michael Thevis in the1960's, referring to him as "The Scarface of Sex" (The Daily Beast), "Prince of Porn" (Washington Post), and "The Sultan of Smut" (Readers Digest). Their reporting relied solely on FBI files and media interviews, in which Thevis placated a conservative audience. Dawn of Depravity is a departure from those stories, offering inside knowledge of Thevis's authentic views and experiences, as told to Scott Collman over the past two decades.

"Thevis never had the chance to tell his own life story," said author Scott Collman. "I befriended the people closest to Thevis, with whom he was unfiltered. When one friend of Thevis in particular would tell me surreal stories about their 'glory days,' and how sheer ingenuity enabled Thevis to generate $100 million annually (1 billion dollars in present-day money), I was shocked and disturbed, but instantly hooked and couldn't wait to hear more. These were incriminating secrets. I had to wait many years to release Dawn of Depravity, but I am finally able to share it with the world."

"As far as true crime goes, Dawn of Depravity is an incredible book and one of the last, epic stories of crime, gangsters, sex, humor and money – lots and lots of money," said Partner/Principal of Archstone Entertainment Michael Slifkin. "This has all of the makings of a great film and we are excited to bring this amazing story to the screen."

About Archstone Entertainment
Archstone Entertainment, founded in 2009 by Scott Martin and Michael Slifkin, is a worldwide distribution/sales and content production company with decades of entertainment experience and hundreds of film credits to their name. Archstone recent films include dark comedy "American Dreamer" starring Peter Dinklage, Shirley MacLaine, Matt Dillon & Danny Glover, being released to theaters this week, the coming-of-age "Adam The First" starring David Duchovny, currently enjoying a wide theatrical release, and their recently produced "The Best Man" starring Luke Wilson and Dolph Lundgren released last year through Saban. Producers for Archstone will include: Slifkin, Martin and Jack Sheehan, President of Worldwide Sales and Distribution. Learn more at www.archstoneent.com.