RLJE Films Acquires BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RLJE Films, a brand of RLJ Entertainment (NASDAQ: RLJE), has acquired all North American rights to the highly anticipated film BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99. After the successful collaboration on the critically acclaimed western Bone Tomahawk, RLJE Films, writer/director S. Craig Zahler, producers Jack Heller from ASSEMBLE Media and Dallas Sonnier from Cinestate, unite with IMG Films, on this action-packed film. Los Angeles-based XYZ Films will handle foreign sales and serve as executive producers on the project.

BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 stars Vince Vaughn (Hacksaw Ridge, "True Detective"), Jennifer Carpenter ("Dexter"), Marc Blucas ("Underground"), Udo Kier (Blade), and Don Johnson (Django Unchained). The film will make its World Premiere at the 2017 Venice International Film Festival and will continue on to screen at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest.

RLJE Films plans to release BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 in theaters on Oct. 6, 2017.  

"With the announced Venice, Toronto and Fantastic Fest premieres, the verdict is in. S. Craig Zahler has done it again," said Mark Ward, RLJE Film's chief acquisitions officer. "Considering the success of Bone Tomahawk and the stellar performance by Vince Vaughn, we couldn't be more thrilled to reunite and bring BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 to audiences."

In BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99, a former boxer named Bradley (Vince Vaughn) loses his job as an auto mechanic, and his troubled marriage is about to end. At this crossroads in his life, he feels that he has no better option than to work for an old buddy as a drug courier. This improves his situation until the terrible day that he finds himself in a gunfight between a group of police officers and his own ruthless allies. When the smoke clears, Bradley is badly hurt and thrown in prison, where his enemies force him to commit acts of violence that turn the place into a savage battleground.

Ward and Jess De Leo from RLJE negotiated the deal with Sonnier, Heller, and WME on behalf of the filmmakers. 

Writer/director S. Craig Zahler is an award-winning screenwriter, director, novelist, cinematographer and musician. Zahler's newest novel Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child is set for publication this fall. 

RLJE Films' new and upcoming features include Once Upon a Time in Venice starring Bruce Willis, Bushwick with Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow, and Pilgrimage with Tom Holland, Jon Bernthal and Richard Armitage. www.us.rljentertainment.com.

ABOUT RLJ ENTERTAINMENT
RLJ Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: RLJE) is a premium digital channel company serving distinct audiences primarily through its popular OTT branded channels, Acorn TV (British TV) and UMC (Urban Movie Channel), which have rapidly grown through development, acquisition, and distribution of its exclusive rights to a large library of international and British dramas, independent feature films and urban content. RLJE's titles are also distributed in multiple formats including broadcast and pay television, theatrical and non-theatrical, DVD, Blu-ray, and a variety of digital distribution models (including EST, VOD, SVOD and AVOD) in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Additionally, through Acorn Media Enterprises, its UK development arm, RLJE co-produces and develops new programs and owns 64% of Agatha Christie Limited.

For more information, please visit RLJEntertainment.com, Acorn.tv, and UMC.tv.

ABOUT ASSEMBLE MEDIA
Assemble Media is a multi-platform production company founded by Jack Heller that specializes in independently spirited and commercially minded content. The company develops and produces its own unique work as well as the work of likeminded filmmakers. Upcoming projects for Assemble Media include S. Craig Zahler's action-thriller DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE starring Mel Gibson, Jennifer Carpenter, and Vince Vaughn, as well as Zahler's soon-to-be-released BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 premiering at Venice International Film Festival and starring Vaughn, Carpenter, and Don Johnson. Previously Heller was a founding member of the production company Caliber Media, where he produced over 20 feature films and TV shows including critically-acclaimed BONE TOMAHAWK starring Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox & Richard Jenkins. Heller's directorial debut, "Enter Nowhere," launched the careers of Katherine Waterston and Scott Eastwood, and his follow up "Dark was the Night" screened at film festivals including the NYFF horror lineup at the Film Society of Lincoln Center. 

About CINESTATE
Cinestate is a Dallas-based entertainment company founded by film producer Dallas Sonnier (BONE TOMAHAWK, SOME KIND OF HATE) and publisher Will Evans (Deep Vellum Publishing) that seeks to improve upon the status quo in three key ways: cultivating mutually beneficial relationships with visionary creators who want to see their projects made faithfully and distributed widely; eliminating the arbitrary separation between the mediums of books and film; and minimizing unnecessary production costs while fiercely protecting our creators' work.  In its first year, Cinestate produced three feature films (BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99, PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH, and DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE), introduced the world to an ear movie experience known as an Audiostate with the first title THE NARROW CAVES, and is set to publish the latest novel from S. Craig Zahler entitled Hug Chickenpenny: The Panegyric of an Anomalous Child.

ABOUT IMG FILMS
IMG's original content group's recent projects include Gonzaga: The March to Madness and UConn Huskies: The March to Madness for HBO Sports; "Gleason," an award-winning documentary charting former New Orleans Saint Steve Gleason's battle with ALS; Showtime at the Apollo on FOX; NFL Honors for CBS; and The Tony Kornheiser Podcast. IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion, events and media, operating in more than 30 countries. The company represents and manages some of the world's greatest sports figures and fashion icons; stages hundreds of live events and branded entertainment experiences annually; and is a leading independent producer and distributor of sports and entertainment media. IMG also specializes in sports training; league development; and marketing, media and licensing for brands, sports organizations and collegiate institutions.

ABOUT XYZ FILMS
XYZ Films is an integrated content company whose mission is to empower visionary storytellers from every corner of the planet. As an independent production company and worldwide sales agency, the company is uniquely suited to identify talented filmmakers and bring their stories to life. XYZ was founded in 2008 by Nate Bolotin, Nick Spicer, and Aram Tertzakian. Their current slate of projects includes APOSTLE, directed by Gareth Evans and starring Dan Stevens, Academy Award winner Anders Walters' feature debut I KILL GIANTS, which stars Zoe Saldana, Imogen Poots, and Madison Wolfe, as well as S.Craig Zahler's BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99, which stars Vince Vaughn and Don Johnson. XYZ recently won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut for UNDER THE SHADOW and the 2017 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for Macon Blair's I DON'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE. 

Media Inquiries:
Katrina Wan / (323) 240-9996 / [email protected]  

SOURCE RLJ Entertainment, Inc.

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