| PRESS AND PUBLICITY | |
BACK TO PRESS |
EMPIRE ACCELERATES GROWTH WITH NEW FUNDING . NEW PROJECTS BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Building on the momentum of record sales and two new off-balance sheet financing arrangements, Empire Film Group, Inc. (Pink Sheets: EFGU - News; http://www.empirefilmgroup.com) has announced an acceleration of the company's timeline for growth and the achievement of long-term revenues. Revenue forecasts for 2009, which were previously projected at $52-million, have been revised upward to $89.5-million based on an enhanced theatrical and video releasing slate for next year. Revenue forecasts for 2010, previously pegged at $93-million, have been revised to reflect the company's expectation of $130-million also from an accelerated and expanded release schedule. ` "The Major Studios have neglected the marketplace for quality, intelligent cinema," said Eric Parkinson, CEO of Empire's distribution operations. "With the recently announced closings of Picturehouse, Warner Independent Pictures and other specialty divisions, the quality and quantity of titles available for Empire Film Group for distribution has dramatically increased. We intend to move quickly on this substantial opportunity, and in doing, can reach Empire's financial goals more quickly." Empire will be releasing the critically-praised, highly anticipated film, "Hounddog" to theaters nationwide on September 19th. The coming-of-age drama stars Dakota Fanning, Robin Wright-Penn and David Morse. Empire will release "Local Color" on November 7th, and plans an Oscar support campaign for lead actor Armin Mueller-Stahl. Other theatrical titles acquired by Empire include the World War II love story, "The Rocket Post" and the action-adventure "Boilermaker." The company is pursuing a slate of other, high-profile acquisitions, including discussions now underway for the new Terry Gilliam feature, "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassas" starring Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Collin Farrell. "The acquisition and release of high-profile titles such as these will build a solid, financial foundation for Empire," said Dean Hamilton-Bornstein, CEO. "The Major Studios are all moving towards event-level films for release in 4,000 or more theaters. But in doing so, they have left Empire with an open market to distribute films meriting release to 1,000 or less theaters. Empire can build a major operation with independent films such as 'Juno,' 'Little Miss Sunshine' or 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' which have huge audiences but do not fit the event-level model of the Major Studios. It's a tremendous opportunity that we intend to fill." Learn more about Empire Film Group at http://www.empirefilmgroup.com
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains "forward-looking statements," which are statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, the forward-looking statements often include statements regarding our goals, plans, projections and guidance regarding our financial position, results of operations, market position, pending and potential future acquisitions and business strategy, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks" or "will." Any such forward-looking statements are not assurances of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, (a) general economic and business conditions, (b) the level of strategic partner incentives, (c) the future regulatory environment, (d) our cost of financing, (e) our ability to complete acquisitions and dispositions and the risks associated therewith, and (f) our ability to retain key personnel. These factors, as well as additional factors, could affect our forward-looking statements. We urge you to carefully consider this information. We undertake no duty to update our forward-looking statements, including our earnings outlook.
|
