EL REY NETWORK AND CELESTIAL PICTURES PARTNER ON MULTI-YEAR LICENSING DEAL FOR QUINTESSENTIAL MARTIAL ARTS TITLES
Distribution Deal to Include Action-Packed and Cult Classic Favorites From The Shaw Brothers Extensive Library Including ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN and THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN Trilogies
New York and Hong Kong, February 26, 2014 -- Celestial Pictures Limited (CPL) announced today that it has concluded a multi-year content deal with El Rey Network, the new English-language cable channel from maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez.
Under the agreement, El Rey Network will offer subscribers access to the most memorable martial arts titles from the Shaw Brothers library, which includes THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN, THE SWORD OF SWORDS, THE EIGHT DIAGRAM POLE FIGHTER, EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, and THE FLYING GUILLOTINE. All films come with English dubbed tracks and English subtitles and will be featured throughout the schedule and during the network's monthly Saturday kung-fu marathon. The next marathon airs Saturday, March 1st and features the ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN Trilogy at 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm et. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"Celestial Pictures is excited to showcase our finest martial arts content to the El Rey Network community. El Rey is an innovative, groundbreaking network - the perfect outlet to broadcast the cinematic action of the classic Shaw Brothers films. We are thrilled to bring these films to our diverse and loyal fans through a bold filmmaker driven network", said Ms. Kristen Tong, Head of Business and Legal Affairs of CPL.
Robert Rodriguez added: "Long before El Rey Network was born, I had many of the Shaw Brothers films on my playlist at home. It was a hard drive that had my hit list of personal favorites and certainly these titles were among the best in Kung Fu films. They are action-packed and still have cult status among fans of the genre. We are thrilled to partner with Celestial Pictures on this collection as it is a perfect addition to our existing lineup of renegade programming."
About El Rey Network:
El Rey Network is a new 24-hour English-language network founded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Curated by Rodriguez and his artistic collective, the network will unite the most culturally diverse generation in history through fearless, badass and original content that awakens the renegade in everyone. The network's action-packed content is anchored by original signature dramas, feature films, grindhouse genre, cult classic action, and horror/sci-fi. El Rey Network LLC (www.elreynetwork.com) is jointly owned by Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures with a minority stake held by Univision Communications Inc.
About Celestial Pictures Limited:
Celestial Pictures Limited (Celestial Pictures) is a diversified entertainment company bringing the best in Asian entertainment to the world. The company focuses on film and television content origination, aggregation and worldwide distribution.
Celestial Pictures owns the Shaw Brothers library, the world's largest Chinese film collection, with over 760 feature films originally released over a fifty year period. The library has inspired countless filmmakers with its vast pool of classics including THE FIVE DEADLY VENOMS, HEX, THE 36TH CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN, ONE-ARMED SWORDSMAN, KING BOXER and THE FLYING GUILLOTINE. These award-winning films have been digitally restored frame-by-frame for global distribution. The company has also been active in producing new film content, both originals and remakes based on the Shaw Brothers library films. Recent releases include PERHAPS LOVE, MY KINGDOM and CONTROL.
Celestial Pictures has a substantial investment in Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), a venture with Saban Capital Group and Lionsgate. It operates branded pay television channels and produces and distributes content for Asian audiences. CTE's channel bouquet includes CELESTIAL MOVIES, CELESTIAL CLASSIC MOVIES, CELESTIAL MOVIES HD, KIX, KIX HD and THRILL, with a footprint that spans Asia and Australia.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Celestial Pictures is owned by ASTRO Holdings Sdn Bhd (ASTRO), a leading integrated consumer media entertainment group in Malaysia and South East Asia. ASTRO owns a portfolio of international and regional investments in Pay TV, Radio, Publications and Digital Media. ASTRO's Malaysian domestic Pay TV business has a customer base of over 3.5 million residential customers (approximately 52% penetration of Malaysian TV households), and offers 170 TV channels, including 37 HD channels, delivered via Direct-To-Home satellite TV, IPTV and OTT platforms.
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