Soldiering On
It’s a grim day in what should be early Spring, in north Yorkshire. A group of raw recruits are experiencing freezing cold temperatures on windswept, barren landscapes, moving through vigorous, SAS-style manoeuvres. But this is no real-life training for the elite fighting force, rather the set of I Am Soldier, then latest collaboration between Lionsgate, [...]
Click here for more >Always The Bridesmaids
Everyone’s seen the comps: Bridesmaids was one of the soaraway successes of 2011; what’s more it brought a hitherto untapped audience first into cinemas and then subsequently persuaded that same crowd – predominantly women, aged 16 to 34-years-old (and slightly older) – to buy the film on its home entertainment release. The video market has [...]
Click here for more >The First Watch
The arrival in London on a whistlestop tour of Arnold Schwarzenegger was proof, if any were needed, that he really is one of Hollywood’s superstars. He may have been out of blockbuster films for some time, fulfilling his political duties as California’s governor, but he’s still a hugely popular attraction. Arnie was in town primarily [...]
Click here for more >Let’s Twist Again
Not content with producing one of the season’s better looking box sets, the Mad Men set complete with whiskey glasses, Lionsgate has done it again to put together this sumptuous set. And what’s more, it comes complete with a cracking title too, one that elevates it even further. This, then, is the wonderfully named Titty [...]
Click here for more >A Taste Of Madison Avenue
In an age where TV programmes are ruthlessly and brutally cancelled even when they have a dedicated fanbase, where quality programming sometimes struggles to find an audience despite boasting critical acclaim and where some truly outstanding series can’t even get regular transmission on UK TV screens, Mad Men is a true rarity. For it not [...]
Click here for more >Reaping The Rewards
The launch of The Hunger Games on DVD, Blu-ray and other formats was one of the first big event releases as we move into the busiest period of the year, signifying near week after week of blockbuster titles arriving. It’s Lionsgate’s biggest release ever in the UK and the fast-growing company showed that it [...]
Click here for more >The Hunger Games In Numbers
With its UK home entertainment release imminent, arriving on September 3 on the back of a worldwide theatrical success and a mammoth US DVD bow, the global juggernaut that is The Hunger Games shows no signs of slowing. Here we present a look at the phenomenon, in numbers… 2,000 plus – the number of fans who [...]
Click here for more >(Out)post Of The Day
Flippant as it may sound, Nazis have made something of a comeback recently. But this is not real-life fascists or Hitler worshipping far right nutters in eastern Europe and beyond we’re talking about here, rather a direct to video craze that has seen Nazis move from their usual terrain – war movies –into other areas. [...]
Click here for more >Lemon Aid For The Trust
The award-winning Induistry Trust For IP Awareness’ ongoing Moments Worth Paying For has further champions in the shape of one of the UK’s leading operators and one of its future film stars, one who’s already a television personality but who’s making his big-screen feature debut this summer. Yes, the Industry Trust has teamed up with [...]
Click here for more >A Cut Above
There’s nothing that HMV’s head of press and PR Gennaro Castaldo won’t do in the call of duty. He works ridiculously long hours, deals with an at times rabid press and vicious business reporters, puts up with numerous queries and pointless complaints from members of the public, has to deal with uppity talent and that’s [...]
Click here for more >Grinding Us Down
Cancer films are not necessarily an easy sell: they’re either going to end in tragedy or, even if there is remission at the end, it can be a depressing journey. But Lionsgate is overcoming that problem with the release of 50/50, one of last year’s better comedies and certainly one of the few films that [...]
Click here for more >Underground Marketing
Lionsgate is getting more bang for its buck by driving synergies across the business enabling the theatrical and home entertainment arms to secure more effective advertising deals. One such OOH campaign includes the forthcoming Abduction (starring Twilight’s Taylor Lautner) and Warrior. The company first experimented with the split outdoor ads on the fourth series of [...]
Click here for more >A Publicity Blitz
Jason Statham is many things to different people. For some he’s just an action hero plain and simple. For others – and this includes a number of people we at The Raygun know very well – he’s the action hero its OK to like. Then there’s a cabal of assorted journalists and film nuts for [...]
Click here for more >The Right Materials
The Observer clearly illustrated how eagerly awaited Lionsgate’s Living In The Material World is… it ran a full page feature in a recent edition devoted entirely to the October 10 release. We can’t remember the last time a national newspaper of its standing give over that much space to a forthcoming DVD and Blu-ray release. [...]
Click here for more >Postcards From Cannes
Scrambled eggs, football tournaments, parties galore… Oh and the odd film or two. The Cannes Film Festival is a sprawling two week event that can scale the heights of excitement and, at the same time, plumb the depths of misery, inspiring both “this is why I do my job” moments and frequent musing and mutterings [...]
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