Dinner For Five, 13 New Episodes, and A Decade Under The Influence
Josh Sapan, President and CEO, Rainbow Media Holdings., Inc; and The IFC executive team: Kathleen Dore, President, IFC Companies and her direct reports: Jonathan Sehring, President, IFC Entertainment; Ed Carroll, EVP and General Manager, IFC Television; Gregg Hill, EVP, Affiliate Sales and Marketing; made a series of announcements at a New York City press conference today outlining major 2003 initiatives.
New York, New York December 19, 2002 — IFC announced today it is undertaking a major renovation of New York City's Waverly Theatre to transform it into a national center for independent film and a focal point for the independent film community in New York City. The facility will be known as the IFC Center when it re-opens in late 2003. Most recently, the space was used as a first-run movie house. The theater is located at Avenue of the Americas between West Third and West Fourth streets.
The renovation will convert the theater into a state-of-the-art, digitally equipped facility with three screens, a digital post-production suite and filmmaker meeting rooms. In addition, the IFC Center will feature a spacious indoor/outdoor café area.
The renovation is being supervised by noted New York architect firm, Bogdanow Partners Architects, whose creative architectural and interior design work spans from hospitality landmarks like the Union Square Café and City Hall Restaurant to the Tribeca Grand Hotel, and media facilities like the Screening Room on Varrick Street and the private theater at the Tribeca Grand.
IFC Television plans to broadcast a monthly news magazine show from the theater as well as taping premiere parties, seminars and panel discussions with noted filmmakers from the venue.
"The IFC Center will be a highly visible extension of the IFC brand and a focal point for the makers and lovers of independent films," noted Kathleen Dore, President, IFC Companies.
IFC Entertainment, the company's film production and film distribution division, will manage
The IFC Center.
"Our hope is to show the breadth of independent film, not just recent releases from our company or others, but documentaries, retrospectives, as well as films that may warrant only a very targeted theatrical release. Plus, we want The IFC Center to be a gathering place in New York City and on-air via IFC Television for what is most talked about in independent film," said Jonathan Sehring, President, IFC Entertainment.
IFC 2003:
IFC Entertainment wraps 2002 with high marks including: the distribution of the breakout independent film hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding; the distribution of the acclaimed foreign language film, Y Tu Mama Tambien directed by Alfonso Cuaron; and the production of Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding. From the IFC InDigEnt division, dedicated to digital filmmaking, came the production of top 2002 Sundance honorees Gary Winick's Tadpole and Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity.
"IFC's unprecedented success in 2002 provides a wonderful base from which to launch our new VOD effort and the IFC Center. With these new initiatives, there is no one in the entertainment industry with IFC's end-to-end resources and impact across every platform," said Josh Sapan, president and CEO of Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. "Its comprehensive approach makes IFC a wonderful model for a business in the changing media landscape. In a time when content creation and control is paramount, IFC is strategically positioned to own independent film in the minds of consumers, distributors and the filmmaking community."
IFC Films will be distributing an exciting slate in the first half of 2003: Lost in La Mancha, directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, about the travails of Terry Gilliam's attempt to make his Don Quixote picture, starting the year off with a January 31 release.
In March, IFC Films will release Safety of Objects directed by Rose Troche and starring Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, and Patricia Clarkson; and in April, XX/XY directed by Austin Chick, and starring Mark Ruffalo, Kathleen Robertson, Maya Stange; and later this spring Manic directed by Jordan Melamed and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Don Cheadle and Zooey Deschanel. In addition, IFC will produce and distribute: Casa de los Babys directed by John Sayles and starring Daryl Hannah, Mary Steenburgen, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lili Taylor, Marcia Gay Harden and Susan Lynch.
Camp directed by Todd Graff (a 2003 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection) is from IFC Productions.
Beginning in 2003, films from IFC Entertainment, after theatrical release, will be offered in a unique way to reach the consumer. IFC on Demand, a major new service, will offer via the cutting edge video on demand technology, a collection of acclaimed theatrical films from IFC Films. Gregg Hill, EVP, Affiliate Sales and Marketing, IFC will lead the IFC on Demand sales effort to distributors.
IFC on Demand will feature the foreign language hit, Y Tu Mama Tambien and critically acclaimed Happy Accidents, starring Marisa Tomei and Vincent D'Onofrio, along with Business of Strangers, Spring Forward, Big Bad Love, Go Tigers!, Gangster No. 1, Keep The River On Your Right, The King Is Alive, Thomas In Love and Our Song.
"The IFC viewer is passionate about independent film, typically an early adaptors of new technology, educated and young — the perfect target for IFC On Demand. We will be using all our resources to educate them about this new way to see an IFC film," said Kathleen Dore, President, IFC Companies.
IFC Television, under the direction of Ed Carroll, EVP and General Manager, will present 13 new episodes of its critically acclaimed original series, Dinner for Five, hosted and created by Jon Favreau (Swingers/Made/Elf) on Monday, January 20 at 8pm and 11 pm, EST.
Following up on its major successes with original documentaries, IFC Television will produce the original special A Decade Under the Influence, a comprehensive overview of American cinema during the 1970s, a singular decade during which every aspect of filmmaking was profoundly changed, the impact of which is still felt today. Directed by Richard LaGravanese and the late Ted Demme, the documentary will first be seen in the Sundance Film Festival as an official selection in the documentary category in January 2003; it will then have a limited theatrical release from IFC Films planned for spring. An expanded three-hour television version will premiere on IFC in August, and will be followed by IFC on Demand VOD offering.
In addition, IFC Television, which boasts the most extensive library of independent film shown unedited and commercial-free, will re-launch its signature film strand, Escape from Hollywood, every Sunday at 8pm and Wednesday at 9pm with a new host, John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch).
Our library of independent films makes us unique to the dozens of movie services. And our original series and specials held define the world of independent film," remarked Ed Carroll, EVP and General Manager, IFC Television.
IFC Television, currently viewed in 25 million homes, is one of the fastest growing cable networks, reaching a highly desirable, tech savvy, film-enthusiast. "This year IFC has added over 5 million homes, noted Gregg Hill, EVP Affiliate Sales and Marketing.
The Independent Film Channel (IFC) is the first and most widely distributed channel dedicated to independent film presented 24 hours a day, uncut and commercial-free. IFC Entertainment, a division of IFC, consists of IFC Productions, a feature film production company and IFC Films, a theatrical film distribution company. In addition, IFC Productions launched InDigEnt, an initiative that helps established filmmakers shoot productions on digital video. The IFC Companies are a division of Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc., the programming subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation.