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PRNewswire
April 13, 2006
Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), the
world's largest online DVD rental service, and
FourBoys Films, the production company of
actor-director David Hunt and his wife, Emmy
Award-winning actress Patricia Heaton, today
announced a promotional agreement through which Netflix has acquired all North American rights to
promote the DVD release of their documentary film
The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania (http://www.coalqueens.com).
The DVD will be available
exclusively to the more than four million Netflix
subscribers beginning June 6, 2006. Netflix is
committed to providing consumers with access to the
widest variety of films available and will
merchandise Coal Queens to subscribers with an
interest in such projects based on their rental
history. For their part, Mr. Hunt and Ms. Heaton
will actively promote the film, and its availability
through Netflix, in a series of national media
appearances.
"Coal Queens is a film that
wonderfully relies on the documentary format to
celebrate small town America and its values and in
the process it makes a genuine connection with its
subjects," said Ted Sarandos, chief content officer
of Netflix. "Creating a national platform for a film
of terrific merit that wouldn't otherwise be broadly
seen is a key part of the Netflix creative vision."
The Bituminous Coal Queens of
Pennsylvania was produced by Mr. Hunt and Ms.
Heaton, directed by Mr. Hunt and Jody Eldred, and
stars actress Sara Rush. It documents Rush's return
to her roots in southwestern Pennsylvania, where as
a 16-year old in 1972 she won the Coal Queen
Pageant. The 90-minute picture is filled with
colorful local characters and provides a charming
and often humorous look at small town America. The
town of Carmichaels (population 556) and its
vanishing way of life is a far cry from Hollywood.
Coal mining has defined this area of the country,
instilling a strength and pride in its citizens. The
film captures the spirit of the community during the
50th Anniversary celebrations of the Coal Queen
Pageant and the King Coal Festival in August of
2003.
"Coal Queens is a project close to
our hearts and sharing it with a wide audience is
important to us," said Mr. Hunt and Ms. Heaton. "We
are excited that Netflix is going to premiere Coal
Queens in the U.S and that the film's story will
reach people around the country in rural areas like
Carmichaels, as well as big cities like New York and
Los Angeles."
Utilizing proprietary technology,
Netflix is able to target subscribers likely
to be interested in little known films like Coal
Queens while offering filmmakers a national
distribution channel for films and entertainment
programming that are otherwise not available to
broad audiences.
About FourBoys Films
Other projects under the FourBoys Film (http://www.fourboysfilms.com)
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include the recently aired TNT movie Engagement
Ring, and Amazing Grace, a
feature film directed by Michael Apted that is
currently in post-production.
About Netflix
Netflix is the world's largest online movie rental
service, providing more than four million
subscribers access to over 55,000 DVD titles. The
company offers a variety of subscription plans,
starting at $9.99 a month. There are no due dates,
no late fees and no shipping fees. DVDs are
delivered for free by the USPS from regional
shipping centers located throughout the United
States. Netflix can reach more than 90 percent of
its subscribers with generally one business-day
delivery. Netflix offers personalized movie
recommendations to its members and has more than one
billion movie ratings. Netflix also allows members
to share and recommend movies to one another through
its Friends(SM) feature. For more information, visit
http://www.netflix.com. |
