Screen Media, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company, announced today the acquisition of North American distribution rights to the Roger Corman produced action comedy Virtually Heroes. Screen Media is planning a limited theatrical and digital release for the film this December and has partnered with corporate sibling Popcornflix, a Crackle Plus platform, to premiere the movie to streaming audiences in February 2023. 

An Official Selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, the film is directed and produced by GJ Echternkamp (Frank and Cindy, The Car: Road to Revenge) and stars Robert Baker (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Out of Time),Brent Chase (Shameless, I Am the Night), Katie Savoy (How I Met Your Mother, NCIS: New Orleans) and Mark Hamill (Star Wars). The film is executive produced by Roger Corman (Frankenstein Unbound, The Wild Angels).

Two self-aware characters in a Call of Duty-inspired video game battle endless enemies and their own existential crises. With the help of Mark Hamill's Yoda-like monk, they attempt to win the game and get the girl. 

“We’re thrilled to bring this lost Corman project to our audiences,” said Screen Media in a statement. “The film is a perfect blend of action and campy, tongue-in-cheek comedy, and will be sure to delight viewers – whether this is their first foray into the world of Roger Corman or fiftieth.”

“Virtually Heroes was an ambitious project in many ways, and not exactly what you would call a conventional film,” said GJ Echternkamp. “I'm so glad that Screen Media is at last bringing this cult movie out of the shadows and onto their platform to be discovered by a new audience.”

The deal was negotiated by Brendan Murray, senior manager of digital acquisitions, on behalf of Screen Media with New Horizons Picture Corporation.

Screen Media recently acquired Renny Harlin’s action film The Bricklayer starring Aaron Eckhart and Nina Dobrev from Millennium Films, as well as The Locksmith starring Ryan Phillippe, Kate Bosworth, and Ving Rhames. Additional recent acquisitions include worldwide rights to the Bella Thorne-led thriller Saint Clare also starring Ryan Phillippe and Rebecca DeMornay, Kevin Lewis’ follow-up to Willy’s Wonderland, The Accursed starring Alexis Knapp and Mena Suvari, The Enforcerstarring Antonio Banderas and Kate Bosworth as well as The Immaculate Room starring Emile Hirsch and Kate Bosworth and Ashley Greene Khoury. Recent film releases include The Nan Movie starring Catherine Tate, Code Name Banshee starring Antonio Banderas, Jaime King and Tommy Flanagan, The Good Neighbor starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and the psychological horror film Monstrous starring Christina Ricci. 

ABOUT SCREEN MEDIA VENTURES LLC 

Screen Media Ventures, LLC, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company, is a leading independent distributor of feature films, television series and documentaries in North America and supplies high-quality content to the global market through its foreign sales division. The company is the main supplier of content to the Crackle Plus streaming services, as well as to third-party streaming platforms. With its recent acquisitions of 1091 Pictures and the Sonar Entertainment library assets, Screen Media continues to expand its library of nearly 7,000 television series and motion pictures. Screen Media’s diverse slate of titles includes critically acclaimed and audience favorites: The Outpost starring Scott Eastwood, Willy’s Wonderland starring Academy Award® Winner Nicolas Cage, groundbreaking documentaries such as The Phenomenon and Grammy-Award Winner Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, and indie film hits including Academy Award® Winner Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. For more information, visit: www.screenmedia.net  

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ENTERTAINMENT

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE) (the “Company”) operates video-on-demand (VOD) streaming services. The Company owns Crackle Plus, which owns and operates a variety of ad- supported VOD streaming services including Crackle, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Pivotshare, Españolflix and FrightPix. The Company also acquires and distributes video content through its Screen Media and 1091 Pictures subsidiaries and produces original video content through the Chicken Soup for the Soul Television Group. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous book series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance. Such assumptions involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to our core strategy, operating income and margin, seasonality, liquidity, including cash flows from operations, available funds, and access to financing sources, free cash flows, revenues, net income, profitability, stock price volatility, future regulatory changes, price changes, the ability of the Company’s content offerings to achieve market acceptance, the Company’s success in retaining or recruiting officers, key employees, or directors, the ability to protect intellectual property, the ability to complete strategic acquisitions, the ability to manage growth and integrate acquired operations, the ability to pay dividends, regulatory or operational risks, and general market conditions impacting demand for the Company’s services. For a more complete description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please refer the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2022, and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2022. On May 10, 2022, the Company entered into a merger agreement to acquire Redbox Entertainment, Inc. We refer you to the presentation filed as Exhibit 99.2 under cover of a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the SEC on May 22, 2022 for information regarding the proposed business acquisition transaction. If the proposed business acquisition is consummated, in addition to the risks noted above, we also face the risks detailed in Redbox’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.