Paramount Finalizes Worldwide Acquisition of Award-Winning Documentary talhotblond
Studio to Make Cutting-Edge Film Available on Multiple Digital and Traditional Platforms Following U.S. Television Premiere on MSNBC
Paramount Digital Entertainment (PDE) today announced that it has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to the award-winning documentary talhotblond. The deal is the first of its kind for the division, which will make the critically-acclaimed film available through download-to-own digital distributors following the documentary's broadcast premiere December 13 on MSNBC, including iTunes and Amazon (details are available at www.talhotblond.com).
talhotblond is the true story (and screen name) of a beautiful teenager who used Internet game rooms to lure men into her cyberspace web. When she discovers she's been lied to by one of her victims, she wants revenge and unleashes a fantasy online that escalates into real life murder...all because of a girl no one ever met in person.
Drawing from exclusive access to Internet messages, secret notes and letters, as well as police evidence files and exclusive prison interviews, talhotblond details the horrific results of what can happen when people lie online. The film was named best documentary at the Seattle Film Festival and Cinema City International Film Festival and was one of the top three finalists at the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam.
Daily Variety called talhotblond a "twisted true-crimer...with an ingenious narrative device and solid cutting between multitudes of salacious instant messages and exclusive interviews."
"talhotblond is both incredibly compelling and timely," said Keith Quinn, senior vice president of creative development and production for PDE. "Given that it tackles the hot 21st century issue of online identity and cyber crime, it's a good fit to make it available to audiences worldwide, especially those who are plugged in to digital distribution."
"I'm delighted to be working with Paramount Digital Entertainment to make talhotblond available to as wide an audience as possible," said filmmaker Barbara Schroeder. "It's gratifying to find a distributor who recognizes the relevance of this story and I believe that people will find this to be both a fascinating and cautionary tale."
Both the Paramount and MSNBC deals were negotiated by Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment on behalf of writer/director Barbara Schroeder, an Emmy Award®-winning journalist.
About Paramount Digital Entertainment
Paramount Digital Entertainment (PDE) is a division of Paramount Pictures Corporation. PDE develops and distributes filmed entertainment across worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices, videogames, virtual worlds and emerging technologies.
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group and Worldwide Television Distribution.