Post by dkennedy on Feb 22, 2006 4:22:31 GMT -5
Navarre Corporation's FUNimation Entertainment Announces U.S. Broadcast Debut of Akira Kurosawa's Samurai 7 in High Definition
February 21, 206
PRNewswire-FirstCall
Rainbow Media's VOOM HD Networks and IFC to air Samurai 7
Anime Series Begins March 1 on ANIMANIA HD and April 1 on IFC
FORT WORTH, Texas -- FUNimation(R) Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation (Nasdaq: NAVR), and one of the nation's leading independent home video entertainment and brand management companies, confirmed today that they have reached an agreement with Rainbow Media for the U.S. debut and cross-channel airing of Akira Kurosawa's Samurai 7 on both VOOM HD Networks' ANIMANIA HD (March 1) and IFC (April 1).
"Akira Kurosawa's Samurai 7 is a great series. It is a perfect match for FUNimation's philosophy of hand-picking the best titles from Japan and bringing them to the United States," explains Gen Fukunaga, president and CEO of FUNimation Entertainment. "It is that quality that also makes it a perfect match for ANIMANIA HD and IFC."
Shot in high definition with stunning production values from GONZO Digimation, Samurai 7 revisits Kurosawa's epic tale of a small village in feudal Japan that's persecuted by robbers who return every harvest to seize the village's crops. Faced with starvation, the villagers set out on a mission to find and recruit some samurai to defend them. With no pay to offer except rice, and knowing full well that only down-on-their-luck samurai would even consider accepting such a deal, the villagers can only hope that their saviors will appear before the rice is ready for harvest.
Part of FUNimation's broadcast strategy is to get its top-rated anime brands like Samurai 7 broadcast support with companies like Rainbow Media. "Samurai 7 is such a strong property that it appeals to a much larger entertainment audience. Through agreements with companies like Rainbow Media, we will reach these larger audiences and really expand awareness of anime in the U.S. entertainment market," reveals Fukunaga.
Samurai 7 has already experienced home video success with fans and the media in the United States. In its Top 10 Anime DVDs of 2005 list, DVDTalk.com says Samurai 7 is the number one anime DVD and it is "undoubtedly the best new series to be released in 2005." Fukunaga explains that "DVDTalk.com is one of the premiere entertainment sites on the Web and we are pleased that they recognized Samurai 7 as the top anime DVD of 2005. This really captures all the responses we have been getting from our fans and the media."
ANIMANIA HD, available nationally on Dish Network (Ch. 9474), will have the U.S. HD premiere on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT as part of the channel's new Wednesday "Animayhem" block. Offering a platform where cartoon worlds take on astonishing depth and detail, ANIMANIA HD, is the only channel actively working with producers and distributors to air true HD animation for all ages. The channel is one of 15 VOOM HD Networks, the largest suite of high definition channels available anywhere.
The cable TV premiere of Samurai 7 will air on IFC on Saturday, April 1, 2006 @ 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. The half-hour series will air in conjunction with IFC's popular film strand, "Samurai Saturdays," a weekly presentation of classic, Asian martial-arts-themed movies.
February 21, 206
PRNewswire-FirstCall
Rainbow Media's VOOM HD Networks and IFC to air Samurai 7
Anime Series Begins March 1 on ANIMANIA HD and April 1 on IFC
FORT WORTH, Texas -- FUNimation(R) Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation (Nasdaq: NAVR), and one of the nation's leading independent home video entertainment and brand management companies, confirmed today that they have reached an agreement with Rainbow Media for the U.S. debut and cross-channel airing of Akira Kurosawa's Samurai 7 on both VOOM HD Networks' ANIMANIA HD (March 1) and IFC (April 1).
"Akira Kurosawa's Samurai 7 is a great series. It is a perfect match for FUNimation's philosophy of hand-picking the best titles from Japan and bringing them to the United States," explains Gen Fukunaga, president and CEO of FUNimation Entertainment. "It is that quality that also makes it a perfect match for ANIMANIA HD and IFC."
Shot in high definition with stunning production values from GONZO Digimation, Samurai 7 revisits Kurosawa's epic tale of a small village in feudal Japan that's persecuted by robbers who return every harvest to seize the village's crops. Faced with starvation, the villagers set out on a mission to find and recruit some samurai to defend them. With no pay to offer except rice, and knowing full well that only down-on-their-luck samurai would even consider accepting such a deal, the villagers can only hope that their saviors will appear before the rice is ready for harvest.
Part of FUNimation's broadcast strategy is to get its top-rated anime brands like Samurai 7 broadcast support with companies like Rainbow Media. "Samurai 7 is such a strong property that it appeals to a much larger entertainment audience. Through agreements with companies like Rainbow Media, we will reach these larger audiences and really expand awareness of anime in the U.S. entertainment market," reveals Fukunaga.
Samurai 7 has already experienced home video success with fans and the media in the United States. In its Top 10 Anime DVDs of 2005 list, DVDTalk.com says Samurai 7 is the number one anime DVD and it is "undoubtedly the best new series to be released in 2005." Fukunaga explains that "DVDTalk.com is one of the premiere entertainment sites on the Web and we are pleased that they recognized Samurai 7 as the top anime DVD of 2005. This really captures all the responses we have been getting from our fans and the media."
ANIMANIA HD, available nationally on Dish Network (Ch. 9474), will have the U.S. HD premiere on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT as part of the channel's new Wednesday "Animayhem" block. Offering a platform where cartoon worlds take on astonishing depth and detail, ANIMANIA HD, is the only channel actively working with producers and distributors to air true HD animation for all ages. The channel is one of 15 VOOM HD Networks, the largest suite of high definition channels available anywhere.
The cable TV premiere of Samurai 7 will air on IFC on Saturday, April 1, 2006 @ 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. The half-hour series will air in conjunction with IFC's popular film strand, "Samurai Saturdays," a weekly presentation of classic, Asian martial-arts-themed movies.