Press Release: “Fever Productions announces October 11th, 2012, as the day and date release for the much anticipated horror-thriller SMILEY. The film, which will have a highly innovative, new distribution plan, was directed by YouTube sensation Michael J. Gallagher (“Totally Sketch”) and was co-written by Gallagher and Glasgow Phillips (“South Park”). Michael Wormser (Some Guy Who Kills People) is the producer. Gallagher and his YouTube partners on “Totally Sketch,” as well as the other performers in the film, have an enormous fan base to call on with over 11 million subscribers, 2.2 billion views and 4 million plus fans on Facebook/Twitter. The trailer has accumulated over 11 million views since its debut.
After learning of an urban legend in which a demented serial killer named “Smiley” can be summoned through the Internet, mentally fragile Ashley (Caitland Gerard from Magic Mike and The Social Network) must decide whether she is losing her mind or becoming Smiley’s next victim. The film also stars Melanie Papalia (“Endgame”), Shane Dawson (“Shane Dawson’s TV”) and Andrew James Allen (“Make It or Break It”), with Toby Turner (“The Annoying Orange”), Roger Bart (“Desperate Housewives”), Keith David (The Thing) and Liza Weil (“Scandal”) rounding out the cast.
SMILEY will be made directly available to a massive global fan base by using a new hybrid approach for distribution. To see the film in theaters, the producers will be utilizing Tugg, Inc. (“Tugg”), a web-platform that lets audiences choose the films that play in their local theater. With Tugg, fans will be able to buy tickets to premiere screenings throughout the U.S. on October 11th and October 31st. Tickets for the premiere screenings will go sale on Monday, July 16th, and fans will be able to request to host their own screenings soon after.
Starting Friday, June 29th, fans will be able to pre-order SMILEY to stream on demand through the film’s website, for a reduced price of five dollars. The buyers will also be prompted to select between a PG-13 or R-rated Director’s Cut of the film. At 12:01 am on October 11th, audiences will receive an email notification that SMILEY is now available to stream over their computers, smart TV’s, smart phones and tablets in the U.S. and most international markets through Redux’s Artists platform, which enables artists and filmmakers to sell video content directly to their audience across every screen. The film streams exclusively on Redux between October 11th and October 31st.
In addition to the Tugg and Redux roll out, the film will be available on more traditional platforms including DVD, Blu-ray, iTunes, Redbox and cable VOD at a later date.
Earlier today, June 29th, Gallagher and the filmmakers appeared at the Anaheim Convention Center at VidCon to deliver a presentation about the release in front of thousands of fans. They also announced two contests, one that will give away invitations to the Hollywood premiere of the film, and a second to allow up to 10 fans to make a cameo appearance in the final cut of the film, which is still in post- production.
Said director Michael Gallagher: “We wanted to ensure SMILEY would be made available on the same day to fans worldwide. The love and support for the film has given us the confidence to move forward with an innovative release strategy, which puts the audience in the driver’s seat. If they want to see the film in theaters, they can demand it. If they want to watch it at home, they can stream it on any video device. They can even choose between a PG-13 version and an R-rated Director’s Cut. Also, because we are doing it independently, we are able to keep the costs low and the process simple. We hope to create a new model that puts the fans first and lets their interest in the film drive the distribution, not the other way around.”
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