The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today they have acquired US rights to ÉVOCATEUR: THE MORTON DOWNEY JR. MOVIE, a documentary about the seminal talk show host directed by Ironbound Films’ Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller and Jeremy Newberger. The chain smoking Downey exploded onto the scene in the late ‘80s, tearing apart the traditional talk show format by turning debate of current issues into a gladiator pit, earning the title “Father of Trash Television.” The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, will be released theatrically by Magnolia in the first quarter of 2013.
A rollercoaster ride through Downey’s euphoric ascent to fame and nauseating plummet to infamy, ÉVOCATEUR: THE MORTON DOWNEY JR. MOVIE is packed with viciously entertaining moments from the show, entertaining interviews and hilarious vintage moments with current politicos like Ron Paul and Al Sharpton. Downey was a harbinger of things to come in the world of TV, and like the show the film is nasty fun—entertaining for fans and newcomers alike.
“ÉVOCATEUR is an incredibly entertaining documentary,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “While we tend to think that everything has gotten so extreme in this age of reality television, it’s shocking to see how ‘The Morton Downey Jr. Show’ makes everything today pale in comparison. The filmmakers have done a great job capturing that.”
“Magnolia Pictures has just the right mixture of brilliance and balls to reintroduce Morton Downey Jr. into popular culture,” said Ironbound Films CEO Jeremy Newberger. “They are the ideal distributor for ÉVOCATEUR and we are thrilled to be working with them.”
The deal was done by Magnolia SVP of Acquisitions Dori Begley with Josh Braun of Submarine.
About Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures (www.magpictures.com) is the theatrical and home entertainment distribution arm of the Wagner/Cuban Companies, a vertically-integrated group of media properties co-owned by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban that also includes the Landmark Theatres chain, and the high definition cable network HDNet. Recent releases include Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, Kevin Macdonald’s biopic Marley, David Gelb’s Jiro Dreams of Sushi, Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s I Wish, The Hunter starring Willem Dafoe, and Scandinavian thriller Headhunters. Magnolia’s upcoming releases include Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, Lauren Greenfield’s The Queen of Versailles, Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in New York, the exciting noir-thriller Deadfall, Fernando Meirelles’ 360, Craig Zobel’s Compliance, A Royal Affair with Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt, Ry Russo-Young’s Nobody Walks, The Good Doctor with Orlando Bloom, and many more.
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