Newark, N.J., October 13, 2004 – IDT Entertainment today announced the launch of New Arc Entertainment, a film production company producing live action feature films and animated movies in the supernatural/thriller/action genre. New Arc is committed to producing multiple live action features, several animated films and one animated series within its first 15 months of operation. John W. Hyde, COO of IDT Entertainment, will manage the new company. IDT Entertainment is a subsidiary of IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT, IDT.C), an international telecom, entertainment and technology company.
Principal photography on “The Fallen Ones,” New Arc’s first feature, was completed in September 2004. The film, starring Casper Van Dien, Robert Wagner, Tom Bosley, and Kristin Miller, and directed by Kevin Van Hook, is a supernatural thriller. New Arc’s next film, “All Souls Day: Dia De Los Muertos,” starring Laura Elena Harring and Danny Trejo and directed by Jeremy Kasten, (The Attic Expeditions), began principal photography in October 2004. The film was produced by Mindfire Entertainment through their CFQ Films division and was written by Mark Altman and produced by Mark Gottwald and Altman, also publishers of CFQ (formerly Cinefantastique) and Femme Fatales magazines. “All Souls Day” will be promoted in CFQ (formerly Cinefantastique) and Femme Fatale magazines.
Additional New Arc projects in pre-production include several feature films with acclaimed producer Stephen J. Cannell. IDT Entertainment home video subsidiary Anchor Bay is currently distributing several of Cannell’s television series including the fall release of “Silk Stalkings,” “21 Jump Street” and “The Commish.”
IDT Entertainment animation productions included under the New Arc umbrella are: “El Superbeasto” by Rob Zombie, Todd McFarlane’s “Spawn,” and the six picture series “Stan Lee Presents” the first two of which are “Chameleon” and “El Lobo.” New Arc anticipates additional announcements for new projects soon.
“New Arc’s major launch is sparking interest in Hollywood,” said Jim Courter, IDT’s CEO. “First, IDT Entertainment made its mark in animation by assembling a group of innovative and creative companies. Now, New Arc is bringing together today’s top talent to deliver live action movies to an audience of millions.”
Initially, New Arc will distribute its movies direct to DVD. Anchor Bay, IDT Entertainment’s home video subsidiary, will distribute New Arc product in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. IDT Entertainment Sales will handle international sales in all media.
“Anchor Bay currently distributes a number of cult classics by George Romero, John Carpenter, Clive Barker and Sam Rami,” said John Hyde, CEO of New Arc Entertainment. “Through New Arc, IDT Entertainment continues the genre with a lineup of new classics guaranteed to cause viewers to watch with the lights on while sitting on the edge of their seats.”
For many of New Arc’s live action features the company will rely on DPS Film Roman’s Forum Visual Effects for special effects work. Forum Visual Effects is well known for creating visual effects for such films as “I, Robot,” “Daredevil,” “My Favorite Martian” and “Miss Congeniality.”
IDT Entertainment, a division of IDT Corporation, is a vertically integrated entertainment concern that develops, produces and distributes proprietary and licensed entertainment content, with a particular focus on high-quality animation. IDT Entertainment consists primarily of the following wholly owned or controlled subsidiaries:
Anchor Bay Entertainment is one of the largest independent distributors of DVDs and videos to retail outlets, and has a significant presence in the children’s, horror and fitness genres. Anchor Bay’s library consists of over 3,500 owned or licensed titles, including the Thomas the Tank Engine series, the Halloween series and the Crunch fitness series.
Manga Entertainment is a film company specializing in the production, distribution and worldwide marketing of Japanese animation or “anime” for home video releases, theatrical, and television broadcast.
DPS Film Roman is a leading third-party provider of television animation services and special effects. Film Roman has been the animation studio for The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Tripping the Rift, now airing on the Sci-Fi network.
Digital Production Solutions, or DPS, is an animation studio with capabilities in both Computer Generated (CG) and classic 2D animation. DPS has an art and development facility in Newark and a major production facility just outside
of Jerusalem.
Mainframe Entertainment is a leading provider of CG animation for television and direct-to-video products such as the Barbie DVD collection for Mattel, Popeye and Scary Godmother.
DKP Effects is a 3-D animation, and special effects production company, well known for its innovative work for movies and television.
IDT Entertainment Sales (IDTeS) is the IDT Entertainment company responsible for the worldwide distribution of content from IDT Entertainment companies, as well as third-party producers.
IDT Entertainment has completed several investments and joint ventures to secure access to brand name characters and content, as well as distribution channels for family-friendly content. In July 2003, IDT purchased a minority equity interest in Vanguard Animation and entered into a joint venture with Vanguard to co-produce and co-own future Vanguard properties distributed in theaters, direct-to-video and on television. Vanguard Animation is a CG animated feature film company founded by John Williams, the originating producer of Shrek. Vanguard’s initial production, Valiant, is the first in a series of four Vanguard-produced films to be distributed by Disney. IDT Entertainment also has an equity interest in Archie Comics Entertainment as well as rights to co-develop and co-produce animated properties based upon selected Archie comics characters as well as Josie and the Pussycats and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. IDT has also entered into a joint venture with the Christian Broadcasting Network to develop and distribute family-friendly programming. IDT Entertainment also owns a minority interest Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment. In connection with IDT Entertainment’s investment in POW!, the companies agreed to co-develop and co-produce a minimum of six animation projects for Direct-to-DVD distribution and broadcast.
Important Note: In this press release, all statements that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those with the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate, “target” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent IDT’s current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these statements due to numerous important factors, including, but not limited to, those described in IDT’s most recent report on SEC Form 10-K (under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”), which may be revised or supplemented in subsequent reports on SEC Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings IDT may make with the SEC.