<![CDATA[Kotaku: starz]]> http://tags.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[Kotaku: starz]]> http://kotaku.com/tag/starz http://kotaku.com/tag/starz <![CDATA[Dead Space: Downfall To Air On Encore Action Sunday]]> Did you love Dead Space, but not enough to shell out $15 for a DVD version of the animated film tie-in Dead Space: Downfall? Well if you receive Starz's Encore Action channel from your cable provider then you're in luck, as the full animated feature will be making its world television premier this Sunday, November 2nd, at 10PM Eastern and Pacific.

“We are thrilled to have the world television premiere of Dead Space: Downfall on Encore Action,” said Nancy Silverstone, vice president of program acquisitions for Starz Entertainment. “The feature sets a new standard for animated horror that our audience will love. It provides the story thread from the comic books to the newly released game, using the background and sound design from the game and the same artistic spirit of the comic book series.”

The feature starts up where the Dead Space comic books left off, leading up to the beginning of the video game storyline. If anything, it's bound to be 10 times more entertaining that anything else on television late on a Sunday evening, and there's also DVR in case it airs past your bedtime.

ENCORE ACTION PRESENTS WORLD TV PREMIERE OF DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL

Feature-Length Animated Movie Produced By Starz Media’s Film Roman And Released in Tandem With the Highly Anticipated Electronic Arts Game

Englewood, Colo., October 30, 2008 – Starz Entertainment presents the world television premiere of Dead Space: Downfall, which will air on Encore Action Sunday, Nov. 2 at 10 p.m. (ET/PT). The film, developed by Starz Media’s Film Roman (Starz Entertainment’s sister company), is a feature-length animated movie based on the highly anticipated game “Dead Space” from Electronic Arts that was released on Oct. 14. The movie was released on DVD by Starz Media’s Anchor Bay Entertainment on Oct. 28, just in time for Halloween.

“We are thrilled to have the world television premiere of Dead Space: Downfall on Encore Action,” said Nancy Silverstone, vice president of program acquisitions for Starz Entertainment. “The feature sets a new standard for animated horror that our audience will love. It provides the story thread from the comic books to the newly released game, using the background and sound design from the game and the same artistic spirit of the comic book series.”

The story begins with the Dead Space comic books. The feature picks up the plot where the original comic book series, written by Antony Johnston and illustrated by Ben Templesmith, ends and leads up to the beginning of the “Dead Space” game. The story focuses on the disturbing events aboard a futuristic mining spaceship, the USG Ishimura, after it pulls a mysterious artifact from a remote dig site on a planet in the far reaches of the galaxy. The artifact triggers the sudden invasion of a long-dormant alien presence, and the Ishimura crewmembers find themselves locked in a frantic struggle to survive.

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz® and Encore® brands with approximately 17.4 million and 31.6 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Entertainment Group, a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.

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<![CDATA[EA And Starz Team For Dead Space Movie]]> EA is not screwing around with promotions and marketing for their upcoming space horror game Dead Space. Not only are they in the midst of a comic book limited series, now they've teamed up with Starz Media to create a full-length animated movie prequel for the game. The animated film, which will bridge the gap between the end of the comic series and the beginning of the game, is being produced by Film Roman, the animation company behind The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

"We are really excited to be working with Film Roman to create an animated feature that will tell the portion of the Dead Space saga between the comic and game," said Glen Schofield, Executive Producer for Dead Space. "With the video game, comic book and now animated movie, Dead Space has become a true multimedia brand.
The animated feature will launch simultaneously with the game, first on TV and then on DVD. Awfully big push for a new and untested IP, isn't it? If Dead Space ends up tanking a lot of people are going to end up looking very, very silly.
EA and Starz Media Join to Produce Animated Dead Space Movie

Feature Based on Highly Anticipated Video Game Is First Project Between Starz Media and Electronic Arts

BURBANK, Calif. & REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Starz Media announced today the development of an animated movie prequel to the highly anticipated sci-fi survival horror game Dead Space™. The companies also have animation projects in development for two other EA franchises. The relationship kicks off with this Dead Space prelude that will deliver new details on the horrifying tale the game will unleash this Halloween.

The script for the Dead Space animated feature picks up the plot where the original comic book series ends and leads up to the beginning of the Dead Space game. The story focuses on the events aboard a futuristic mining spaceship, the USG Ishimura, after it pulls a mysterious artifact from a remote dig site. The artifact triggers the sudden invasion of a long-dormant alien presence, and the Ishimura's crewmembers find themselves locked in a frantic struggle to survive. The animated feature is slated to premiere at the same time as the game is launched.

This project signals both companies' belief that mass-appeal games provide opportunities for new and exciting programming in a variety of different media. This announcement comes at a time when the video game industry is valued at more than $30 billion worldwide for packaged goods, wireless and online games in calendar year 2007 and game-inspired entertainment is pervasive in movie theaters, on TV and across online media.

Starz Media is currently in discussions with broadcasters worldwide that have already expressed interest in airing Dead Space, which is scheduled to be released via broadcast TV and then on DVD. The company will launch international sales of the animated feature at the upcoming MIP-TV market in Cannes, France. Starz Media will also market the movie through its home entertainment company Anchor Bay Entertainment, as well as via online and wireless distributors.

The deal with Starz Media and its animation unit Film Roman reflects EA's growing commitment to developing filmed entertainment projects based on the company's games. For Film Roman, the venerable animation company behind "The Simpsons," "King of the Hill" and the pre-school hit "Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!," the booming video game business is fertile territory for developing new hit movies and series.

"Due to the richness and complexity of stories that have evolved for video games, they have become a type of entertainment that can span generations and provide fantastic inspiration for other forms of media; especially in the realm of animated features," Film Roman President and COO Scott Greenberg said. "We're particularly thrilled to be starting off with Dead Space."

"We are really excited to be working with Film Roman to create an animated feature that will tell the portion of the Dead Space saga between the comic and game," said Glen Schofield, Executive Producer for Dead Space. "With the video game, comic book and now animated movie, Dead Space has become a true multimedia brand. Each of these elements delivers the story to new audiences and tells it from different aspects and perspectives."

Film Roman is producing "Dead Space" in alliance with Digital Tetra Inc., in Korea. The Gotham Group of Los Angeles, a leading animation representation company, helped put the production arrangement together.

Under development at EA Redwood Shores, Dead Space is not yet rated by PEGI or ESRB. For more information about the game, go to the website at www.deadspacegame.com.

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<![CDATA[Hollywood Goes Gaming]]> While wasting some time watching Scary Movie 4 (do people actually like this stuff?) and not laughing once, I happened to catch an ad for a Starz special called Hollywood Goes Gaming. From the short clip, it was hard to tell if it was going to suck or not, but the list of interviewees was pretty impressive including the likes of Clive Barker, Don Bluth, Nolan Bushnell, Jordan Mechner and everyone's favorite smiling game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto. As the title implies, the show will discuss the growing relationship between Hollywood and gaming ranging from classic stinkbombs like the Super Mario Bros. Movie to more recent collaborations. The show premiers on Nov. 26 at 9pm so set your DVRs, grit your teeth and hope for the best.

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