Thursday, February 19, 2015

STAR-STUDDED FAMILY FILM THE IDENTICAL BUILDS MOMENTUM

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  Rebellion, redemption and rock 'n' roll combine to create an intriguing backdrop for the faith and family-friendly feature film, The Identical. This powerful story about a young man's search for purpose and identity continues building momentum following its release to the home video market on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, DVD, VOD and Digital HD January 13 from City of Peace Films, Capitol Christian Distribution and Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM). It can be found at Christian retailers including Family Christian, LifeWay Christian, Mardel, Parable, Munce Group and Covenant Group, as well as Walmart, Amazon and more. 
Print and online Christian media embraced the film with open arms. Christian Music Reviewcalled it "...one of the more original movies I have seen in a long time," and went on to declare, "I absolutely loved it." Christian Retailing ran a feature story on the project called "Separated at Birth But Connected by Music: The Identical Explores the Power of Calling."Sonoma Christian Home gave it a 4-star review and dedicated full page to the feature, whileHallels.com and Jesus Freak Hideout posted interviews with producer Yochanon Marcellino and star Blake Rayne, respectively.

Christian television is also playing a roll in fueling the fire for The Identical. Fans of the film can look forward to CTN's Bridges television show, Juce TV's Hot Off The Press and Cornerstone Television Network's Real Life, all of which have secured interviews with Marcellino and Rayne during the month of March.   
 The Identical, which won the Nashville Film Festival Audience Award - U.S. Narrative, features an all-star cast, including Golden Globe nominees Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Field of Dreams) and Ashley Judd (Dolphin Tale 2, Divergent), as Reverend Reece Wade, a depression-era preacher who lives his faith, and his wife Louise; Brian Geraghty (Ray DonovanSeven Days in Utopia, The Hurt Locker) and Amanda Crew (Charlie St. Cloud), as William and Helen Hemsley, the impoverished parents of twins who just want to do right by their boys; Seth Green (Austin Powers, Family Guy) as Ryan's friend Dino, who introduces him to the 'worldly' joy of rhythm & blues; Joe Pantoliano (The SopranosThe Matrix) as Ryan's employer and mentor Avi Hirshberg; newcomer Blake Rayne in the pivotal dual roles of Drexel Hemsley and Ryan Wade; and Erin Cottrell (the Love Comes Softlyseries) as Ryan Wade's wife.
 
The Identical offers viewers a compelling 'what if' story. What if twin brothers were born to a poor couple during the Great Depression? What if another young couple, a preacher and his wife who were unable to have children, agreed to take one of the boys and raise him as their own? What if one of the twins grows up poor, but achieves meteoric fame and fortune in the heady days that gave birth to rock 'n' roll? What if the other twin has the same musical gifts, but struggles between chasing fame and pleasing his parents? What if his ultimate choice uncovers the long buried family secret about his identity?

"The Identical intertwines meaningful themes of faith, family, fatherhood, forgiveness and finding your true calling in life," declares Focus on the Family's influential Plugged In website.

Christian Film Database calls The Identical a "story about the restoration and the reconciliation of a family broken apart by culture, creed and tradition," and says "movie-going audiences will be drawn to this timeless tale of love, hope and redemption that speaks to all generations."

"Liotta is totally convincing as Reece. Opposite him, Judd has her best role in years. The surprise of the film is Rayne. He seems to have been created to play this role...fans should latch on to him and make him a star," says Jackie K. Cooper of The Huffington Post. "This movie entertains--totally. Believe me on that." 
 
The Dove Foundation awarded The Identical its Dove "Family-Approved" Seal for ages twelve plus, calling it an "original and clever movie [that] entertains and should not be missed!"

The Identical DVD and Blu-ray features over 20 original songs, all produced and co-written by Motown legend, Jerry Marcellino, and the film's producer, Yochanan Marcellino. The CBA version of The Identical DVD features additional bonus material that is not available in the general market version. For more information on The Identical, visittheidenticalmovie.com or like on Facebook at facebook.com/IdenticalMovie.

SYNOPSIS:
The Identical is a redemptive movie about a young man, the son of a preacher, who rejects his father's desire for him to join the ministry and instead embarks on a career as a rock singer. As he struggles to pursue his dream and rise to stardom, he finds love, pain, success and failure, and ultimately uncovers a hidden family secret that reveals who he really is. It's a captivating story about a family restored, and a life discovered.
About City of Peace Films:
City of Peace Media and City of Peace Films includes, but is not limited to, the following list of creative services: major physical and digital distribution, record production, artist management, artist development, music publishing, song development, art direction, graphic design, website development, music video production, film production and film development. City of Peace Media also consults in the following strategic areas: marketing plan development, public relations planning, radio promotion, publicity, advertising, touring and name branding. The primary focus of City of Peace Media and City of Peace Films is to provide a framework where music, films and video with "redeeming value" can be developed, produced and distributed worldwide, bringing a message of hope, love and encouragement to this generation.

About Capitol Christian Distribution: 
Capitol Christian Distribution is the market leader Christian and Gospel music distribution and represents a diverse range of chart topping Christian films and books reaching the US Christian and general retail marketplace, and the international Christian marketplace. Since this distribution division was launched, Capitol Christian has had more charting titles annually on Billboard's Top Christian charts than any other Christian distributor and has been named Billboard Magazine's Top Christian Music Distributor 15 times since 1995. 

In addition to distributing Capitol Christian Music Group's fully-owned labels, which include Sparrow, ForeFront, and Credential imprints, as well as Motown Gospel and Worship Together, Capitol Christian Distribution has exclusive distribution agreements with Centricity Records, City on A Hill, City of Peace Records, Difference Media, Dream Records, Gaither Music Group, Green Hill Productions, Inpop, Hillsong, sixsteps records, Sonoma Music, Maranatha! Music, North Point Music, Spring Hill Music Group, Troubadour for the Lord, Universal Music Group, VSR Music Group, Advent Film Group, Anchor Bay Entertainment/Starz, Cinedigm Entertainment, City of Peace Films, Creative Trust Media, Family Movie Night, Getty Music, Friends Media, Foreshadow Productions, Glorious Films, Guardian Studios/Bananas, Jellyfish Labs, Millennium Media Services, Pure Flix Entertainment,  Vertical Praise Productions, Wanderlust Productions, Whitestone Media, Worthy Publishing, Authentic Publishers and many more. Capitol Christian Distribution is a division of Capitol Christian Music Group, which is part of Universal Music's Capitol Music Group. For more information, visit capitolchristiandistribution.com. 

About Cinedigm:
Cinedigm is a leading independent content distributor in the United States, with direct relationships with over 60,000 physical retail storefronts and digital platforms, including Wal-Mart, Target, iTunes, Netflix, and Amazon, as well as the national Video on Demand platform on cable television. The company's library of over 52,000 films and TV episodes encompasses award-winning documentaries from Docurama Films®, next-gen Indies from Flatiron Film Company®, acclaimed independent films and festival picks through partnerships with the Sundance Institute and Tribeca Films and a wide range of content from brand name suppliers, including National Geographic, Discovery, Scholastic, WWE, NFL, Shout Factory, Hallmark, Jim Henson and more. 
 
Additionally, given Cinedigm's infrastructure, technology, content and distribution expertise, the company has rapidly become a leader in the quickly evolving over-the-top digital network business. Cinedigm's first channel, DOCURAMA, launched in May 2014, and is currently available on over 165 million consumer devices including Roku, Xbox and Samsung, with additional platforms currently being rolled out. Earlier this year, Cinedigm also announced plans for a Comic Con branded channel, in partnership with WIZARD WORLD, for launch in Q4 2014. The company recently announced its third OTT channel via a partnership with The Dove Foundation. DOVE MOVIE CHANNEL will be a digital streaming subscription service targeted to families and kids seeking high quality and family friendly content approved by Dove. 
 

No comments: