Mike Fleming

LOS ANGELES, CA (November 9, 2010) — Image Entertainment, Inc. has acquired all U.S. rights to Hilary Swank-starrer The Resident from Exclusive Media Group’s Hammer Films. In addition to two time Academy Award winner Swank, The Resident also stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen, P.S. I Love You), Hammer Films icon Sir Christopher Lee (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, Dracula) and Lee Pace (A Single Man, The Good Shepherd). The Resident was directed by Antti Jokinen. Bill Bromiley, Chief Acquisitions Officer for Image Entertainment, made today’s announcement. The film will be released theatrically in Spring 2011.

The Resident tells the story of a beautiful young doctor (Swank) who begins a new life in Brooklyn after separating from her husband. Her stunning and spacious loft seems too good to be true, and when mysterious occurrences lead her to believe she’s not alone, she discovers the unthinkable…someone is watching her.

“The accomplished cast and creative team behind the film have done an extraordinary job in bringing this compelling and thrilling story to life,” stated Bromiley. “We are proud to be a part of the new Hammer family and excited to be working with the team at Exclusive Media with their exceptional track record.”

Simon Oakes, Vice Chairman of Exclusive and President & CEO of Hammer, said: “The Resident is another film in the grand tradition of Hammer that offers up quality genre pictures with big name talent, as is the case here with two-time Oscar® winner Hilary Swank. We look forward to working with the entire Image Entertainment team as we now take this film to audiences across the U.S.”

Exclusive Films International is handling foreign sales on The Resident.

Exclusive’s Hammer label is currently in production on James Watkins’ The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe (of Harry Potter fame) with a screenplay by Jane Goldman (Kick Ass), based on the best-selling novel by Susan Hill. The company also produced Matt Reeves’ Let Me In starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz, Elias Koteas and Richard Jenkins (produced through the Hammer Films label, and released by Overture Films); and Peter Weir’s The Way Back starring Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Saoirse Ronan, Mark Strong and Colin Farrell (which Exclusive’s Newmarket Films distribution label will release later this year).

Exclusive has also just announced two new high profile projects: the company will co-finance and co-produce George Clooney’s The Ides of March, based on the award-winning play by Beau Willimon, and starring Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood; and the company will produce and fully finance the action comedy So Undercover with worldwide superstar Miley Cyrus in the lead role. The film will be directed by Tom Vaughan (What Happens in Vegas), and the screenplay is co-written by Allan Loeb and Steven Pearl.