NEW YORK, NY (March 13) -- Anchor Bay Entertainment has announced an April 29th DVD release of Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me, writer-director Tessa Blake¹s comic portrait of her wealthy Texas family. The documentary, produced by Asset Pictures and released theatrically by Castle Hill Productions, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival. It later went on to critical success as an art house favorite in limited release. Described by the New York Times as "charming and playful," Five Wives was recently selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Oscar® nominating committee for inclusion in its Outstanding Contemporary Documentary screenings.
About Five Wives
Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me is the lovingly honest and compelling portrait of 88-year-old multimillionaire, oil tycoon, hotshot lawyer, and former Hollywood playboy Thomas Blake, as told by his ex-wives, his ex-wives¹ ex-husbands, family friends, loyal employees and even Blakey himself. As Tessa Blake captures a series of intimate interviews and quirky tales of the Texas jet set, this larger-than-life serial monogamist is revealed as irascible and insensitive, benevolent and racist, eccentric and ever enigmatic, all leading to a final emotional confrontation that Seattle Weekly described as "one of the most powerful father/daughter moments ever seen in a documentary." This is the surprising story of a mythic man, his five wives, three secretaries and one filmmaker about to discover the remarkable father whose love and legacy she yearns to understand.
About Anchor Bay
Anchor Bay Entertainment has established itself as a haven for some of the world's greatest filmmakers. Anchor Bay Entertainment is dedicated to releasing outstanding films, committed to detail and utilizing the finest elements in bringing film to the home video market. Over the past few
years, the company has developed long-standing relationships with directors including Sam Raimi, Werner Herzog, George Romero, John Landis, Peter Jackson, Kathryn Bigelow and Wim Wenders.
Anchor Bay sells to major retail customers such as Amazon.com, Best Buy, Target, Borders, Wal Mart, Musicland, Kmart, and online DVD rental service Netflix. Both Amazon.com and Netflix report advance orders of Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me.
Anchor Bay is located in Troy, Michigan and is a division of North Coast Entertainment, owned by the Handleman Company (NYSE: HDL), (www.handleman.com).
About Castle Hill
Castle Hill Productions is a multifaceted corporation which distributes, produces and represents motion pictures and producers. Founded in 1978 by Julian Schlossberg, it has offices in New York and Los Angeles. Castle Hill is entering its twenty-second year of business and now owns a library of more than 250 motion pictures, making it one of the largest independent film companies in the world distributing first-run, classic and reissue movies to theaters, pay TV and basic cable, home video, TV syndication and all other motion picture outlets worldwide.
Recently, they distributed the Academy Award nominated documentaries The Line King and A Great Day in Harlem.
About Asset Pictures
Asset Pictures was founded in 1994 as a film and theater production company. Productions include the L.A. Weekly award-winning comedy The Stand-In and Five Wives, Three Secretaries and Me. Founder and President Tessa Blake recently codirected The Pink House with writer Ian Williams. The college comedy, starring Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse) and Zack Ward (TV's Titus) will premiere on the fall, 2003 festival circuit.
CONTACT: Joe Messiah/LA
Contact: Jason Lyon
310/722-2393