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Film News,

Hammertime! Entertainment One secures first-look film production & distribution deal with hammer

In the run up to the much anticipated release of (the currently in post production) The Woman in Black: Angel of Death which continues the story of  The Woman in Black story forty years on. Entertainment One and Hammer have announced it's HAMMERTIME! with a deal that will see Hammer's films getting a production boost and wider distribution.




Not content sitting on their laurels (The Woman In Black, took over $130m worldwide making it one of the biggest indie horror films ever) not only are Hammer teaming up with eOne but Hammer is also in the process of developing a Hammer visitor attraction. Hammer recently diversified into live theatre, launching Hammer Theatre of Horror.  Hammer’s first theatre project was 'The Turn of the Screw' production, based on the classic ghost tale by Henry James, which ran at London's Almeida Theatre until March 2013 starring Anna Madeley and Gemma Jones.

In spring 2011, Hammer formed a literary partnership with Arrow, part of the Penguin Random House Group, to form Hammer Books. Recent titles include Helen Dunmore’s The Greatcoat, Jeanette Winterson’s The Daylight Gate, Sophie Hannah’s The Orphan Choir, Julie Myerson’s The Quickening, Joanna Briscoe’s Touched, and Breakfast with the Borgias by Booker Prize winner, DBC Pierre.

Hopefully this latest development will see cult steampunk novel Boneshaker that Hammer have been developing closer to release as well as Simon Oakes' passion project the remake of The Devil Rides Out. A personal favourite of mine that I have been waiting for since he mentioned the possibility of a remake - and not just because Christopher Lee's Duc de Richleau is a Doctor Strange prototype.



Entertainment One (eOne) and Hammer have entered into an exclusive multi-year first-look film agreement, which includes production, financing and distribution.


Founded in November 1934, Hammer is one of the oldest film companies in the world. Creating a robust multi-genre portfolio, Hammer has truly built a brand for itself by producing well-known genre fare, including recent critically acclaimed Let Me In and The Quiet Ones, as well as the worldwide box office smash The Woman in Black and its upcoming sequel Woman in Black: Angel of Death, co-produced with eOne.

We’re thrilled to extend our partnership with Simon Oakes, Marc Schipper and the innovative Hammer team,” said Xavier Marchand, eOne’s President, Film Production. “As we continue to expand our production business, it’s rewarding to build on our shared success with Woman in Black and attach one of the industry’s most sought-after independent producers to our global network in order to access great projects in new ways. It’s very exciting for our teams around the world to add crowd-pleasers to the lineup in our territories and add them to our international sales slate for our partners around the globe.”

eOne will distribute the Hammer films in Canada, the UK, Benelux, Spain and Australia/New Zealand. The company’s international sales arm, eOne Films International under Harold van Lier, will handle the rest of the international territories.

We’re delighted to have eOne as our distribution, financing and production partner, which provides us with wide global reach while maintaining the creative and commercial flexibility of an independent.  This deal, which we view as a rare opportunity for an independent producer, will allow Hammer to significantly increase its production output,” - said Oakes and Schipper.

London-based Marchand will oversee the deal for eOne.

About Hammer Films
Originally founded in 1934, legendary British film studio Hammer has delivered a hugely successful run of films over the years including Dracula, Frankenstein Created Woman, One Million Years B.C. and The Vampire Lovers.  Since 2008, the company has been reinvigorating this beloved global brand through investment across both traditional and new media.

Not in production since the 1980s, Hammer marked their return to features in 2010 with the release of the critically acclaimed Let Me In, an adaptation of the highly praised Swedish film Låt den rätte komma in.  The film was written and directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) and stars Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road).


In 2011, Hammer released Antti Jokinen’s The Resident starring two-time Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank (Boys Don't Cry, Million Dollar Baby), Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hammer legend Sir Christopher Lee, as well as the critically lauded Wake Wood directed by David Keating and starring Aidan Gillen, Eva Birthistle and Timothy Spall.

February 2012 saw the theatrical release of Hammer’s first ever feature ghost story The Woman In Black, directed by James Watkins, adapted by Jane Goldman from the book by Susan Hill, and starring Daniel Radcliffe.  The film has taken over $130m worldwide making it one of the biggest indie horror films ever.


Hammer's latest film The Quiet Ones starring Jared Harris (‘Mad Men’, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Snow White and the Huntsman, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) and directed by John Pogue (Quarantine 2: Terminal) was released in April 2014.


The Woman in Black: Angel of Death which is a continuation of The Woman in Black story forty years on, is currently in post-production. Starring Jeremy Irvine (War Horse, Great Expectations, The Railway Man), Helen McCrory  (Skyfall, Hugo, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows) and rising stars Phoebe Fox (War Book, ‘Switch’) and Oaklee Pendergast (The Impossible), the film is directed by Tom Harper (The Scouting Book For Boys, War Book, ‘Peaky Blinders’).   Jon Croker (Desert Dancer) wrote the screenplay based on an original story outline by Susan Hill, author of The Woman in Black.

In addition to its upcoming films, Hammer recently diversified into live theatre, launching Hammer Theatre of Horror.  Hammer’s first theatre project was 'The Turn of the Screw' production, based on the classic ghost tale by Henry James, which ran at London's Almeida Theatre until March 2013 starring Anna Madeley and Gemma Jones.

In spring 2011, Hammer formed a literary partnership with Arrow, part of the Penguin Random House Group, to form Hammer Books. Recent titles include Helen Dunmore’s The Greatcoat, Jeanette Winterson’s The Daylight Gate, Sophie Hannah’s The Orphan Choir, Julie Myerson’s The Quickening, Joanna Briscoe’s Touched, and Breakfast with the Borgias by Booker Prize winner, DBC Pierre.

Hammer is also in the process of developing a Hammer visitor attraction.

Hammer is backed by Dasym.

For further information about Hammer, please visit www.hammerfilms.com.

The Establishing Shot: HAMMERTIME! ENTERTAINMENT ONE SECURES FIRST-LOOK FILM PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION DEAL WITH HAMMER