Atlas Media Launches New Theatrical Doc Division

NEW YORK, May 23: Non-fiction TV content producer Atlas
Media Corp. is launching a new division devoted to the development and
production of feature-length theatrical documentary films, with a deal already
in place with VOOM HD networks for a film about the singer Meat Loaf.

Kaki Kirby, the executive VP of business development, and
Cheryl Houser, the executive VP of programming, have been tapped to jointly
spearhead the new division. It is expected to produce, on average, three to
five original independent documentary films annually, with budgets of up to $2
million. It will also look to shepherd existing third-party projects that
require some completion funding and creative consulting services. Atlas will
also seek multiplatform distribution opportunities that match the specific
needs of each film. Talks are under way with a variety of distributors and
international partners regarding the company’s slate of films currently in
production. These include Meat Loaf: In Search Of Paradise (working title), which is produced in association
with Rainbow Media’s VOOM HD Networks. Directed by Ted Schillinger, the film
follows the multi-platinum rock artist as he embarks on an ambitious worldwide
tour, and features behind-the-scenes footage of the singer on- and off- stage
through the tour rehearsals, first shows and through the first leg of his
worldwide tour. Other films include Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead, which documents the friendship between impassioned
pro-death penalty campaigner Robert Blecker and death row inmate Daryl Holton;
and an Untitled Golden Age Music Project that focuses on an underground world music scene and its engaging
musicians.

Bruce David Klein, Atlas’s president and executive producer,
noted: “Storytelling is in our blood—and we already tell hundreds of
stories a year as part of our non-fiction television business. As it turns out,
we sometimes find truly extraordinary stories that cry out for the ‘feature’
treatment. We now have a pipeline for these special projects. We see this as a
smart, low-risk, natural extension of what we’re already doing—we have
the talent, the equipment, the infrastructure to make this happen. Best of all,
along the way, we’re building a great library asset.”