FME Inks North American DVD Deal for Fanny Hill

LONDON, December 11: FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) has
signed a deal with Acorn Media Group to bring Fanny Hill to DVD in North America.

Based on John Cleland’s controversial 18th century
novel, Fanny Hill: Memoirs of
a Woman of Pleasure, and adapted by
award-winning screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones’ Diary), Fanny Hill will head to DVD in 2008. The film’s television debut on BBC Four
earlier this year garnered successful ratings.

Starring Hugo Speer (The Full Monty) and Samantha Bond (best known for her role as Miss
Moneypenny in the James Bond
movies), Fanny Hill is the story
of an orphan girl, Fanny (played by newcomer Rebecca Night), who becomes a
prostitute in a brothel. Fanny uses this as an opportunity to progress up the
social ladder in 18th-century London. Fanny Hill is produced by Sally Head Productions, which
developed Fingersmith, also
distributed by Acorn Media.

Jeff Siegel, the VP of home entertainment for the Americas
at FME, commented, “With its great script and cast, Fanny
Hill is one of the finest British period
dramas in years. We are thrilled to find a partner in Acorn Media who excels at
providing this type of quality programming into the home entertainment marketplace.”

Mark Stevens, the president of Acorn Media U.S., said, “Fanny
Hill has all the right ingredients to be a
star performer on DVD in America. We are happy to be working with
FremantleMedia Enterprises again after the success of Fingersmith, and we are also happy to be extending our catalogue
of titles from Sally Head Productions and Andrew Davies.”

—By Kristin Brzoznowski