The RLJ Companies Launches 'Our Stories Films' in Association With The Weinstein Company

The RLJ Companies Launches 'Our Stories Films' in Association With The Weinstein Company

Film Production Company Focused in the African-American Family Comedy Genre Capitalized at $200 Million

BETHESDA, Md., July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Privately held RLJ Companies, LLC ("RLJ") controlled by Robert L. Johnson, founder of BET and owner of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats, today announced that it has entered into a new venture with The Weinstein Company ("TWC") to create a film company that will produce titles in the African-American family comedy genre. The announcement was made jointly today by Robert L. Johnson and Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company.

RLJ will launch Our Stories Films ("Our Stories") shortly and the firm will be headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York City. Our Stories titles will be theatrically distributed by The Weinstein Company's Dimension Films and on DVD by Genius Products, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: GNPI) . Under the agreement, TWC will have an equity stake in the venture. Robert L. Johnson will run Our Stories and will control the decisions to produce, acquire and finance film projects. JP Morgan Chase has committed to financing the venture with up to $175 million under terms to be negotiated.

"We are thrilled to partner with Harvey and Bob Weinstein to fulfill this vision," stated Robert L. Johnson, Chairman of Our Stories Films, "Never before has an African-American had 'green light authority' at a studio combined with this quality of financing and a distribution partner that has a proven track record in successful urban films."

Bob and Harvey Weinstein stated, "We are proud to be behind this venture and are confident in Bob Johnson's taste and his ability to identify projects that will be successful. We are committed to releasing a slate of films focused in the African-American family genre and to working with Our Stories to launch their exciting new brand."

John W. Miller, Managing Director of JP Morgan Chase, stated, "This is a project that is long overdue in Hollywood and we are honored to be a part of making it happen. We could not be more excited about working with Bob Johnson, a partner who clearly understands the financial realities of the film business, and what it takes to market urban-based consumers."

The company has begun assembling a topflight management team to be announced in the near future.

About The RLJ Companies

The RLJ Companies ("RLJ"), founded by Robert L. Johnson, founder and former CEO and Chairman of Black Entertainment Television owns or holds majority interests in a diverse portfolio of companies in the financial services/asset management, real estate, hospitality, professional sports, film production, gaming and recording industries. An innovative business network, The RLJ Companies seeks to target undiscovered or underserved markets, then exercise solid management and achieve exceptional results. RLJ is located in Bethesda, Maryland, and currently has operations in New York and San Francisco.

About The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films

Bob and Harvey Weinstein launched The Weinstein Company, a multi-media company, on October 1st, 2005. Dimension Films, the genre label that began at Miramax, is also included under The Weinstein Company banner.

The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films have released the sexy psychological thriller "Derailed," starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen; "Wolf Creek," the terrifying Australian horror film; "Hoodwinked," a tremendously successful CGI animated family film; "Lucky Number Slevin," starring Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu, and Academy Award winners Morgan Freeman, and Sir Ben Kingsley; "Scary Movie 4," the record breaking latest installment in the hugely successful and hilarious horror-parody series; "The Matador," starring Pierce Brosnan; "Transamerica," starring Golden Globe winner Felicity Huffman; and "Mrs. Henderson Presents," starring Academy Award winner Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins.

Upcoming releases from TWC include "Clerks II," a new film from Kevin Smith; "Breaking & Entering," written and directed by Anthony Minghella and starring Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, Robin Wright Penn and Vera Farmiga; "Factory Girl," starring Sienna Miller; "Bobby," the highly anticipated film from Emilio Estevez that stars an incredible ensemble cast; and "Killshot," a film from Academy Award winning director John Madden starring Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke and Rosario Dawson.

In 1994, Bob Weinstein founded Dimension Films, a film label committed to producing highly commercial science fiction, thriller, action, urban, and horror genre films. The company's successful slate of releases include the "Scary Movie" franchise, Wes Craven's "Scream" trilogy, Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids" trilogy, "Bad Santa," "Halloween: H2O," "The Crow," Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's "From Dusk Till Dawn," Wes Craven's "Cursed," and Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City" franchise.

Upcoming films from Dimension include "Pulse," a remake of a Japanese horror film starring Kristen Bell and Ian Somerhalder; "School for Scoundrels," a comedy from director Todd Phillips ("Old School") starring Jon Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite") and Billy Bob Thornton ("Bad Santa," "Monster's Ball"); "Black Christmas" a remake of the 1970's cult horror classic of the same name, which stars Michelle Trachtenberg, Lacey Chabert, Oliver Hudson, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead; "Superhero Movie" a spoof on the latest trend of comic-book inspired films from director David Zucker; a big screen adaptation of "Welcome Back, Kotter," starring Ice Cube; and "Sin City 2," the second installment in the franchise based on the electrifying graphic novels from Frank Miller, which will be co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Miller.

About JP Morgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.3 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries.

Under the JPMorgan and Chase brands, the firm serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients.

For The RLJ Companies:
Jason Llorenz
Contact: (202) 965-2810 O
(716) 316-0918 M

For The Weinstein Company:
Julie Cloutier
Contact: (646) 862-3825

Source: The RLJ Companies

CONTACT: Jason Llorenz of The RLJ Companies, office: +1-202-965-2810,
cell: +1-716-316-0918; or Julie Cloutier of The Weinstein Company,
+1-646-862-3825

Web site: http://www.rljcompanies.com/

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