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THINKFilm Rings Up ’10 ITEMS’

NEW YORK, Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ – Days before the film’s world premiere as a "Special Presentation" at the Toronto International Film Festival, THINKFilm has signed on as North American distributor of Brad Silberling’s character comedy 10 ITEMS OR LESS, starring Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega, it was announced today by the company’s Theatrical Head Mark Urman.

Written and directed by Silberling, who produced the film along with Lori McCreary and Julie Lynn, with Freeman serving as executive producer, the film is a joint production between Silberling’s Reveal Entertainment and Revelations Entertainment, the company headed by Freeman and McCreary. THINKFilm is planning to open the film in major markets by the end of the year, and 10 ITEMS OR LESS will then have its broadband premiere on ClickStar, an exciting new movie and entertainment broadband download service coming soon.

Representing a bold departure for both Freeman and Silberling, 10 ITEMS OR LESS is an intimately-scaled, two-character comedy in which Freeman plays a major movie star whose pickiness with his projects accounts for a lengthy absence from the screen. While considering a role as a supermarket manager, he decides to do some field research at a small ethnic market on the very outskirts of Los Angeles. Finding himself stranded with no cell phone or transportation, he meets Vega, the feisty cashier who mans the store’s express register. When she offers to drive him back to "civilization," this initially mismatched pair discovers common ground, with the star realizing that his love for people is what drew him to acting in the first place, and the cashier gaining the confidence to interview – or as he terms it, to "audition" — for a job that could change her life.

About the acquisition, Silberling says, "It was always my hope that our film’s rather maverick spirit would be matched by the spirit of its distributor — so THINKFilm feels like an excellent fit. Their intelligence, selectivity and daring taste makes me feel like we’re in good hands, on a picture whose independence we’ve jealously guarded. And I couldn’t be happier to start this partnership now, as our picture takes its first steps out into the world at the Toronto Film Festival." Freeman adds, "It helps when you’ve admired the work they have done on so many unique pictures in the past. And now I admire their taste even more."

Urman says, "As entertaining as it is, 10 ITEMS OR LESS is even more refreshing because it shows how much fun big-studio filmmakers can have when they throw away the rule book and do something risky, hip, and different. As far as I am concerned, Morgan Freeman doesn’t just play God, he IS God. THINKFilm is ready to do His work!"

In keeping with the notion of "throwing away the rulebook," ClickStar will partner extensively with THINKFilm on a national marketing campaign that will simultaneously promote 10 ITEMS OR LESS, while launching the ClickStar service, which will enable subscribers to download the film mere weeks after it has its national theatrical release. This will allow people who don’t have access to independent films to see a new release while it is still being covered by and advertised in the national media.

10 ITEMS OR LESS is produced by Silberling, Lori McCreary and Julie Lynn, executive produced by Freeman, and co-produced by Kelly Thomas, with cinematography by Phedon Papmichael, editing by Michael Kahn, production design by Denise Pizzini, costume design by Isis Mussenden, and original music by Antonio Pinto. The film is a joint production between Silberling’s Reveal Entertainment and Revelations Entertainment.

The deal was negotiated by Randy Manis, THINKFilm Sr. Vice President of Acquisitions and Business Affairs, Richard Rapkowski, THINKFilm Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs, and Schuyler Moore from Stroock & Stroock and Cassian Elwes from the William Morris Agency, on behalf of the filmmakers.