Screen Media Acquires Jon Hamm and Tina Fey-Led Thriller Maggie Moore(s)

The film marks the return of director John Slattery

Screen Media, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company, today announced the acquisition of all North American rights to the true-crime-inspired thriller Maggie Moore(s). Directed by John Slattery and written by Paul Bernbaum, the film reunites Slattery with his Emmy-winning Mad Men co-star, Jon Hamm (Top Gun Maverick, Confess, Fletch). Maggie Moore(s) also stars Emmy winner Tina Fey (Date Night, 30 Rock), Emmy nominee Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso), Micah Stock (Kindred), Mary Holland (Happiest Season) and Happy Anderson (Mindhunter). Screen Media is planning a theatrical release in June, followed by a digital release later that month.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230209005734/en/

Screen Media acquires Jon Hamm and Tina Fey-led thriller "Maggie Moore(s)." (Photo: Business Wire)

When two women with the same name are murdered days apart, small-town police chief Jordan Sanders (Hamm) finds himself wading through an unlikely collection of cheating husbands, lonely hearts, nosy neighbors and contract killers in an effort to put the pieces of the case, and his life, together. The film is inspired by actual events.

“I’m so proud of Maggie Moore(s) and the entire cast and filmmaking team,” said director and producer John Slattery. “After reading this script, I knew we had the potential for a unique story to be told. The result is a film that captures a lot of today’s true-crime, stranger-than-fiction culture, buoyed by excellent performances. I’m excited to bring this to audiences later this year, and to be working with Screen Media to do so.”

“We’re excited to work with John and all the immense talent involved with the film,” said David Fannon, chief acquisitions and distribution officer at Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. “With an incredible ensemble cast led by Jon Hamm and Tina Fey, the film is a wild, true crime-inspired ride that will keep audiences guessing until the end. It’s exactly the type of original content that Screen Media aspires to bring to our audiences.”

Maggie Moore(s) was produced by Slattery, Vincent Newman, Dan Reardon, Santosh Govindaraju, Nancy Leopardi and Ross Kohn. The film was executive produced by Jim Valdez, Kyle Hayes, Jared Underwood, Slava Vladimirov, Boden Anderson, Andrew C. Robinson, David Gendron, Ali Jazayeri and Viviana Zarragoitia of Three Point Capital, David Fannon, Seth Needle, Conor McAdam, David A. Stern, David Nagelberg, Daniel Grodnik, Jonathan Taylor, Clay Floren, Ryan Fine and Bernbaum.

Slattery made his feature film directorial debut in 2014 with God’s Pocket, starring Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman and Emmy winner John Turturro. He can currently be seen in Confess Fletch, also starring Hamm, and TV’s The Good Fight.

Hamm, best known for his Emmy-winning role on Mad Men can currently be seen in Confess Fletch, Good Omens and Top Gun Maverick. He is also currently in pre-production on the animated series Grimsburg.

Fey, best known for her Emmy-winning role as Liz Lemon on TV’s 30 Rock is currently in pre-production for the feature film adaptation of Mean Girls the Musical.

The deal was negotiated by Seth Needle, executive vice president of global acquisitions and co-productions, on behalf of Screen Media, with CAA Media Finance, The Gersh Agency and WME Independent, on behalf of the filmmakers.

Screen Media recently acquired Tom DeLonge’s directorial debut Monsters of California, Renny Harlin’s action film The Bricklayer starring Aaron Eckhart and Nina Dobrev from Millennium Films, Devil’s Peak starring Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton and Emmy winner Robin Wright and the Bella Thorne-led thriller Saint Clare also starring Ryan Phillippe and Rebecca DeMornay. Recent film releases include The Locksmith starring Ryan Phillippe, Kate Bosworth, and Ving Rhames, Poker Face directed by and starring Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, Kevin Lewis’ follow-up to Willy’s Wonderland, The Accursed starring Alexis Knapp and Mena Suvari, The Enforcer starring Antonio Banderas and Kate Bosworth, The Immaculate Room starring Emile Hirsch, Kate Bosworth and Ashley Greene Khoury, Code Name Banshee starring Antonio Banderas, Jaime King and Tommy Flanagan and the psychological horror film Monstrous starring Christina Ricci.

About Screen Media

Screen Media, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) company, is a leading independent distributor of feature films, television series and documentaries in North America and supplies high-quality content to the global market through its foreign sales division. The company is the main supplier of content to the Crackle Plus streaming services, as well as to third-party streaming platforms. With its recent acquisitions of 1091 Pictures and the Sonar Entertainment library assets, Screen Media continues to expand its library of nearly 7,000 television series and motion pictures. Screen Media’s diverse slate of titles includes critically acclaimed and audience favorites: The Outpost starring Scott Eastwood, Willy’s Wonderland starring Academy Award^® Winner Nicolas Cage, groundbreaking documentaries such as The Phenomenon and Grammy-Award Winner Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, and indie film hits including Academy Award^® Winner Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. For more information, visit: www.screenmedia.net

About Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) provides premium content to value-conscious consumers. The company is one of the largest advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) companies in the US, with three flagship AVOD streaming services: Redbox, Crackle and Chicken Soup for the Soul. In addition, the company operates Redbox Free Live TV, a free ad-supported streaming television service (FAST), with over 150 channels as well as a transaction video on demand (TVOD) service, and a network of approximately 34,000 kiosks across the US for DVD rentals. To provide original and exclusive content to its viewers, the company creates, acquires and distributes films and TV series through its Screen Media and Chicken Soup for the Soul TV Group subsidiaries. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous book series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.

Forward-Looking Statements and Available Information

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance. Such assumptions involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to our core strategy, operating income and margin, seasonality, liquidity, including cash flows from operations, available funds, and access to financing sources, free cash flows, revenues, net income, profitability, stock price volatility, future regulatory changes, price changes, the ability of the Company’s content offerings to achieve market acceptance, the Company’s success in retaining or recruiting officers, key employees, or directors, the ability to protect intellectual property, the ability to complete strategic acquisitions, the ability to manage growth and integrate acquired operations, the ability to pay dividends, regulatory or operational risks, and general market conditions impacting demand for the Company’s services. For a more complete description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please refer to Item 1A (Risk Factors) in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three- and nine-month period ended September 30, 2022, filed with the SEC on November 14, 2022. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Information regarding the acquisition of Redbox and related transactions is qualified by reference to the Company’s Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 11, 2022 (as amended May 12, 2022), June 6, 2022, August 12, 2022, and November 14, 2022, and all exhibits filed with respect to such reports and the aforementioned registration statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230209005734/en/