..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

February 2 , 2007

For Immediate Release

FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES ACQUIRES SUMMIT’S “ONCE”

 Specialty Arm Acquires North American Rights

LOS ANGELES, CA February 2, 2007 – Fox Searchlight Pictures Chief Operating Officer Nancy Utley announced today that the company has acquired from Summit Entertainment the Northern American rights to the Irish musical ONCE, the sleeper hit which took the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.  Written and directed by John Carney, ONCE stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. The film is produced by Martina Niland and executive produced by David Collins.  The film is scheduled to be released in 2007.  Summit Entertainment is handling international sales and distribution. 

Said Fox Searchlight Pictures COO Nancy Utley, “‘Once’ swept the entire Searchlight team off its feet.  From acquisitions to production to marketing, distribution and music, we passionately wanted to be part of ‘Once’.  The film is so beautiful and haunting, it’s unforgettable.  We couldn’t be more thrilled.”

“On behalf of filmmakers and Summit, we are absolutely thrilled by Fox Searchlight’s love and passion for this movie,” said Patrick Wachsberger, Summit’s President and CEO, “we think this unique film has found the perfect home.”

ONCE is a modern day musical set on the streets of Dublin.  Featuring Glen Hansard and his Irish band "The Frames," the film tells the story of a street musician and a Czech immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story. 

The deal was brokered on Fox Searchlight’s side by Senior Vice President of Acquisitions Tony Safford and Executive Vice President of Business Affairs Stephen Plum with Patrick Wachsberger, CEO and President of Summit Entertainment along with Andrew Matosich, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Summit.

ONCE was produced and financed by Samson with assistance from the Irish Film Board and Ireland pub caster RTE.

John Carney was born in Dublin in 1972. He began his film career directing videos for the Irish band the Frames, as well as writing, producing, and directing two award-winning short films, SHINING STAR and HOTEL. He followed with the features NOVEMBER AFTERNOON, JUST IN TIME, and ON THE EDGE.  Carney then co-wrote and directed three episodes of the hit Radio Telefís Éireann television series Bachelors Walk, one of the most successful independently produced dramas in the history of Irish television.

About Summit Entertainment:

Summit Entertainment is the preeminent independent foreign sales, financing and feature film production company. Founded in 1993 as a foreign sales and financing company, Summit launched its own in-house production division in 1999. The company’s first foray into production was the Academy Award-nominated indie success story, MEMENTO.  The success continued with the company’s follow-up hit, the cult horror flick, WRONG TURN followed by the box-office smash MR. & MRS. SMITH, which grossed an estimated $480 million worldwide.  Summit’s most recent release, STEP UP has grossed $107 million worldwide and continues to draw box office with Japan and Spain yet to open.  Summit currently has Academy award winner Paul Haggis’ IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH in production and P2, the Alexandre Aja thriller starring Rachel Nichols and Wes Bentley in post-production.  The current slate includes: the Renee Zellwegger vehicle, MISS POTTER, Disney’s BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA and the George Clooney thriller, MICHAEL CLAYTON. 

Led by owner principals Patrick Wachsberger, Bob Hayward and David Garrett, Summit acts as international distribution partner for Alcon Entertainment, The Anshutz Film Group, Constantin Film and Mandalay Pictures, among others.  Summit also invests its capital in film development and the production of its own pictures. 

With offices in both London and Santa Monica, Summit continues to pursue a full range of strategic alignments with producers, studios and independent companies, and is committed to securing pictures with diverse genres and budget ranges for its international distributors.

About Samson Films:

Dublin-based Samson Films is one of Ireland’s leading independent film and television drama production companies.  Specializing in original films by Irish writer/directors, Samson has established strong relationships with creative and commercial partners, particularly in Europe. Recent feature film projects include TRUE NORTH (writer/director Steve Hudson, Toronto Film Festival 2006), HONEYMOONERS (writer/director Karl Golden, theatrically released in the UK & Ireland and sold internationally by Portman Films), ASYLUM (director David McKenzie, co-produced with Seven Arts for Paramount Classics), BLIND FLIGHT (writer/director John Furze), and THE MOST FERTILE MAN IN IRELAND (director Dudi Appleton).

About Fox Searchlight Pictures:

Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both produces and acquires motion pictures.  It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox.  Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.