LOS ANGELES, Sept. 17, 2019 – RLJE Films has acquired North American rights to the action-horror feature VFW ahead of its world premiere at this year’s Fantastic Fest (Sept. 19 to 26, 2019) in Austin. The movie is scheduled to be released in theaters and on VOD and Digital HD first quarter 2020.

Written by Max Brallier (“The Last Kids on Earth”) & Matthew McArdle and directed by Joe Begos (Almost Human, Mind’s Eye), the film stars Stephen Lang (Avatar, Don’t Breathe), William Sadler (Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Die Hard 2), Fred Williamson (Black Caesar, From Dusk Till Dawn), Martin Kove (The Karate Kid, “Cobra Kai”), George Wendt (“Cheers”), David Patrick Kelly (“Twin Peaks”), Tom Williamson (“The Fosters”), Sierra McCormick (The Vast of Night), Travis Hammer (“Godless”), and Dora Madison (“Friday Night Lights”).

“We are so excited to work with the legendary Stephen Lang,” said Mark Ward, Chief Acquisitions Officer for RLJE Films. “With Joe Begos at the helm, we have no doubt that the movie will create waves at this year’s Fantastic Fest and set the momentum for the upcoming release.”

In VFW, a group of war veterans must defend their local VFW post and an innocent teen against a deranged drug dealer and his relentless army of punk mutants.

The After Movie Diner Editor: If you can’t tell from that cast list why we here at The After Movie Diner are excited by this film then you need to click around this site some more. We were big fans of Mind’s Eye when it came out and the idea of Joe Begos making a “veterans defend their local VFW against punk mutants” film starring William Sadler, Fred “The Hammer” Williamson and Norm from Cheers thrills us to no end - get that movie in my eyeballs YESTERDAY.

The film was produced by Dallas Sonnier (Bone Tomahawk), Amanda Presmyk (Satanic Panic) and Josh Ethier (Bliss). Executive Producers are Media Finance Capital’s David Gilbery and Charles Dorfman, FANGORIA’s Danielle Cox and Phil Nobile Jr., Stephen Lang, Noah Lang, Bobby Campbell, Adam Donaghey, Jonathan Deckter and Marc Hofstatter.

Mark Ward and Jess DeLeo from RLJE Films and Sonnier from CINESTATE negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.

VFW premieres at Fantastic Fest alongside a 35mm print of Begos’s third feature Bliss.

ABOUT RLJE FILMS
A privately owned subsidiary of AMC Networks, RLJ Entertainment, Inc. is a premium digital channel company serving distinct audiences primarily through its popular OTT branded channels, Acorn TV (British TV) and UMC (Urban Movie Channel), which have rapidly grown through development, acquisition, and distribution of its exclusive rights to a large library of international and British dramas, independent feature films and urban content. RLJE’s titles are also distributed in multiple formats including broadcast and pay television, theatrical and non-theatrical, DVD, Blu-ray, UHD, and a variety of digital distribution models (including EST, VOD, SVOD and AVOD) in North America, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Additionally, through Acorn Media Enterprises, its UK development arm, RLJE commissions and co-produces new programs and owns 64% of Agatha Christie Limited. For more information, please visit RLJENTERTAINMENT.COM, ACORN.TV, and UMC.TV.

An RLJ Entertainment, Inc. brand, RLJE Films’ recent features include the 2018 Sundance Film Festival hit Mandy from writer/director Panos Cosmatos and starring Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough and Linus Roache; Galveston starring Ben Foster and Elle Fanning and directed by Mélanie Laurent; and The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot written and directed by Robert Krzykowski and starring Academy Award nominee Sam Elliott, Aidan Turner and Ron Livingston. us.rljentertainment.com.

ABOUT FANGORIA
FANGORIA is the iconic horror entertainment magazine with a die-hard fan base, in publication since 1979. FANGORIA was acquired by CINESTATE, the Texas-based movie studio run by producer Dallas Sonnier, who re-launched the magazine as a print-only quarterly collectible while extending the franchise into movies, podcasts, and books. In addition to Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich and Satanic Panic, FANGORIA recently wrapped production on a reimagining of Stuart Gordon’s 1995 classic Castle Freak, which shot in Albania this summer.

ABOUT MEDIA FINANCE CAPITAL
Established in January 2018, Media Finance Capital (MFC) provides financing worldwide for independent Film and TV productions. Other notable productions on the MFC slate include: Untouchable, which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; supernatural thriller Death Of Me starring Maggie Q; Arkansas, starring Vince Vaughn and Liam Hemsworth; and Moose, starring John Travolta.