Celestial Pictures Signs Ground-Breaking Deal with Creative
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Celestial Pictures Signs Ground-Breaking Deal with Creative to Offer Shaw Brothers Films on Portable Viewing Devices
HONG KONG, 2 Dec 2010 - Celestial Pictures, the Chinese motion picture company and operator of regional pay-TV channels, announced today a strategic licensing agreement with Creative Technology Ltd, the worldwide leader in digital entertainment product for personal computers and the internet, to distribute 668 Shaw Brothers films and 500 hours of original TV dramas from Celestial Pictures on its portable viewing devices in Singapore.
This ground-breaking deal marks a milestone for the distribution of Celestial’s Shaw Brothers Film Library as a substantial selection of these cinematic gems will be made available for full-length download via a portable media platform for the first time. Under the agreement, Creative has licensed the non-exclusive digital download rights as well as internet download-to-own rights to release an extensive range of films covering multiple genres including The One-Armed Swordsman, Come Drink with Me, Vengeance, The Heroic Ones, as well as Celestial’s TV dramas such as Empress Feng of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Silent Tears and Let’s Dance.
“We are very excited to partner with Creative to create a unique portable entertainment experience,” said Ross Pollack, Chief Executive Officer, Celestial Pictures. “Our partnership with Creative marks a revolutionary step forward for the legendary Shaw Brothers Film Library. The Library’s distribution network has expanded onto a new digital platform with a partner known for its technology, large user base and strong branding. This partnership exemplifies our strategy of showcasing our content on different and new platforms to reach new audiences.”
"The Celestial Shaw Library represents timeless classics of Asian cinema. It has and will continue to inspire generations of performance talents and directors. Much of its creative ideas are ahead of its time and will serve as a treasure trove of ideas for future generations of filmmakers." said Vinson Chua, Director, Media Services, Creative Technology Ltd.
The Shaw Brothers Film Library consists of 760 films that has been remastered and preserved in digital format and is now available across multiple media formats for audiences to rediscover the golden age (1950s to the late 1990s) of Chinese cinema. Currently 133 classics from the Library are available in High Definition format with additional titles being remastered in High Definition in the coming year.
