All-star cast includes James Franco, Jon Hamm, David Strathairn, Mary-Louise Parker, and Jeff Daniels

New York, NY (April 22, 2010) – Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to 2-time Academy Award® winning director Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s first dramatic narrative HOWL. Starring James Franco in a career-defining performance as Allen Ginsberg, HOWL is the story of how the young poet’s seminal work broke down societal barriers in the face of an infamous public obscenity trial. HOWL was the opening night film at Sundance Film Festival 2010 and also played in competition at 2010 Berlinale. The film was produced by Elizabeth Redleaf and Christine Kunewa Walker of Werc Werk Works, and Epstein and Friedman. Oscilloscope will release HOWL in theaters and VOD on September 24, 2010.

In his famously confessional style, Ginsberg – poet, counter-culture icon, and chronicler of the Beat Generation – recounts the road trips, love affairs, and search for personal liberation that led to HOWL, the most timeless work of his career. HOWL interweaves three stories: the unfolding of the landmark 1957 obscenity trial; an imaginative animated ride through the prophetic masterpiece; and a unique portrait of a man who found new ways to express himself, and in doing so, changed his own life and galvanized a generation.

HOWL features James Franco, David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Bob Balaban, Alessandro Nivola, Treat Williams, with Mary-Louise Parker and Jeff Daniels.

David Fenkel, co-founder of Oscilloscope says, “At O-Scope we love working with passionate, creative filmmakers who make entertaining and meaningful films, and the team behind HOWL perfectly fit this profile. They put together a great cast, lead by a performance by James Franco that people will be talking about for years.”

Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman say: “We’re very happy that HOWL has found the perfect home and partners. Oscilloscope is the coolest company around.”

Elizabeth Walker, CEO of Werc Werk Works says: “We are very fortunate that Oscilloscope has come on board to bring their passion and dedication to this extraordinary and inspiring movie.”

Christine Walker, President of Werc Werk Works says: “Adam Yauch and his team have a terrific track record of nurturing unique films like HOWL and we look forward to working with them and bringing it to the widest audience possible.”

The pic, a riveting exposé of a long lost, never completed Nazi propaganda film will open in August

New York, NY (April 8, 2010) – Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired North American distribution rights to Yael Hersonski’s harrowing documentary A FILM UNFINSIHED. The doc, which premiered at Sundance this year and won the World Cinema Documentary Editing Award, also played at Berlinale 2010 in the Panorama section. Oscilloscope will open the film August 18 at Film Forum and August 20 at Lincoln Plaza in New York City, with a national release to follow.

At the end of WWII, 60 minutes of raw film, having sat undisturbed in an East German archive, was discovered. Shot by the Nazis in Warsaw in May 1942, and labeled simply “Ghetto,” this footage quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record of the Warsaw Ghetto. However, the later discovery of a long-missing reel complicated earlier readings of the footage. A FILM UNFINISHED presents the raw footage in its entirety, carefully noting fictionalized sequences (including a staged dinner party) falsely showing “the good life” enjoyed by Jewish urbanites, probing deep into the making of a now-infamous Nazi propaganda film.

A FILM UNFINISHED is a film of enormous import, documenting some of the worst horrors of our time and exposing the efforts of its perpetrators to propel their agenda and cast it in a favorable light.

Adam Yauch, head of Oscilloscope Laboratories, said, “This movie really affected me. It’s an incredibly powerful film, not just because of the rare Nazi propaganda footage it shows, but also the captivating way the filmmakers tell the story.”

“TELL THEM ANYTHING YOU WANT: A PORTRAIT OF MAURICE SENDAK”
ON DVD MARCH 2, 2010
Release date will coincide with DVD release of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

“I said anything I wanted because I don’t believe in children. I don’t believe in childhood. I don’t believe that there’s this demarcation. ‘Oh, you mustn’t tell them that. You mustn’t tell them that.’ You tell ’em anything you want. Just tell ’em if it’s true. If it’s true, you tell ’em.”

-Maurice Sendak

(New York, NY – Feb 9th, 2010) – Oscilloscope Laboratories announced today that it has acquired North American rights to Lance Bangs and Spike Jonze’s documentary TELL THEM ANYTHING YOU WANT: A PORTRAIT OF MAURICE SENDAK, a fascinating look at one of the most cherished and controversial figures in children’s literature. The DVD will be released on March 2, 2010 to coincide with the DVD release date of Jonze’s critically acclaimed big screen adaptation of Sendak’s book WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. HBO previously acquired U.S. broadcast rights.

TELL THEM ANYTHING YOU WANT is a deeply moving tribute to Sendak, a seminal talent whose conflicts with success and lifelong obsession with death have subtly influenced his work. Now 81, Sendak is best known for his book WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, which he wrote twelve years into his career as a writer and illustrator. WILD THINGS would go on to become one of the most beloved and critically lauded children’s books of all time and, much to Sendak’s chagrin, would come to define his career. Through his own words, personal photos, and illustrations, Sendak offers a rare, intimate, and unexpected look at his exceptional life.

TELL THEM ANYTHING YOU WANT: A PORTRAIT OF MAURICE SENDAK includes 90 minutes of content curated by Bangs and Jonze and features appearances by James Gandolfini, Meryl Streep, Catherine Keener, and Tony Kushner honoring their friend and colleague.

Having worked closely with the Beastie Boys since the early ’90s, on multiple music videos and their magazine Grand Royal, the release marks a new collaboration for Jonze and O-scope head Adam Yauch.

Lances Bangs said, “This film grew out of several years of documenting Maurice as he engaged us in conversations around his home and drawing table. His rigorous minded candor and startling, challenging ideas about life and loss would keep ricocheting around your head after each visit, and now make up this film. Throughout which Maurice also manages to canon blast you with wildly imaginative stories and absurdly funny, sharp asides. Watch.”

Spike Jonze said, “Maurice Sendak and the Beastie Boys are two major influences in my life so it’s perfect to be doing this documentary about Maurice with Yauch. It’s one of those full-circle things.”

Adam Yauch said, “It’s great to have Spike stopping by the office to hang out. He is a good one to test the O-scope booby traps on, as he is rather spry on his feet. Currently Spike is hanging upside down by his left ankle, dangling from a palm tree. I’ll set him free shortly.”