Phase 4 Films

Phase 4 Films emerged from a sequence of Canadian distribution businesses that began with Telegenic, a family-oriented film distributor founded in 1996. Berry Meyerowitz acquired Telegenic in 2000 and renamed it Kaboom! Entertainment. In 2006, Peace Arch Entertainment Group purchased Kaboom!, and Peace Arch later became connected with ContentFilm through a merger. Meyerowitz eventually reacquired the North American distribution business and founded Phase 4 Films in April 2009. From its Toronto headquarters, Phase 4 developed a cross-border distribution operation with offices in Los Angeles and Fort Mill, South Carolina. Its business covered independent feature films and family entertainment, with releases and commercial relationships spanning theatrical exhibition, home video, television, and related content licensing. The company’s corporate structure also retained a connection to Kaboom! Entertainment, which marketed children’s entertainment and worked with organizations such as Corus Entertainment. Phase 4 pursued expansion through partnerships and acquisitions. In 2011 it announced a Canadian television venture with Take 5 Development. The following year it partnered with SModcast Pictures to distribute films in Canada and the United States. In 2014 it acquired ESI Distribution and announced distribution arrangements involving The Criterion Collection and Shout! Factory. These moves indicated an effort to broaden the company’s catalog, specialty-film presence, and home-entertainment capabilities. The most prominent legal episode in the company’s history concerned the animated feature The Legend of Sarila. Phase 4 acquired U.S. distribution rights and released the film under the altered title Frozen Land. Disney alleged that the revised title, logo, packaging, disc artwork, trailers, and other promotional material were intentionally made to resemble the branding associated with Disney’s Frozen, despite the films having unrelated stories. Disney filed suit in California in December 2013, seeking to halt the U.S. distribution and promotion. The dispute concluded through a settlement in late January 2014. Under the settlement, the film and associated merchandise were to use The Legend of Sarila rather than Frozen Land, and Phase 4 was prohibited from using marks, logos, or designs confusingly similar to Disney’s animated feature. Phase 4 also agreed to pay Disney $100,000 through January 27, 2014, and to make practicable efforts to remove copies using the disputed branding from stores and online distributors through March 3, 2014. On June 2, 2014, Entertainment One acquired Phase 4 Films. The available reference material does not clearly document whether Phase 4 continued as a separately marketed operating brand after the transaction. The company is therefore recorded as having an unknown present status rather than being assigned a definite active or defunct designation.

• 2014

  ESI Distribution acquisition and specialty-distribution agreements

  [1]Phase 4 Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Phase 4 acquired ESI Distribution and signed distribution deals with The Criterion Collection and Shout! Factory.

• 2014

  Entertainment One acquisition

  [1]Phase 4 Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Entertainment One acquired Phase 4 Films on June 2.

• 2012

  SModcast Pictures distribution partnership

  [1]Phase 4 Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Phase 4 partnered with SModcast Pictures to distribute films in the United States and Canada.

• 2011

  Canadian television venture announced

  [1]Phase 4 Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Phase 4 announced a television initiative in Canada with Take 5 Development.

• 2009

  Phase 4 Films is founded

  [1]Phase 4 Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Berry Meyerowitz established Phase 4 Films in April after buying back the North American distribution business.

• 2006

  Kaboom! Entertainment is acquired by Peace Arch

  [1]Phase 4 Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Peace Arch Entertainment Group acquired Kaboom! Entertainment; Peace Arch later became associated with ContentFilm through a merger.

• 2000

  Berry Meyerowitz acquires and renames Telegenic

  [1]Phase 4 Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Berry Meyerowitz purchased Telegenic and relaunched it under the Kaboom! Entertainment name.

• 1996

  Telegenic is founded

  [1]Phase 4 Filmsen.wikipedia.org

  Telegenic, a family-oriented film distributor that later formed part of Phase 4 Films’ corporate history, was established.

An independent North American film distributor combining theatrical, home-entertainment, television, and family-content capabilities, with a focus on acquiring and marketing films outside the major-studio system.

• Film distribution · 2009

  Independent feature-film distribution

  Phase 4 acquired and marketed independent feature films for release in Canada and the United States. Its distribution work could involve theatrical exhibition, promotional campaigns, physical home entertainment, digital availability, and licensing relationships. The company operated as an intermediary between independent producers or rights holders and North American audiences, rather than as a major studio producing a large internally owned slate.

• Family entertainment

  Children’s and family entertainment

  Through its corporate connection with Kaboom! Entertainment, the business marketed children’s and family-oriented entertainment. This activity continued the focus of the earlier Telegenic operation and included relationships with entertainment companies such as Corus Entertainment. Specific titles and the later status of the Kaboom! brand are not established in the supplied reference material.

• Animated feature film · 2013

  The Legend of Sarila

  Phase 4 acquired U.S. distribution rights to this Canadian animated feature. It initially marketed the film under the alternate title Frozen Land, leading to litigation by Disney. The settlement required the film to be distributed and promoted under its original title, The Legend of Sarila.

• 2013

  Disney trademark-infringement lawsuit

  Disney alleged that Phase 4’s U.S. retitling and marketing of The Legend of Sarila as Frozen Land intentionally imitated elements associated with Disney’s Frozen. The dispute concerned the title treatment, logo, packaging, disc artwork, trailers, and related promotional materials.

  Source

Read more

• 2013Frozen Land promotional campaign

  United States

  For the U.S. release of The Legend of Sarila, Phase 4 used the alternate title Frozen Land and promotional elements that Disney alleged resembled the branding of Frozen. The campaign emphasized visual and marketing similarities rather than the film’s original identity and subject matter.

  Outcome. The campaign became the subject of Disney’s trademark-infringement lawsuit. A settlement required the original title to be restored and the disputed branding to be withdrawn or changed.

  Source

• 2014

  Acquisition by Entertainment OneM&A

  Background

  Phase 4 had expanded its independent-film and specialty-distribution activities through the ESI Distribution acquisition and agreements with The Criterion Collection and Shout! Factory.

  Action taken

  Entertainment One acquired Phase 4 Films on June 2, 2014.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition placed Phase 4 within Entertainment One’s corporate structure. The supplied sources do not establish whether the Phase 4 name continued as an independent operating brand.

  Source

• 2013

  Retitle and rebrand The Legend of Sarila for the U.S. marketStrategy

  Background

  Phase 4 held U.S. distribution rights to the animated feature The Legend of Sarila and sought to improve its commercial prospects during the period surrounding Disney’s release of Frozen.

  Action taken

  The company released or promoted the film under the alternate title Frozen Land and used artwork and marketing materials that Disney said were confusingly similar to its branding.

  Aftermath

  Disney sued in California. The January 2014 settlement required the original title to be used, restricted similar branding, required removal efforts for affected copies, and required a $100,000 payment to Disney through January 27, 2014.

  Settlement payment. $100,000 (Through January 27, 2014)

  • The Walt Disney Company — Disney filed a trademark-infringement lawsuit and sought to stop the continued U.S. distribution and promotion of the retitled film.

  Source

1. 1Phase 4 Filmsen.wikipedia.org