Press Release:

LYNN SHELTON'S HUMPDAY ACQUIRED BY MAGNOLIA PICTURES FOR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION

Submarine Concluded The Deal With Magnolia Following A Heated Bidding War

Sundance Narrative Competition Film Stars Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard And Alycia Delmore

January 19, 2009 (Park City, UT) -- Magnolia Pictures announced today it has acquired worldwide distribution rights to HUMPDAY, the Sundance narrative competition film written, directed and produced by Lynn Shelton. Submarine concluded the deal with Magnolia following a heated bidding war with multiple distributors. Humpday, a comedy about male bonding taken to the extreme, has received strong critical praise since its Sundance premiere on Friday. Magnolia is planning a 15 market theatrical release preceded by a nationwide on-demand release via their Ultra VOD platform. The deal was negotiated by Josh Braun and Kevin Iwashina of Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers with Tom Quinn and Eamonn Bowles from Magnolia Pictures. The filmmakers legal representative in the negotiation was Lance Rosen, at Rosen Lewis, PLLC.

Humpday stars Mark Duplass (The Puffy Chair), Josh Leonard (The Blair Witch Project) and newcomer Alycia Delmore in a bromantic comedy about male bonding taken to the extreme. The film is co-produced by Jennifer Maas and Steven Schardt.

When Andrew (Leonard) unexpectedly shows up on Ben's (Duplass) doorstep late one night, the two old college friends immediately fall into their old dynamic of heterosexual one-upmanship. To save Ben from domestication, Andrew invites Ben to a party at a sex-positive commune. Everyone there plans on making erotic art films for the local amateur porn festival and Andrew wants in. They run out of booze and ideas, save for one: Andrew should have sex with Ben, on camera. It's not gay; it's beyond gay. It's not porn; it's an art project. The next day, they find themselves unable to back down from the dare. And there's nothing standing in their way - except Ben's wife Anna (Delmore), heterosexuality, and certain mechanical questions.

Humpday is the third feature from Seattle filmmaker Lynn Shelton. Her first film, We Go Way Back, premiered at SLAMDANCE 2006 where it picked up the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Award for Best Cinematography. Her second feature film, My Effortless Brilliance, premiered at SXSW 2008 before being picked up for distribution by IFC Films and earning Lynn a nomination for the 2009 Independent Spirit "Someone to Watch" award. The 2009 Indepedent Spirit Award winners will be announced at a ceremony on Saturday, February 21st in Los Angeles.

Lynn Shelton said "On behalf of the entire cast and crew of Humpday, we are thrilled to be distributing this film via Magnolia. They are among the best in the business at releasing specialty films and we look forward to a successful collaboration. Sundance has been an incredible launching pad for Humpday and we can't wait for theatrical audiences around the world to have the opportunity to see it."

Said Eamonn Bowles, President of Magnolia Pictures, "We're incredibly excited to be acquiring humpday. Lynn Shelton is an incredible, truly original talent and has performed an amazing sleight of hand with her cast, delivering a hugely funny, fantastically human film and we're thrilled to hopefully help get it over the hump."