Culver City, Calif. (November 20 2008) – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases the cult fantasy film MirrorMask on high definition Blu-ray Disc on November 18, 2008 for the SRP of $28.95. From the fantastical imaginations of Neil Gaiman (Beowulf, Stardust), Dave McKean (N[eon]) and The Jim Henson Company (The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth) comes the surrealist fairytale MirrorMask. This is a story of Helena (Stephanie Leonidas – “Beneath the Skin,” “Dracula”), a 15 year-old budding artist and circus performer who is struggling to find comfort amidst her mother’s illness. Her inventive mind takes her on a dreamlike adventure where she must rescue a world thrown out of balance. MirrorMask is a spectacle, a fantasy and a Dadaist examination of the human condition.
MirrorMask synopsis
Helena is a young teen filled with angst and rage who has had an unusual upbringing – she lives in a circus owned and run by her parents (Rob Brydon, Gina McKee). Ironically, the place where other children threaten to run away to is the one she wishes to run away from. One night before a performance, Helena and her mother get into an argument and she wishes her mother dead. That very evening, in an unfortunate twist of fate, her mother is rushed to the hospital with an unknown illness. Helena’s guilt for what she said is palpable and this young woman retreats into her own head to deal with her sadness. One night she awakens to the sounds of a fiddler and a masked juggler named Valentine (Jason Barry). She goes outside to explore and finds a couple of bizarre circus performers. She reaches out to the duo, but before any real connections can be made a destructive shadow washes over the fiddler and turns him into ash! Now begin the bizarre twists and turns. Helena and Valentine narrowly escape the dark shadow by jumping through a door into the Dark Lands. It is here that Helena learns that the World of Light is dying, slowly being consumed by the World of Shadows because the balance between the two lands has been upset. The only way the balance can be restored is through the MirrorMask. Helena sets out on a quest with the skittish Valentine to find the mask and restore order to the kingdom. Throughout their journey they encounter monkey birds, dangerous riddle-loving sphinxes, giants and hypnotic jack-in-the-boxes.
MirrorMask is from a screenplay by Neil Gaiman (Stardust, Beowulf) and directed by Dave McKean (N[eon]); executive produced by Martin G. Baker (The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz), Lisa Henson (Good Boy!; Five Children and It), and Michael Polis and produced by Simon Moorhead; and stars Stephanie Leonidas (“Beneath the Skin,” “Dracula”), Jason Barry (Honor, The Still Life), Rob Brydon (“Little Britain,” “Gavin & Stacey”) and Gina McKee (And When Did You Last See Your Father).
MirrorMask Rated PG for some mild thematic elements and scary images and has a run time of 101 min. Artwork is available at www.SPHEPublicity.com. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com
MirrorMask
BD Catalog #: 27385
BD UPC Code: 043396273856
BD SRP:$28.95
About Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. SPHE is a division of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPHE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital contest creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.
Contacts:
Jason Allen Kristin Farrell Andressa Rogers
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Cohn & Wolfe Cohn & Wolfe
Jason_allen@spe.sony.com (310) 526-553 (310) 526-5598
kristin.farrell@cohnwolfe.com andressa.rogers@cohnwolfe.com
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The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include the Emmy® nominated “Sid the Science Kid,” “Dinosaur Train,” “Wilson & Ditch: Digging America” and “Pajanimals.” Features include “The Dark Crystal,” “Labyrinth,” “MirrorMask,” and “Unstable Fables” and television productions include “Fraggle Rock” and the sci-fi cult series “Farscape.”
With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand has recently launched the national tour of “Stuffed and Unstrung,” a live puppet improvisational show named one of the top 10 “Best Stage Shows of 2010” by Entertainment Weekly.
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