Lionsgate announces street date for 'The Spirit' on Blu-ray, DVD: April 14, 2009

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We just received the following press release from Lionsgate.

“The Spirit”
Street Date: 4/14/09
Order Date: 3/18/09
Blu-ray SRP: $39.99
2-Disc DVD Special Edition: $34.98
DVD SRP: $29.95

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
From Frank Miller, the creator of 300 and Sin City comes the re-awakening of a hero unlike any other – The Spirit. Adapted from the legendary comic book series created by Comic Book Hall of Famer Will Eisner, The Spirit fuses masterful storytelling with brilliant CGI graphics to sweep viewers into a stylized world of action, adventure, danger and romance. It is the story of a former rookie cop who returns mysteriously from the dead as the Spirit (Gabriel Macht) to fight crime from the shadows of Central City. His arch-enemy, The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), has a different mission: he’s going to wipe out Spirit’s beloved city as he pursues his own bid for immortality. The Spirit tracks this cold-hearted killer from Central City’s rundown warehouses, to the damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront … all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill our masked crusader.

Surrounding him at every turn are Ellen Dolan (Sarah Paulson), the whip-smart girl-next-door; Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), a calculating and driven vixen; Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega), a murderous French nightclub dancer; Lorelei (Jaime King), an angel of Death; and Morgenstern (Stana Katic), a sexy young cop. Then of course, there’s Sand Saref (Eva Mendes), the jewel thief with dangerous curves. She’s the love of his life turned bad. Will he save her or will she kill him? In the vein of Batman Begins and Sin City, The Spirit takes us on a sinister, gut-wrenching ride with a hero who is born, murdered and born again.

The Spirit Blu-ray Disc and 2-disc Special Edition DVD contain thrilling bonus materials including multiple featurettes, an alternate storyboard ending with cast voiceovers and feature film audio commentary by the screenwriter/director and producer. They both also feature a standard definition digital copy of the film. The Blu-ray Disc will contain an additional featurette not found on the DVD. The Spirit Blu-ray also marks the debut of the first LIONSGATE LIVE™ enabled title for the studio. LIONSGATE LIVE™ is a unique BD Live based menu system that delivers updateable exclusive content such as commentaries, games, ringtones, wallpapers, trailers and much more via a series of on-screen notifications and widgets.

In addition, LIONSGATE LIVE™ will continually notify users to any new features across all Lionsgate BD Live titles. LIONSGATE LIVE™ will be available on select theatrical titles throughout 2009. The Blu-ray Disc also features Molog, which allows users to insert and animate shapes, text, audio and other graphics right into the film as well as post “blogs” about the film to share with other registered MOLOG™ users. The standard one-disc DVD of The Spirit will include a Widescreen and Full Screen version of the film and the theatrical trailer.

*BLU-RAY DISC SPECIAL FEATURES

DISC ONE:
• “Green World” featurette – a look at the technical wizardry behind the making of the film
• “Miller on Miller” featurette – a look at the artistry of Frank Miller
• “History Repeats” featurette – an in-depth look at the origin of The Spirit as well as Will Eisner’s influence
and vision in the comic book world
• Alternate storyboard ending with voiceovers by Samuel L. Jackson and Gabriel Macht
• Audio commentary by Frank Miller and Deborah Del Prete
• MoLog™ - Movie Blog network connected community and interactive movie blog tool set
• LIONSGATE LIVE™ enabled
• Theatrical trailer
*Special features subject to change

DISC TWO:
• Standard Definition Digital Copy of the feature film

*2-DISC SPECIAL EDITION DVD FEATURES

DISC ONE:
• “Green World” featurette – a look at the technical wizardry behind the making of the film
• “Miller on Miller” featurette – a look at the artistry of Frank Miller
• Alternate storyboard ending with voiceovers by Samuel L. Jackson and Gabriel Macht
• Audio commentary by Frank Miller and Deborah Del Prete
• Theatrical trailer
*Special features subject to change

DISC TWO:
• Digital Copy of the feature film

CAST
• Gabriel Macht: The Good Shepherd, The Recruit, Behind Enemy Lines, Because I Said So
• Eva Mendes: The Women, Ghost Rider, Stuck on You, Hitch, Out of Time, Training Day
• Sarah Paulson: TV’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” Down with Love, HBO’s “Deadwood”
• Dan Lauria: Independence Day, Big Momma’s House 2, “The Wonder Years,” Stakeout
• Paz Vega: Spanglish, Sex and Lucia, Carmen, 10 Items or Less
• Jaime King: My Bloody Valentine 3-D, Sin City, Pearl Harbor, White Chicks, Two for the Money
• Scarlett Johansson: The Other Boleyn Girl, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, He’s Just Not That Into You, Match Point
• Samuel L. Jackson: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Iron Man, Lakeview Terrace, Pulp Fiction

PROGRAM INFORMATION
Year of Production: 2008
Title Copyright: © 2008 Spirit Films, LLC. All Rights Reserved. THE SPIRIT trademark is owned by Will Eisner Studios, Inc. and registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Type: Theatrical Release
Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of stylized violence and action, some sexual content and brief nudity
Genre: Action/Drama/Thriller
Closed Captioned: English Closed Captioned
Subtitles: English and Spanish
Format: Special Edition DVD: 16x9 Widescreen (2.35); Blu-Ray: 1080P High Definition Widescreen
DVD: 16x9 Widescreen (2.35) and 4.3 Full Screen (1.33)
Feature Running Time: 108 minutes
Blu-ray Audio Status: 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio and French 5.1 Dolby Digital
DVD Audio Status: 2-Disc Special Edition: 5.1 Dolby Digital EX; Standard: 5.1 Dolby Digital