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SYFY DIGITAL ACQUIRES RIESE – ACCLAIMED, STREAMY AWARD-WINNING 10-PART FANTASY-ADVENTURE WEB SERIES FOR FALL 2010

Season One and The Never-Before-Seen Season Two To Be Streamed on Syfy Digital With Eye Towards Development for Broadcast

New York, New York – April 8, 2010 – Syfy remains on the forefront of cutting edge fantasy based digital entertainment with the acquisition of the highly acclaimed web series, Riese, it was announced today by Craig Engler, SVP and GM of Syfy Digital. Syfy Digital has acquired the rights to the entire 10-part series – which is distributed by Fireworks International, the television and digital distribution arm of ContentFilm plc – with an eye towards development for a broadcast air. Riese consists of two five-part episode seasons, with season two premiering fully for the first time exclusively on Syfy.com. Season one and two are both slated for a digital launch in the fall 2010.

“Riese is a fantastic web series with a lot of room to grow, and we’re excited to work with the very talented cast and crew to help them take the show to the next level, backed by the full promotional efforts that Syfy can bring to the table,” said Engler. “At the same time we’ll be working hand-in-hand with our TV development team to see if Riese has the potential to make the jump to TV, just like our hit show Sanctuary did.”

Riese recently scooped the Streamy Award for ‘Best Cinematography in a Web Series’ with a further three nominations for Best Sound Design, Best Foreign Series and Art Direction. The digital series starring Christine Chatelain (Sanctuary, Fringe), Sharon Taylor (Smallville, Eureka), Ben Cotton (Stargate Atlantis, Haper’s Island), and Patrick Gilmore (Fringe, Stargate Universe), was shot in Vancouver, BC, and is created by Ryan Copple and Kaleena Kiff and produced by Galen Fletcher and Nicholas Humphries.

Jonathan Ford, Executive Vice-President, Digital Acquisitions and Distribution at Fireworks International added, “Syfy is highly regarded in the digital community with a fantastic background in identifying and securing the best in new multiplatform content. We are delighted to announce this significant deal for the important US market and look forward to working with the Syfy team on the web series as well as developing Riese for television.”

Riese is a fantasy-adventure based web series that chronicles a mysterious wanderer named Riese, (portrayed by Chatelain). A life-on-the-run from a world with a dim future, Riese and her trusted wolf companion, Fenrir flee their dying land of Eleysia in search of freedom as they are hunted by assassins of ‘The Sect,’ a terrifying religious entity. As she tries to piece together her mysterious past, Riese will take on a life and death journey with the balance and the fate of the world lying in the palm of her hands.

About Fireworks International

Fireworks International is Content Film’s international television and digital distribution division with over 3,000 hours of high-quality and commercially appealing programming including an extensive slate of major drama series, non-fiction entertainment, kids live action comedy and drama series, TV movies, mini-series and special event programming. Recent additions include comedic drama series, REPUBLIC OF DOYLE, primetime drama series, THE BORDER and heart-warming family drama series, HEARTLAND; non-fiction primetime documentary specials HUNTING THE LOST SYMBOL and I KNOW WHAT I SAW; U.S. tween comedy THE ASSISTANTS; high definition multi-platform thriller series VALEMONT, GIRL NUMBER 9 and Sci-Fi thriller, RIESE; new children’s programmes HALF MOON INVESTIGATIONS, FAMILY BIZ as well as the classic anime series, ROBOTECH; plus over 200 U.S. network mini-series and TV movies; and specials including the Annual U.S. PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS show. This new product is combined with the large and valuable Fireworks library catalogue, which is complemented by a raft of formidable television shows including Gene Roddenberry’s ANDROMEDA, MUTANT X and RELIC HUNTER.

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 95 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. Syfy. Imagine greater.

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This all wouldn’t be possible without your support. Thank you so much for everything, as this is all thanks to you. We’ll keep you updated when we hear more news! And, let us know what you think on our forum!

-Ryan

-Best Foreign Web Series
-Best Cinematography (Christopher Charles Kempinski)
-Best Art Direction (Chad Krowchuk)
-Best Sound Design (Bill Mellow & Kevin Belen)

Congratulations to every one on Team Riese, as well as all the other nominees. Looking forward to seeing you all in LA!

A full list of nominees can be found here.

-Ryan

As the new year rolls around, we’ve had a lot of developments with the show that we’ve been itching to tell you about. First of all, as you’ve already seen, Chapter 2’s episodes are new and improved, with higher production values, exciting story and some really amazing cast additions. Also, we’re nearly finished with the development of our iPhone game tie-in.  Without giving too many details away, I think you’ll all be really excited.

We also recently partnered with Fireworks, a digital distribution branch of ContentFilm, based out of the UK. They’re largely responsible for the transition of the webseries Valemont from internet to television, and they handle a number of many other well-known webseries as well.

What does this mean for Riese? It opens up a number of opportunities. For one, it increases the chances that we can keep making this show and letting you become further involved in the world of Riese. Additionally, it boosts the possibility of us being able to distribute the series on other platforms (episode downloads, DVDs, and television).

Now, for the bad news. While Fireworks is negotiating deals on our behalf, we’ve had to remove our episodes from online streaming. We’re not happy about it by any means – we want all of our fans to enjoy Riese whenever they want – but we also understand that it’s a necessary move in order to keep a project like Riese afloat. The few of us that are responsible for producing Riese on a day-to-day basis are realistic that we cannot sustain it without the support of Fireworks and our viewers.

We hope to have everything back up as soon as possible, and we’ll keep everyone posted as we move forward. I know a lot of people will be bummed out, but just know that this slight delay could mean a whole new future for Riese. We don’t want to disappoint you all, but I know you’d be even more disappointed if we left the rest of this epic tale untold.

Thanks for being a part of something that’s been incredibly dear to us, and for helping to turn it into something greater than we could have ever imagined. We hope to have your continued support during this brief hiatus. In the meantime, look for bonus behind-the-scenes videos from our newest episodes.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at ryan (at) riesetheseries(dot)com.

Sincerely,

Ryan Copple & Kaleena Kiff
Creators of Riese

To nominate Riese, visit the Public Submission Area. It’s very simple, and you can nominate it as many times you like, in a number of categories. There are SERIES nominations and INDIVIDUAL nominations. Relevant SERIES categories are:

Best Drama Web Series
Best New Web Series
Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series
Best Foreign Web Series (We’re Canadian, eh!)

Relevant INDIVIDUAL categories are:

Best Director for a Dramatic Web Series – Kaleena Kiff
Best Writer for a Dramatic Web Series – Ryan Copple, Miguel Valdez Lopez, Kaleena Kiff
Best Male Actor in a Dramatic Web Series – Ben Cotton, Patrick Gilmore
Best Female Actor in a Dramatic Web Series – Christine Chatelain, Sharon Taylor
Best Editing in a Web Series – Matthew Lyons
Best Cinematography in a Web Series – Christopher Charles Kempinski
Best Art Direction in a Web Series – Chad Krowchuk
Best Sound Design in a Web Series – Kevin Belen, Bill Mellow
Best Visual Effects in a Web Series – Adam de Bosch Kemper, Brett Keyes
Best Original Music in a Web Series – Richard Walters

Again, we greatly appreciate your support, and taking the time to do this! Thank you so much!

Allison is best known for her role as ‘Chloe Sullivan’ on Smallville. She has appeared in almost two hundred episodes as well as starring in Smallville: The Chloe Chronicles, a forerunner of web series. Allison has also appeared in many films & television series, including Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, The Ant Bully, The Nightmare Room, Opposite Sex and 7th Heaven.

Alessandro is best known for his work as ‘Felix Gaeta’ on “Battlestar Gallactica”. He is currently playing ‘Dr. Emil Hamilton’ on “Smallville”, and has appeared in numerous hit television shows. In addition to being a successful actor, Alessandro is an accomplished theatre performer and opera singer.

Emilie is best known for her work as ‘Ashley Magnus’ on the hit Sci-Fi show “Sanctuary”. She also played ‘Kaitlin Joyce’ on “J-Pod”, winning a Leo Award for Best Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series. Emilie has also had prominent roles in “Smallville”, “Blood Ties” and “Battlestar Gallactica”.

Currently seen as ‘Adam Brody’ on Stargate Universe, Kelamis has appeared in nearly 100 projects including film, television and voice work in cartoons and video games. In addition, Peter is well known for his work in stand-up comedy.

We are thrilled to announce that Ryan Robbins will be joining the cast of Riese. Ryan will appear as “RAND”, an enigmatic figure from Riese’s past, who offers clues to her future.

Ryan is best known for his role as ‘Henry Foss’ on “Sanctuary”, as well as other prominent recurring roles in “Stargate: Atlantis” and “Battlestar Gallactica”. Additionally, he plays Charles Manson in the film “Leslie, My Name is Evil, which recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

Photo courtesy of Wendy D.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with what an ARG is exactly, I suggest heading over to ARGNet, the most comprhensive news site online for all things ARG related. Coincidentally, they also did a write-up about our game. Check it out.

Also, head over to the Riese Forums and share your findings!

Only together can you hope to bring down The Sect.