GRAVITAS VENTURES AND SUBMARINE DELUXE HAVE ACQUIRED ‘GILBERT’ FOR A SEPTEMBER THEATRICAL RELEASE AND FOURTH QUARTER RELEASE ON DEMAND AND DVD
Iconic Comedian Gilbert Gottfried Profiled in Neil Berkeley’s Documentary Which Recently Debuted At The 2017 Tribeca Film FestivalNEW YORK (May 23, 2017) — Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Gilbert, the wildly funny and unexpectedly poignant portrait of the life and career of one of comedy's most iconic figures, Gilbert Gottfried. Coming off its critically acclaimed showing at the Tribeca Film Festival, they have slated it for a theatrical release in September as well as a VOD and DVD release in 4Q. Gottfried is joined throughout the film by a who’s who of comedy icons including Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Belzer, Lewis Black, Susie Essman, Arsenio Hall, Anthony Jeselnik and many more.
Legendary comedian Gilbert Gottfried has had quite the career. Rocketing to fame in the 1980s, he was thrust into the public consciousness almost immediately thanks to his brash personality, unique worldview, and off-kilter comic timing. Now, foul-mouthed and unapologetic after decades of flying solo in both his work and in his personal life, Gilbert has shockingly reinvented himself…as a family man.
Gilbert reveals an unexpected side to the iconic comedian. The film peeks behind the larger-than-life persona at a more personal story about growing up in Brooklyn and becoming a husband and father late in life. Gottfried’s singular outlook on life and his ability to bring humor to even the darkest situations has, at times, gotten him into trouble. Still he soldiers on, an expert craftsman at bringing his audience to the edge -- and sometimes pushing them over. Gilbert strips the comedic character away to reveal the man behind it,.
“With Gilbert, Neil Berkeley has given us access to a side seldom seen of this comedic icon,” stated Gravitas Founder and CEO Nolan Gallagher. “Watching Gottfried out of ‘character’ is surprisingly refreshing and relatable.”
Berkeley shared that "Gilbert is a labor of love made by a very small group of passionate people. For a film like this to find a partner like Gravitas is a real thrill and we're very excited to be working with them. Our hope has always been to make a movie that shows the world an unexpected side of Gilbert and we think Gravitas Ventures is the perfect team to help make that happen."
Gilbert is the third film from Director Neil Berkeley (Beauty Is Embarrassing, Harmontown). Berkeley produced with David Heiman, Maggie Contreras and James Andre Leche, with whom he also co-wrote. The Executive Producers are Eddie Schmidt, Clay Tweel and Bart McDonough
The deal for Gilbert was negotiated by Nolan Gallagher on behalf of Gravitas and by Josh and Ben Braun of Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers.
ABOUT GRAVITAS VENTURESGravitas Ventures is a leading all rights distributor of independent cinema. Founded in 2006, Gravitas connects independent filmmakers and producers with distribution opportunities across the globe. Working with more than 500 content partners, Gravitas Ventures has distributed thousands of films into over 100 million homes. Recent releases include Elián from Academy Award® winning Executive Producer Alex Gibney, Katie Holmes’ feature directorial debut, All We Had, Jonathan Hock’s Fastball, Colin Hanks’ All Things Must Pass, Being Evel from Academy Award winning director Daniel Junge and producer Johnny Knoxville, Backstreet Boys: Show ‘Em What You’re Made Of, and For The Love of Spock from Director Adam Nimoy.
For more information, please visit
gravitasventures.com, and sign up for the e-newsletter, follow @GravitasVOD on Twitter and @gravitasventures on Instagram.
ABOUT SUBMARINESubmarine Entertainment, based in New York City was founded in 1998 by twin brothers Dan and Josh Braun, has become one of the leading sales, distribution, and production companies for independent documentaries and feature films. Submarine has been involved in the sale and distribution of 5 Academy Award® winning documentaries — Citizenfour, 20 Feet From Stardom, The Cove, Man on Wire and Searching for Sugar man.
Titles sold by Submarine include Weiner, Life, Animated, Tickled, Mavis!, Dior & I, Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict, Muscle Shoals, Miss Sharon Jones!, The Music of Strangers:YoYo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Presenting Princess Shaw, Troublemakers: the Story of Land Art, Burden: a Film about Artist Chris Burden, Finding Vivian Maier, The Wolfpack, Meru, Yayoi Kusama: a Life in Polka Dots, 3-1/2 Minutes, Best of Enemies, City of Gold, Batkid Begins, Tangerine, Nas: Time is Illmatic, Blackfish, Danny Says, Last Man on the Moon, Houston We Have a Problem, Accidental Courtesy, Lo and Behold, Zero Days, Lovers and the Despot, Cameraperson, among many others.
Submarine includes theatrical releasing & DVD imprint, Submarine Deluxe; genre label, Torpedo Pictures; a German distribution imprint with NFP Film called NFP Submarine Doks; and Submarine 360, a museum distribution imprint, and a pan-Scandinavian imprint Non-Stop Submarine. Submarine principals also represent comic book libraries Creepy and Eerie, which are being developed across all platforms.
www.submarinedeluxe.comABOUT FUTURE YOU PICTURESFuture You Pictures is a Los Angeles based film and television production company founded in 2009 by producer/director, Neil Berkeley and executive producer, Bart McDonough. The documentary Gilbert (2017) is the company's third feature length production following the Emmy nominated Beauty Is Embarrassing (2012) and Harmontown (2014). The company is currently developing several television and film projects.
"GILBERT" -- Gilbert Gottfried Documentary Acquired By Gravitas Ventures and Submarine For September Release
