Lionsgate reports that the Toronto/UK-lensed feature Kick-Ass has debuted at number one on DVD sales charts. The Blu-ray combo pack of the film (three discs- including Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy), also debuted at number one.In addition, the release came out of its first weekend as the top movie download on the iTunes store, Zune and Sony/Playstation and achieved the biggest digital week performance ever by a Lionsgate title.Kick-Ass, which grossed nearly $50 million in North America and $100 million worldwide during its theatrical run, also achieved the highest box office-to-DVD conversion rate for all major DVD releases this quarter, helping Lionsgate to maintain industry leadership in box office-to-DVD conversion."Kick-Ass is truly one of the most unique, entertaining, and action-packed movies of the year," said Ron Schwartz, Lionsgate General Manager and Executive Vice President. "With its strong word-of-mouth, we felt confident that it would have a powerful home entertainment debut and are particularly pleased with the success of the Blu-ray combo pack, which accounted for 42% of week one sell-through revenue."Co-written and directed by Matthew Vaughn, Kick-Ass stars Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) and Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes), along with Chloe Grace Moretz (Let Me In) and ...

Synthetic Cinema International and MVD Visual report that the DVD release of Assault of the Sasquatch will be available in North America, October 19, 2010."...When a merciless bear poacher is caught and arrested deep in the woods of a state park, he and his truck are taken to a neglected precinct in the heart of a dying city. Unbeknownst to the authorities, the impounded truck holds a deadly cargo in the form of the legendary 'Sasquatch'. Now, stuck in an unfamiliar world, the creature will let nothing and no one stop it from coming face-to-face with the unscrupulous man who ruthlessly ripped it from its environment..."Main cast includes Kevin Shea, Greg Nutcher, Sarah Ahearn, Cristina Santiago, Jason Criscoulo, Andrea Saenz, Alex Exum, Cuyle Carvin and "Don & Murph".

Filmmaker Tony Palmer and MVD Visual report that the DVD release of Canadian singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen's Bird On A Wire 1972 concert film, will be August 31."...Originally made in 1972 and directed by celebrated British filmmaker Tony Palmer, 'Bird On A Wire' follows Cohen on his 1972 European tour and contains 17 classic performances, 4 poems and tour footage. After massive re-editing, although not by Palmer, it was released in 1974, had a very limited run and then 'disappeared'. Like many films from the era it was thought that the original version had been lost, but in 2009, 294 rolls of film were discovered containing much of the original rushes and soundtrack of the 1972 film. Palmer was able to restore much of this footage and it is now available on DVD for the first time...""When, in 2009, 294 cans of film were discovered in a warehouse in Hollywood, in rusted up cans that sometimes had to be hammered open, and these cans were shipped to me by, of all people, Frank Zappa's manager, I believed at first that nothing could be salvaged," said Palmer."The cans did not contain the negative; some of the prints were in black ...

Cactus - Live, Loud & Proud will be released on DVD August 24 from MVD Visual, featuring "Cactus" performance footage recorded in various cities throughout the band's 2006/07 tour.This incarnation of the band sees original members Carmine Appice, Tim Bogert and Jim McCarty reunited and joined by former Savoy Brown frontman Jimmy Kunes on vocals.The DVD also contains bonus interviews with the band, a music video for "The Groover" and testimonials from Vinnie Moore ('UFO'), Shawn Drover ('Megadeth'), Ty Tabor ('Kings X'), Uli Jon Roth ('Scorpions'), Chad Smith ('Red Hot Chilli Peppers') and a whole lot more.Tracks include "Let Me Swim", "Long Tall Sally", "One Way Or Another", "Cactus Music", "Brother Bill", "Muscle and Soul", "Oleo" (Bass solo), "Evil" (Drum solo), "The Groover", "Part of the Game", "Rock and Roll Children", "Big Mama Boogie" and "Parchman Farm".

The new "Delerium" DVD Epiphany will be released August 24 from MVD Visual."...the Canadian band 'Delerium' has enchanted concert audiences worldwide with its unique blend of Electropop, Sacred and World Music, adorned with shimmering female vocals. Filmed in October 2008 at Washington D.C.'s award-winning Nightclub 9:30, with additional footage from Atlanta, West Palm Beach and Montreal, "Epiphany" captures the ethereal essence of a Delerium performance realized as 'paintings in motion'..."Produced and directed by Nasty Byte, the DVD also contains the bonus short film Delerius, a behind-the-scenes romp with the band, including interviews and fan footage.Tracks include "Angelicus", "Love", "After All", "Terra Firma", "Innocente", "Self-Saboteur", "The Way You Want It To Be", "Twilight", "Flowers Become Screens", "Silence", "Incantation" and "Forgotten Worlds".

Johnny Winter "Live Through the '80s will be released in North America, August 24, from MVD Visual .The new DVD includes a collection of official archival performance footage from around the world compiled from the original masters, featuring 18 performances from various locations includingas MTV Rock Influences '84 "Guitar Greats", Toronto's Massey Hall (Toronto '83), Roskilde DRTV (Roskilde, Denmark '84), New Hampshire ('84), Sonet Studio (Bromma, Sweden '87), Piazza Duomo (Pistoia, Italy '88), and a whole lot more.Intermixed with the live content is interview footage showcasing the 'definitive' document of Winter's career throughout the 1980's."...The program kicks off in grand style with four performances culled from Johnny's long-sought-after 1983 appearance at Canada's Massey Hall. Leading his high-energy trio -- Jon Paris (bass, harmonica) and Bobby T. Torello (drums) -- with laser-like focus and fire-breathing intensity, the DVD opens with a blistering rendition of the Sonny Boy Williamson blues classic, "Unseen Eye.""Next up is Johnny's original mid-tempo ballad, "Stranger," for which he plays a solo that is nothing short of a textbook of his virtuoso capabilities: with blazing speed and razor-sharp execution, Johnny's ideas flow from one to the next with his one-of-a-kind unrelenting drive and inspired, passionate execution."The ...

Take a look at the new artwork supporting the Canadian documentary feature Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel, directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Brigitte Berman."...There's no arguing that few magazines have had as great an impact on American culture as 'Playboy', which helped launch several major salvos in the sexual revolution and broke down barriers about what was acceptable to show and say in print."But while the magazine's founder and publisher Hugh Hefner has a well deserved reputation as a free speech advocate and a man who embraces the good life in every way he can, the person behind the carefully cultivated public image remains a mystery to many."Filmmaker Brigitte Berman presents an in-depth portrait of a man who has quietly promoted many causes other than wine, women and song in the documentary 'Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel'. In addition to chronicling the rise of his publishing empire, the film explores how he's used his success to promote causes he believes in, such as racial equality, reproductive freedom, First Amendment causes, fighting the anti-Communist blacklist and equality for women.Created with Hefner's participation and featuring interviews with Mike Wallace, Jesse Jackson, George Lucas, Jim Brown, Pete Seeger, Dick Gregory and ...

Supernatural , the Vancouver-lensed CW dramatic episodic series, will be cross-platformed into a Warners 'anime' cartoon series from MadHouse (Death Note).The series will reportedly cover the first two seasons of the live-action Supernatural series, including new stories, recapping the origins of the 'Winchester' brothersÂ’ childhood.22 episodes will be produced, shipping January 2011, containing episodes 1 and 2. The second volume is scheduled for February, including episodes 3-12. Volume 3, containing episodes 13-22, will ship April 6.The anime project is being led by Supernatural creator Eric Kripke with Madhouse co-founder Masao Maruyama executive producing. Naoya Takayama (Night Head) will supervise the scripts for the new series, with characters designed by Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun) .

Wild Eye Releasing and MVD Visual will release GOLD: Before Woodstock. Beyond Reality on DVD, July 27, featuring a soundtrack of unreleased music from the MC5."...In 1968, filmmaker Bob Levis led a rag-tag band of dreamers, drop outs and drug-happy darlings into the wilderness to make a movie and emerged a month later with 'GOLD'", a bizarre and beautiful journey into the mind and madness of the late 1960s - one overflowing with fantasies of revolution, recreation and raunchy free love."At once a western, a comedy, a 'nudie', a drama and a musical - 'Gold' is a profound potpourri made in the spirit of shaking down square society, while systematically shattering every movie rule in the process. But then the film vanished, lost like the generation from which it came, until now..."GOLD stars improvisational comedian Del Close (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) and Garry Goodrow (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice).In the feature Pirate Radio, the character played by actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman is based on Ronan O'Rahilly ('Radio Caroline'), the producer of GOLD.

MVD Visual reports that the new documentary from Highway 61 Entertainment, Paul McCartney Really Is Dead, The Last Testament of George Harrison , will be released on DVD in North America September 1, 2010.Accoding to director Joel Gilbert:"...In the summer of 2005, a package arrived at the Hollywood offices of Highway 61 Entertainment from London with no return address. Inside were two mini-cassette audio tapes dated December 30, 1999 and labeled 'THE LAST TESTAMENT OF GEORGE HARRISON'. A voice identical to Harrison tells a shocking story: Paul McCartney was killed in a car crash in November of 1966 and replaced with a double! British intelligence, MI5, had forced the Beatles to cover up McCartney's death to prevent mass suicides of Beatle fans. However, the remaining Beatles tried to signal fans with clues on album covers and in songs."...Until now, the "Paul is Dead" mystery that exploded worldwide in 1969 was considered a hoax. However, in this film, George Harrison reveals a secret Beatles history, chronicling McCartney's fatal accident, the cover up, dozens of unknown clues, and a dangerous cat and mouse game with 'Maxwell', the Beatles' MI5 handler, as John Lennon became increasingly reckless with ...