SPHE Press Release: Sugar (DVD/Blu-ray)

"Immensely satisfying!  Sugar lights up the landscape of film."

–        Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

 

“A film of rare intelligence, beauty and compassion.”

-          Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

 

“It’s very real and has a really good message”

-          Pedro Martinez, MLB All-Star and 3-time Cy Young Award Winner

 

“A great film!”

-  Robinson Cano, New York Yankees All-Star 2^nd Baseman

 

From Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, the Writer/Director Team of Half Nelson

 

2009 Independent Spirit Award® Nominee and

2008 Grand Jury Prize Nominee at Sundance Film Festival

 

Introducing Algenis Perez Soto as…

Sugar

Available on DVD and Blu-ray™ September 1^st

 

Bonus Features Include Deleted Scenes and Interviews with 
Algenis Perez Soto, David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez and Sammy Sosa

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (July 1, 2009) – Sugar, the story of a young Dominican Republic baseball player’s journey of self-discovery as he attempts to join the major leagues, arrives on Blu-ray™ and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on September 1st. Written and directed by Ryan Fleck (TV’s “In Treatment” and Half Nelson) and Anna Boden (Half Nelson), the Sony Pictures Classics film premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival where it was a nominee for the 2008 Grand Jury Prize. Fleck and Boden also received a 2009 Independent Spirit Award® nomination for their screenplay.

 

The Sugar bonus features include deleted scenes and three all-new featuettes:  Play Béisbol! The Dominican Dream (MLB player interviews including David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez and Sammy Sosa); Making Sugar: Run the Bases and Casting Sugar, and interview with Algenis Perez Soto.

“Sugar” will be available on DVD with a PG-13 rating for $28.96 SRP, while the Unrated 
Blu-ray High-Def version will sell for $39.95 SRP.

 

Synopsis:

Sugar is a coming-of-age tale that follows Miguel Santos, a.k.a. “Azucar” (Sugar), a pitcher from the Dominican Republic town of San Pedro de Macoris, who grew up poor but talented, always believing baseball was his ticket out of poverty.  Playing professionally at the Kansas City Knights baseball academy, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States’ minor league system.  Miguel travels to a small town in Iowa corn country, where he and other Latin American teammates are the only Spanish-speaking people and have trouble learning the new language and culture. Despite the welcoming efforts of his host family, Miguel is faced with an isolation he never before experienced. When his performance on the mound falters, he begins examining more closely the world around him, his place within it, and ultimately questions his life’s singular ambition.

 

Blu-ray™ & DVD Special Features Include:

• Making Sugar: Run the Bases
• Play Béisbol! The Dominican Dream including interviews with MLB players David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez and Sammy Sosa
• Casting Sugar: Interview with Algenis Perez Soto
• Deleted Scenes
• Audio: Spanish (some English)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French

 

The Blu-ray Disc™ version of Sugar is BD-Live™ enabled, allowing users to get connected and go beyond the disc via an Internet-connected Blu-ray player. Download content, give feedback through an exclusive survey, and register for rewards.

 

Get rewarded for registering your Sony Blu-ray discs! The Sony Pictures Blu-ray Club rewards consumers in the U.S. for purchasing and registering BD-Live enabled Sony Blu-ray movies. By accumulating points, members are then able to redeem those points for cool Sony products. Visit www.sonyrewards.com/bluray for more details.

 

Sugar has a run time of approximately 114 minutes and is rated x for language and brief sexuality. Artwork is and clips are available for downloading at www.SPHEPUBLICITY.COM. Visit Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.

 

DVD Single-Disc

DVD Catalog # 30947

UPC Code: 0-43396-30947-0

Order Date: 7/30/09

SRP: $28.96

Blu-ray™ High-Def Disc

DVD Catalog # 32381

UPC Code: 0-43396-32381-0

Order Date: 7/30/09

SRP: $39.95