SPHE Press Release: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Blu-ray)

The Comedy Classic Debuts on Blu-ray^™ with UltraViolet^™ March 6^th

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL

Loaded with Over 30 Minutes of

New Blu-ray Exclusive Special Features

Second Screen Functionality and Rebate Offer for the Interactive iPad App “The Holy Book of Days,” Launching on the Apple App Store

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (January 23, 2012) – From the fertile minds of the 20th Century’s most brilliant and outrageous comedy troupe comes their most highly regarded comedy classic - Monty Python and the Holy Grail - debuting on Blu-ray^™ with UltraViolet^™ March 6^th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Their second feature film stars Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin as we follow King Arthur and his knights in their search for the Holy Grail. Encounter the Black Knight, the Killer Rabbit, The Knights Who Say ‘Ni’! and the Black Beast of Aaaargh! The Blu-ray set is brimming with coconuts, shrubberies and swallows (African or European), OOPS, we mean loads of bonus materials, including over thirty minutes of new Blu-ray exclusive special features. The Blu-ray will also feature UltraViolet! With UltraViolet, owners of the Blu-ray will be able to add Monty Python and the Holy Grail to their free Digital Rights Library, enabling them to instantly stream or download the film. This medieval madness will be available on Blu-ray for $19.99 SRP.

Also debuting on March 6 is the first Monty Python interactive iPad app.   “The Holy Book of Days” is a rich companion to the film, letting fans explore each of the 28 days of the filming of the movie through outtakes, diaries, audio recordings, scripts, and scores of stills. New illustrations, animations, and the story of the filming in the Pythons’ own words make each day of the Holy Grail come alive. The app offers a second screen experience too, letting users control and navigate the Blu-ray™ from the iPad. “The Holy Book of Days” will be available for $4.99 in the App Store. For a limited time, Sony is offering a $5 mail-in rebate when consumers purchase both the Blu-ray and iPad app.

Blu-ray Exclusive:

§  The Film re-mastered to high definition standards never before seen

§  The Holy Book of Days Second Screen Experience

§  Lost Animations with introduction by Terry Gilliam

§  Outtakes & Extended Scenes with introduction by Terry Jones

Blu-ray Features:

§  Scintillating commentaries by Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones and even more revealing commentaries by John Cleese, Eric Idle & Michael Palin

§  Quest for the Holy Grail Locations with Michael Palin & Terry Jones

§  Lego Knights: The Knights of the Round Table in Lego

§  Special Japanese Version

§  How To Use Your Coconuts (an educational film)

§  BBC Film Night on location

§  Three Songs to sing-along

§  Cast Directory Photo Gallery

Monty Python and the Holy Grail has a running time of 92 minutes and is rated PG.

Artwork and digital clips are available for download at www.sphepublicity.com.

Visit Sony Home Entertainment on the Web at www.SonyPictures.com.

Now available for preorder for an unbelievable price of $12.99

There will be a new press release forthcoming as we understand the

specs in this announcement are not complete and there will be

additional changes made.

Updated with official Press Release information

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MELCHER MEDIA RELEASES NEW iPAD APP
“MONTY PYTHON: THE HOLY BOOK OF DAYS”

CREATED TOGETHER WITH MONTY PYTHON

App re-creates the 28 days of location shooting of 
the landmark film Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Debuts on Blu-ray^™ with UltraViolet^™ March 6^th

NEW YORK, NY (March 2, 2012)—Melcher Media—the creators of the bestselling app “Al Gore – Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis” (winner of a 2011 Apple Design Award)—announce the release of a brand new iPad app: “Monty Python: The Holy Book of Days” in conjunction with the debut of the film on Blu-ray™ with UltraViolet™ from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Hitting the App Store on March 6^th, “Monty Python: The Holy Book of Days” fully submerges Python fans in the world of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Melcher created this app together with John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin of Monty Python to give a behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the troupe’s second feature film.

In the interactively interactive “Monty Python: The Holy Book of Days,” the 20th Century’s most brilliant and outrageous comedy troupe takes us along on their foolhardy quest to make an epic film in just 28 days (coconuts not included).

In order to re-create authentically the shooting of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Pythons have gone back to their vaults and pulled out a treasure trove of never-before-seen (or heard) outtakes, rehearsals, raw audio recordings, songs, sound effects, scripts, dozens of stills, and much, much more. New illustrations, animations, and the story of the filming in the Pythons’ own words make each of the film’s production days come alive.

Every page of “Monty Python: The Holy Book of Days” is packed with Python history, from Michael Palin’s day-by-day diary of the filming, to Terry Gilliam’s storyboards, to the original continuity sheets covering every shot, to 360° views of actual props and costumes from the movie. It’s an unprecedented and a totally new look at Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Also debuting on March 6^th is the troupe’s most highly regarded comedy classic—Monty Python and the Holy Grail—for the first time on Blu-ray™ with UltraViolet™ from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray features new exclusive bonus material, extended scenes, commentary, photo galleries, and songs.

“Monty Python: The Holy Book of Days” provides a rich Second Screen companion to the Blu-ray. With your Blu-ray player synced via your WiFi network, your iPad becomes your remote control and jump to the exact scenes in the movie that you are browsing in the app. It’s an entirely new way of watching the film. For a limited time, Sony is offering a $5 mail-in rebate when consumers purchase both the Blu-ray and iPad app.

“Monty Python: The Holy Book of Days” is crammed with over a gigabyte of media, including:

§  More than 70 minutes of never-before-seen video, including outtakes and visits to filming locations

§  Interactive 360° props and costumes

§  More than an hour of audio, featuring rehearsals, songs, sound effects and your favorite quotes from the film

§  An interactive map

§  Brand new original animations and illustrations

§  Never-before-seen stills

§  An introduction by John Cleese

§  The screenplay

§  Continuity sheets

§  Michael Palin’s diaries

§  And more medieval madness!

Early buzz for “Monty Python: The Holy Book of Days”

“How do I get out of this thing so I can check my emails?”—John Cleese

“Will it sync up with my VHS copy?”—Terry Gilliam

“Michael is out of the office but will be back on the 10th April.”—Michael Palin 

“Wow! It’s fantastic! It’s extraordinary!”—Eric Idle 

“I can’t see a thing without my glasses.”—Terry Jones 

“What’s an iPad?”—Graham Chapman 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail has a running time of 92 minutes and is rated PG.

About Melcher Media:

Melcher Media is an industry-leading full-service editorial and production firm with a team of award-winning editors, publishers, and art and production directors who find inventive ways to connect big ideas with even bigger audiences. By creating stylish, market-savvy books and apps that break conventions, broaden impact, and attract new audiences, Melcher Media artfully defies the high-culture/low-culture divide to mix sophistication with popular accessibility. Their work includes more than 125 books with some 12.5 million copies in print. Melcher Media created the the iPad app “Al Gore – Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis” which won the 2011 Apple Design Award and was the top grossing iPad app in the books genre for more than five consecutive weeks last year. Other apps that Melcher has in production now include the Autodesk® Imagine, Design, Create App and the world’s first interactive multimedia Haggadah which will be released in time for Passover. Visitwww.melcher.com for more information.

About Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation.  SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; worldwide television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 142 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at www.sonypictures.com.