New York, NY / Los Angeles, CA / London, UK, May 14, 2018 – Abramorama and Verisimilitude announced today an agreement that will see Abramorama release the documentary film The Public Image Is Rotten in theaters around the world in 2018. The Public Image Is Rotten tells the story of music icon John Lydon and his pioneering group PiL with a level of depth and intimacy never before seen. Directed by Tabbert Fiiller, The Public Image Is Rotten features in-depth interviews with John Lydon, former and current bandmates as well as Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Ad-Rock (Beastie Boys) and Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) among others, the film is loaded with electrifying archival performance and interview footage. The film will open in the United Kingdom beginning with a screening on June 3, 2018, at the Odeon Camden Cinema and will feature a conversation with John Lydon after the screening. Additional screenings in the U.K. during June and July to be announced followed later this fall with the global roll out of the film alongside Public Image Ltd’s worldwide tour.
After the breakup of the Sex Pistols, John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten), formed Public Image Ltd (PiL) – his groundbreaking band which has lived on nearly 15 times as long as his first one. A creative originator, Lydon has kept the band alive ever since, through personnel and stylistic changes, fighting to constantly reinvent new ways of approaching music, while adhering to radical ideals of artistic integrity. John Lydon has not only redefined music, but also the true meaning of originality. With his trademark acerbic wit and unpredictable candor, Lydon offers a behind-the-scenes look at one of music’s most influential and controversial careers.
Verisimilitude’s Tyler Brodie and Hunter Gray stated: “We’re are so happy to have found the perfect home for The Public Image Is Rotten with Abramorama. Their passion and expertise in music films combined with their ability to strategically release the film globally will allow fans around the world to enjoy a never before seen look at PiL and the true John Lydon.”
Abramorama’s Chief Operating Officer Karol Martesko-Fenster and West Coast Head of Acquisitions & Business Development Evan Saxon, added, “John Lydon is one of the most iconic and articulate artists who changed the face of music forever. He started the trends, never followed them. We are honored to be releasing the film theatrically and to be the global rights management partner for The Public Image Is Rotten. We look forward to working closely with film’s production company Verisimilitude and PiL as we bring John’s story to fans around the world.”
THE PUBLIC IMAGE IS ROTTEN (2017 USA, 103 min-English) A Verisimilitude production, Directed by Tabbert Fiiller, Produced by Tyler Brodie, Hunter Gray, Phaedon Papadopoulos, Tabbert Fiiller, Executive Producers John Rambo Stevens, Cameron Brodie, Nick Shumaker, Director of Photography Yamit Shimonovitz, Editor Eric Pritchard, Music Supervision Dan Wilcox, Co-Producers Andrew Adair, Scotty Murphy, Associate Producers Andra Gordon, Kate West, Additional Cinematography Tobias Datum, Original Score Dave Wilder, Supervising Sound Editor Gabriel Reyna. An Abramorama global theatrical, digital and broadcast release.
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About Abramorama
Abramorama is the preeminent global rights management partner for music films today and is recognized for the consistent high quality of its work on award winning feature films. An innovator in the focused, personalized form of film distribution and event cinema, Abramorama provides invaluable alternatives to filmmakers and content owners. An industry leader in marketing, promotion, and global distribution, Abramorama continues to trail-blaze exciting new pathways for filmmakers to find their audience.
Over the course of more than 15 years, Abramorama has successfully distributed and marketed hundreds of films, including Ron Howard’s Grammy Award®-winning The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years; David Leland’s Concert for George; Danny Clinch and Pearl Jam’s Lets Play Two; Paul Dugdale and Myles Desenberg’s Above & Beyond Acoustic – Giving Up The Day Job; Amir Bar-Lev’s Long Strange Trip – The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead; Corbett Redford and Green Day’s Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk, John Scheinfeld’s Chasing Trane – The John Coltrane Documentary; Sam Pollard’s Two Trains Runnin’; Brett Bern’s BANG! The Bert Berns Story; Brett Morgen and National Geographic’s seminal Jane; Charles Ferguson’s Time To Choose; Asif Kapadia’s Senna; Neil Young’s Greendale; Cameron Crowe’s Pearl Jam Twenty; Sacha Gervasi’s Anvil! The Story of Anvil; Banksy’s Academy Award® nominated Exit Through the Gift Shop; the surprise indie hit Awake: The Life of Yogananda; Laurie Anderson’s astonishing New York Times critics’ pick, Heart of a Dog, Showtime’s National Board of Review Winner Listen to Me Marlon and Draft House Releasing’s 2016 Documentary Academy Award®-nominee and IDA Best Documentary Winner The Look of Silence. Abramorama is a founding partner of The Seventh Art Stand program, an act of cinematic solidarity against Islamophobia, that ran in more than 50 theaters across the United States in May of 2017. Abramorama recently launched its music centric film fund focused on the global release of iconic music documentaries. For more information visit
www.abramorama.com.
About Verisimilitude
Verisimilitude is a film company with a steadfast commitment to tell challenging, unique stories in the most compelling of ways. We work with directors to create cinematic visions which span the full spectrum of style and imagination, while always striving to find the truth, and verisimilitude within the story beneath. For more information visit
www.verisimilitude.com.
