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Annmarie Sairrino

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Annmarie Sairrino
Born
Poughkeepsie, New York
Occupation(s)Producer and Development Executive
Years active2012–present
OrganizationAMMO Entertainment
Websitehttps://ammo-ent.com

Annmarie Sairrino is an American film producer, development executive, and CEO of AMMO Entertainment.[1] She is known for developing and producing film projects based on existing Japanese intellectual properties, including the horror film adaptation Room 203 and the dramatic thriller Root Letter.

Sairrino began her career in the entertainment industry in 2003 working with film producer and consultant Sandy Climan at his firm Entertainment Media Ventures. In 2012, she joined All Nippon Entertainment Works (ANEW) and served as senior vice president of development and production. In 2017, with her colleague Moeko Suzuki, she established Akatsuki Entertainment, a division of Japanese mobile game developer Akatsuki Inc., and ran the company's American branch in Los Angeles while serving as CEO and as a board member of Akatsuki. In November 2018, she announced her first produced project, the video game adaptation Root Letter, which was produced in 2019, completed in 2020, and acquired for distribution by Entertainment Squad and released in 2022.[2][3] She followed this with a second feature, the horror film Room 203, which was produced in 2020, acquired for international sales by Voltage Pictures and for domestic distribution by Vertical Entertainment,[4][5][6][7] and released in 2022.[8] In September 2020, Sairrino established AMMO Entertainment, a production company which has assumed responsibility for Akatsuki Entertainment's completed films, and which will continue to develop film and television projects adapted from Japanese-originated sources, intellectual properties from other Asian territories, and original concepts and true stories in the horror and thriller genres.[9]

Early life and education

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Annmarie Sairrino was born in Poughkeepsie, New York and raised in the town of Highland. She is a graduate of State University of New York at New Paltz.[10]

Career

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After moving to Los Angeles in the early 2000s, Sairrino joined the entertainment industry as an assistant to Golden Globe-winning producer Sandy Climan (The Aviator); she later transitioned to serve as Climan's director of development and vice president of creative affairs, and worked with his consultancy firm Entertainment Media Ventures and its associated companies, including 3ality Digital (U2 3D).

In 2012, Sairrino joined All Nippon Entertainment Works (ANEW), a firm which sought to develop Hollywood film projects based upon Japanese-originated properties. She served as senior vice president of development and production, and during this time developed expertise in the clearance of intellectual property chain of title, a complex but necessary aspect of rights clearance in the adaptation process.[11] During her time at ANEW, Sairrino developed adaptation projects based on the anime series Tiger & Bunny and Gaiking,[12][13] the novel and live-action film Shield of Straw,[14] the live-action films Ghost Train (with a screenplay by Sonic the Hedgehog writers Patrick Casey and Josh Miller) and Birthright,[15][16] and the manga series SOUL ReVIVER and 6000.[17][18] Partners for these projects included Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment, Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz's The Bedford Falls Company, Mike Medavoy's Phoenix Pictures, Chris and Paul Weitz's company Depth of Field, and Gale Anne Hurd's Valhalla Entertainment. Following a change of ownership,[19] a corporate realignment of ANEW in 2017 led to many of these projects remaining unrealized. However, ANEW's effort marked the accomplishment of the largest slate of Japanese properties in development in Hollywood to that time.

In 2017, Sairrino established a new film production company, Akatsuki Entertainment USA, as a division of leading Japanese mobile game developer Akatsuki.[20] Sairrino served as the CEO of Akatsuki Entertainment and as a board member of the parent company. Akatsuki Entertainment's business model focused on the adaptation of Japanese-originated intellectual properties into live-action Hollywood films. Akatsuki Entertainment's film activities included project development, financing, and production.[21] In 2018, the company announced their first film, an adaptation of the best-selling Kadokawa Games visual novel Root Letter.[2] Directed by Sonja O'Hara, written by David Ebeltoft, and starring Danny Ramirez, Keana Marie, and Lydia Hearst, the film entered production in 2019, was completed in 2020, was acquired for US distribution by Entertainment Squad, and was released on September 1, 2022.[3][4] Sairrino developed and produced the film.[22]

Also in 2020, Sairrino developed and produced Akatsuki Entertainment's second project, the supernatural horror film Room 203. Adapted from the novel of the same name written by Nanami Kamon and published by Kobunsha, Room 203 was directed by Ben Jagger, written by John Poliquin, Nick Richey, and Jagger, and starred Francesca Xuereb, Viktoria Vinyarska, and Eric Wiegand. The film was fully-financed and produced by Akatsuki Entertainment and was filmed in Shreveport, Louisiana in the fall of 2020, with post-production completed in 2021.[4][5] In June 2021, Voltage Pictures acquired worldwide sales rights for Room 203 ahead of presenting its sales slate at the Cannes Film Festival virtual film market, with Voltage citing the robust market for J-horror-derived projects among international buyers.[6] The film was subsequently acquired for domestic theatrical and video on demand distribution by Vertical Entertainment,[7][23] and was released on April 15, 2022.[8]

In September 2020, Sairrino established AMMO Entertainment, a new production company which has assumed responsibility for completion of the distribution arrangements for Root Letter and Room 203, as well as the production of Akatsuki Entertainment's development slate.[9] AMMO Entertainment's corporate mission broadens the mandate of Akatsuki Entertainment, expanding to include the production of film and television productions based on true stories and original concepts, in addition to a continuing focus on Japanese content adaptations.[1]

In October 2022, Sairrino announced the formation of the new specialty label AMMO Select, as well as the imprint's initial project, a feature-length documentary following the careers and romance of astrologer-artist couple Amy Zerner and Monte Farber.[24]

Filmography

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Year Title Position Notes
2022 Root Letter Producer Released
Room 203 Producer Released
TBD Amy & Monte: A Legacy of Love and Creativity Producer Post-Production

References

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  1. ^ a b "Ammo Entertainment - Official Website". Ammo Entertainment. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Hodgkins, Crystalyn (September 20, 2019). "Root Letter Game Gets Hollywood Film Adaptation". Anime News Network.
  3. ^ a b Kay, Jeremy (August 2, 2022). "Entertainment Squad eyes TIFF sales launch on dramatic thriller Root Letter". Screen Daily. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Frater, Patrick (December 3, 2020). "Akatsuki Wraps Room 203 U.S. Adaptation of J-Horror Tale". Variety. Retrieved December 3, 2020. Production is by Akatsuki Entertainment president Annmarie Sairrino (formerly Bailey), Moeko Suzuki, Akatsuki Entertainment's head of Tokyo, Kat McPhee, and Ben Anderson, with Ty Whittington as co-producer.
  5. ^ a b Miska, Brad (December 3, 2020). "Gothic Room 203 Haunted by J-Horror Ghosts". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Kay, Jeremy (May 3, 2021). "Voltage boards sales on English-language J-horror Room 203 from Ammo". Screen Daily. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Kay, Jeremy (October 14, 2021). "Voltage Pictures, Vertical strike US deal on J-horror Room 203". Screen Daily. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Treese, Tyler (April 6, 2022). "Exclusive Room 203 Trailer Previews J-Horror Novel Adaptation". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Hazra, Adriana (June 21, 2021). "Hollywood Live-Action Root Letter Film's Rights Change to Ammo Entertainment". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  10. ^ "New Paltz Alumni Magazine Fall 2018 - Class Notes". State University of New York at New Paltz. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  11. ^ Litwak, Mark (October 7, 2015). "Attention, Filmmakers: Here's What You Need to Know About Chain of Title (and Why You Need It)". IndieWire. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  12. ^ Ressler, Karen (October 9, 2015). "Imagine Entertainment to Produce Live-Action Tiger & Bunny Film". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  13. ^ Lieberman, David (December 8, 2012). "Japan's Toei Animation To Hit U.S. Market With Live Action Film Gaiking". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  14. ^ McNary, Dave (August 25, 2015). "Shield of Straw English-Language Remake in the Works With Chris Weitz". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  15. ^ Block, Alex Ben (October 30, 2014). "Ghost Train on Track as American Remake of Japanese Horror Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  16. ^ Schilling, Mark (December 12, 2014). "Chris and Paul Weitz to Remake Japan's Birthright with ANEW". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  17. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (July 31, 2014). "Manga Soul Reviver To Get New Life As Live-Action Film From Zwick & Herskovitz". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  18. ^ Kit, Borys (July 21, 2015). "Mike Medavoy to Produce Adaptation of Manga 6000". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  19. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (June 1, 2017). "All Nippon Entertainment Works Selling To Japan's Future Venture Capital". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  20. ^ Frater, Patrick (October 2, 2017). "Japanese Games Firm Akatsuki Launches U.S. Film Production Venture". Variety. Akatsuki is already a successful company, and is now looking at diversification into film, TV and into the U.S.," Sairrino Bailey told Variety. "Moeko [Suzuki] and I have the ambition to help Akatsuki become a global entertainment company. We will do that though adaptations and through original content."
  21. ^ "Akatsuki Entertainment". Akatsuki Entertainment. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  22. ^ Frater, Patrick (July 19, 2019). "Danny Ramirez to Star in Film Adaptation of Root Letter Video Game". Variety. Retrieved January 7, 2020. Akatsuki Entertainment USA president Annmarie Sairrino Bailey is producer, alongside the company's Tokyo-based Moeko Suzuki and Los Angeles-based Kat McPhee.
  23. ^ Miska, Brad (October 14, 2021). "Vertical Entertainment Nabs Gothic Room 203, Which Is Haunted by J-Horror Ghosts". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  24. ^ "Ammo Select - Announcement of Amy Zerner & Monte Farber Documentary Project". Retrieved October 9, 2022.
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