RALEIGH, N.C. (May 19, 2006) – Filmmakers Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck are set to open their feature documentary about the Texas criminal investigation and indictment of Representative Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader. Raleigh-based Distillery Pictures collaborated on the film, "The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress,” which opens May 19.

Texas-based Birnbaum and Schermbeck wrote, produced, directed, shot and edited “The Big Buy.” They’re teaming up with Robert Greenwald – the renowned filmmaker and political activist who brought America such outspoken films as “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price” and “Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism” – to distribute the film. When it came time to fine tune the documentary, the pair turned to outside expertise. Their challenge was a limited budget and a tight timeline. Their solution: Distillery Pictures, the long-format boutique of the multi-faceted Trailblazer Studios.

Birnbaum had been a long-time friend and professional colleague of executive producer Betty Buckley who moved to the Triangle in 2005 to join the Distillery Pictures team. Through Distillery Pictures, Buckley offered up cutting-edge editorial and music/sound capabilities to help put the finishing touches on “The Big Buy.”

“ While I was thrilled about my dear friend having the opportunity to make this film, I was equally enthusiastic about working at Trailblazer Studios, the parent company housing four creative boutiques all with wonderfully talented artists,” said Buckley. “I knew we could help Mark deliver the best film possible.”

Buckley brought in Serious Robots, the editorial, animation and visual effects boutique of Trailblazer Studios. Robots’ Editor Scott Roy used the Avid DS Nitris for color correction and titles for the film.

Blazing Music + Sound – Trailblazer’s boutique for original music composition, sound design and audio-post – was also involved in the project. Blazing’s sound engineer Aaron Keane worked with the film’s original music composer, John Bryant, to perform the final mixing and audio post production utilizing one of the facility’s ProTools HD2 digital audio workstations.

“As believers in great feature documentary storytelling, we’re thrilled to be involved in making this film,” said Buckley. “It’s gratifying to work on a project that influences debate about important issues of the day.”

“Making this film has been an experience of a lifetime,” said Birnbaum. “We’ve partnered with so many talented people in the industry, and Distillery Pictures and Trailblazer Studios are high on that list. They’re a great resource with diverse experience and creativity, and their technical capabilities compare with those of many major national production and postproduction facilities."

Indeed, according to Buckley, a 20-year veteran filmmaker and founder of Women in Film Dallas, the North Carolina film industry is well equipped for growth.

“We have amazing facilities in North Carolina, including Wilmington, Raleigh and elsewhere, creative and talented crews statewide, excellent schools for filmmaking, recently approved tax incentives, and a world-renowned documentary film festival held annually in Durham,” Buckley said. “There’s every reason for more original content and production to be coming out of North Carolina. There’s a vital industry here poised to springboard off of its great legacy.”

For now, North Carolina can add "The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress” to its list of film credits. The movie opens this Friday, May 19, in Houston and Dallas before runs in New York and cities across the nation. In North Carolina, screenings are currently scheduled for June at The Scene on South Elm in Greensboro. For show dates and times or to purchase the DVD online, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.tomdelaymovie.com" www.tomdelaymovie.com.

Distillery Pictures is a long-format production boutique focusing on documentary television, film and new media from concept to broadcast. Its work includes programming for Discovery Health, National Geographic, PBS, TLC, Sundance, ESPN and an original new media project called Turtle TV. A part of Trailblazer Studios, Distillery Pictures is a sister boutique of Serious Robots, providing animation, editorial and visual effects; Blazing Music + Sound, providing original music composition, voiceover recording, sound design and audio-post; and Red Truck Films, a leading TV commercial production company for advertising agencies in the Southeast, Northeast and Midwest. For more information, call 919-645-6600 or visit www.distillerypictures.com.

Film Credits:

Writing/Production/Direction/Editing – Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck

Original Music Composition – John Bryant and Frank Hames, Bryant-Hames Music

Color Correction – Scott Roy, Serious Robots

Audio Post Production – Aaron Keane, Blazing Music + Sound

Special Thanks – Betty Buckley, Distillery Pictures

Distribution – Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films:

“The Big Buy” – A Labor of Love for Long-Time Documentary Makers

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 19, 2006) – Mark Birnbaum and Jim Schermbeck have literally chronicled history as it unfolded. The Texas filmmakers have spent the past three years filming District Attorney Ronnie Earle as he investigated and indicted former Congressman Tom DeLay on charges of funneling corporate donations to state elections and redrawing congressional districts, resulting in significant gains for Republicans at the national level in 2004. Their film, "The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress" is set to open May 19.

Entirely self financed through the first two years of the project, Birnbaum and Schermbeck continued to follow the DeLay saga as the congressman’s dealings were uncovered. Just when they thought the story was complete, another chapter would be told.
As evidence mounted against DeLay, the film gained exposure. In mid 2005, the filmmakers were invited to screen “The Big Buy” at the Dallas Video Festival, just as DeLay aides were being indicted.

" At the time, we didn’t know how we were going to fund the completion of the documentary, much less how we would get it out to the public,” said Birnbaum. “Then overnight things started to happen. The day after the film festival we got a call from Byron York of The National Review, and we were featured on the Drudge Report. We also heard from a variety of distributors with various ideas for marketing the film. Among them was Robert Greenwald.”

According to Birnbaum, he and his partner were intrigued with the powerful grassroots network Greenwald has created through his company, Brave New Films. The pair signed a distribution agreement, which gave them the money needed to finish the film.
“ One of the biggest challenges when you’re making a documentary is that the story is still evolving,” Birnbaum said. “When do you end the film?”

Even as Birnbaum sat with editors in final post production in Raleigh, N.C., on March 29, Delay announced his resignation. And just like that, the film was back in production with more than five minutes of footage added to cover the latest development in this tale of political corruption.

“Mark was a documentary filmmaker before documentaries were popular, and Jim has dedicated his life to political action,” said Betty Buckley, executive producer at Distillery Pictures, the Raleigh, N.C.-based studio that did post production work on the film. “They’ve poured all their energy, passion and money into this movie, so it’s thrilling to see it become a feature production and garner national attention.”

" The Big Buy: Tom Delay’s Stolen Congress" opens May 19 in Houston and Dallas and will hit other major cities this summer. In keeping with Greenwald’s grassroots approach to film distribution, the documentary will be unveiled at thousands of viewing parties in private homes and small venues across the country instead of a large-scale movie-theater release. In North Carolina, screenings are currently scheduled for June at The Scene on South Elm in Greensboro. For more information, visit the official web site at www.tomdelaymovie.com.