Image Entertainment, Inc. announced it has entered into a multi-year agreement with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (SPHE) in which SPHE will handle all manufacturing and distribution services for Image Entertainment’s Blu-ray Disc (BD) and DVD releases.

According to the statement, Image retains its own sales and marketing functions while leveraging Sony’s strengths including its direct access to traditional accounts and non-traditional distribution. In a separate agreement, Sony has licensed an undisclosed number of titles to Image for distribution.

“We are extremely pleased with this new strategic partnership with Sony,” commented Image Entertainment’s Chairman and CEO Ted Green. “Sony is innovative in its technology and is well-versed with the needs of our customers. This agreement allows us to take advantage of their state-of-the-art retail systems while retaining control of the sales and marketing. It also gives us additional quality product to distribute.”

Added Matt Brown, Executive Vice President, North America/International, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: “We look forward to working with our partners at Image to leverage both of our vast catalogs while providing our retail customers with the best quality of service.”

Some of the titles included in the agreement are Sydney Pollack’s Absence of Malice (Paul Newman and Sally Field), …And Justice For All (directed by Norman Jewison and starring Al Pacino) and Adaptation (directed by Spike Jonze, starring Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper). Image Entertainment plans to release the titles on both Blu-ray and DVD during the term of the agreement.

For more information visit: www.image-entertainment.com ; www.sonypictures.com