The secret to success, a music industry maven once said, is “stickability”. That applies as well in the world of independent film. Director Tom Anton, his co-producers, Sandi Russell, Blair Daily, Jacqueline George and all the creative team behind “The Pardon” reached a big milestone this week.

Variety is reporting monterey media, acclaimed distributor of indie and art-house films, has just acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to “The Pardon”, a movie based on the true story of Louisiana’s Toni Jo Henry.

Monterey announces a “late Spring theatrical release is planned” for the feature which stars “Jaime King (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, ‘Heart of Dixie’, Pearl Harbor), and Academy Award nominee John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone, The Sessions, Lincoln). The deal was negotiated between Shoreline Entertainment’s Sam Eigen & Brian Sweet, and monterey media’s Scott Mansfield.”

While butter is being melted for the popcorn, we can enjoy the movie trailer – which has as its soundtrack Allison Crowe’s singular version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.