- Move Reflects Continued Growth of Company's Motion Picture Operations -
SANTA MONICA, Calif., and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 15
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Reflecting the continued growth of Lionsgate's
motion picture business, eight-year Lionsgate veteran Jason Constantine has
been promoted to President of Acquisitions and Coproductions for the
Company's Motion Picture Group, it was announced today by Lionsgate
co-Chief Operating Officer and Motion Picture Group President Joe Drake, to
whom he reports. Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) is the leading next generation
filmed entertainment studio.
Constantine will continue to oversee the tracking and acquisition of
all theatrical films for Lionsgate, play an instrumental role in the
creative oversight of prebuy projects in development, production and
postproduction, and manage the day-to-day operations of Lionsgate's
acquisition team.
Constantine has played a key role in the acquisition of such Lionsgate
box office hits and critical successes as the SAW franchise, which has
grossed more than $500 million at the box office worldwide on its way to
becoming the most popular horror franchise in history, Academy Award
(R)-winning Best Picture CRASH, LORD OF WAR, GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING,
OPEN WATER, AWAY FROM HER and THE DESCENT. Recent acquisitions for the
Company's upcoming motion picture slate include CONAN THE BARBARIAN, a
potential action franchise slated for 2009 release, the action thriller
BANGKOK DANGEROUS, starring Nicolas Cage as a hitman with a score to
settle, TRANSPORTER 3, the next installment in the popular action franchise
starring Jason Statham, and the romantic comedy CHILLED IN MIAMI, starring
Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick, Jr.
"Jason is one of the most talented young executives in Hollywood," said
Drake. "He has superb creative instincts and an affinity for unique
material which Lionsgate can translate into films that resonate more
profoundly with their target audiences than any other product in the
marketplace. He has a remarkable understanding of projects that play to our
strengths as a brand and generate uncommonly good movies."
Prior to his work as an acquisitions executive, Constantine worked in
physical film production on studio and independent feature films. Before
joining Lionsgate in 2000, he was Director of Acquisitions at Trimark
Pictures.
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is the leading next generation filmed entertainment studio
with a major presence in the production and distribution of motion
pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment,
video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company has partnered
with Sony Corporation and Comcast in the operation of the highly successful
FEARNet branded VOD and Internet horror channel, recently announced the
fall 2009 launch of a new premium entertainment channel with partners
Viacom, Paramount Pictures and MGM, and has invested in the leading young
men's digital distribution platform Break.com.
The Company has generated more than $450 million at the North American
theatrical box office in the past fiscal year and has released a string of
hits including THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, TYLER PERRY'S MEET THE BROWNS, THE
BANK JOB, RAMBO, THE EYE, SAW IV, TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED?,
GOOD LUCK CHUCK, 3:10 TO YUMA and WAR, most of which have opened at #1 or
#2 at the box office. Lionsgate's prestigious and prolific library of
approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles is an important
source of recurring revenue that serves as the foundation for the growth of
the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with
original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.
http://www.lionsgate.com
For further information, please contact:
Peter D. Wilkes
310-255-3726
pwilkes@lionsgate.com
Sarah Greenberg
310-255-3856
sgreenberg@lionsgate.com
Kate Hubin
310-255-4064
khubin@lionsgate.com
|
