'Lord' Reigns at Lions Gate Films

'Lord' Reigns at Lions Gate Films

Premier Independent Studio Acquires North American Rights to Andrew Niccol's Thriller LORD OF WAR, Starring Academy Award Winner Nicolas Cage and Academy Award Nominee Ethan Hawke.

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Lions Gate Films, the motion picture acquisition, production and distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE; LGF; TSX), has acquired all North American distribution rights to the riveting action thriller LORD OF WAR, written and directed by Academy Award nominee Andrew Niccol, starring Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan and Ethan Hawke, it was announced today by Jon Feltheimer, Chief Executive Officer of Lions Gate Entertainment.

"Andrew has crafted a powerful and provocative film torn from today's headlines, giving audiences a chilling insider's look into the international world of gunrunning," said Feltheimer. "LORD OF WAR does for weapons smuggling what BLOW did for drug smuggling. LORD OF WAR is a trademark Lions Gate movie -- controversial, compelling and enormously entertaining, all at the same time."

"'LORD OF WAR' is a provocative and timely edge-of-your-seat thriller that will appeal to a broad audience," said Tom Ortenberg, President, Lions Gate Films Releasing. "We are delighted to distribute the work of such a revolutionary filmmaker and talented ensemble cast, and we are looking forward to working closely with filmmakers Andrew Niccol and Nicolas Cage to maximize the film's obvious commercial appeal. At a time when the potential of arms smuggling has raised the stakes to new highs, LORD OF WAR is as chilling as it is thrilling."

"Lions Gate Films has proven their ability to take controversial, button- pushing material and make it part of the national conversation," said Cage.

Niccol is the visionary and avant-garde filmmaker who wrote and directed such prophetic films as GATTACA and SIMONE and was nominated for an Academy Award for his original screenplay for THE TRUMAN SHOW. Other writing credits include THE TERMINAL.

LORD OF WAR, which is currently in post production, is the story of an arms dealer (Cage) who reevaluates the morality of his occupation while on the run from an Interpol agent (Hawke). The film was financed by Philippe Rousselet and Andrew Niccol's company Entertainment Manufacturing Company alongside the German fund VIP. Foreign sales are being handled through Archlight. It was produced by Niccol, Rousselet, Cage, Norm Golightly, Andreas Grosch, and Chris Roberts. Lions Gate Films will distribute the film nationwide.

Lions Gate Entertainment's Peter Block, President, Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Jason Constantine, Senior Vice President, Acquisitions, and Ortenberg negotiated the acquisition on behalf of Lions Gate Films and Rousselet of Entertainment Manufacturing Company and Manny Nunez of Creative Artists Agency negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers and financers.

Lions Gate is the premier independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of approximately 8000 titles is one of the largest in the entertainment industry. The Lions Gate brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

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www.lgf.com

CONTACT: Sarah Greenberg, 310-255-3856 sgreenberg@lgf.com

Source: Lions Gate Films

CONTACT: Sarah Greenberg of Lions Gate Films, +1-310-255-3856, sgreenberg@lgf.com

Web site: http://www.lgf.com/

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