D.B. Sweeney, Nick Tarabay and Michael Fairman Join Ensemble Cast of Starz Entertainment and Lionsgate's Co-Production of Original Series 'Crash'

D.B. Sweeney, Nick Tarabay and Michael Fairman Join Ensemble Cast of Starz Entertainment and Lionsgate's Co-Production of Original Series 'Crash'

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Veteran actor D.B. Sweeney ("Jericho," Eight Men Out, The Cutting Edge), Nick Tarabay ("The Sopranos," "CSI: Miami") and Michael Fairman (recurring roles on "LA Law" and "Hill Street Blues") have joined the ensemble cast of "Crash," the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate and based on the Academy Award(R)-winning Best Picture.

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Sweeney, soon to appear in director Spike Lee's upcoming war drama Miracle at St. Anna, plays Peter Emory, a successful pre-bust real estate developer, living in Brentwood with Christine (Clare Carey), his frustrated wife, and their teenage daughter. Fairman is Lou Loskey, Christine's overbearing father who, because of illness, can't care for himself anymore. Tarabay portrays Axel Finet, a police lieutenant having an affair with fellow officer Bebe (Arlene Tur). The actors join the recently announced ensemble cast headed by Dennis Hopper.

Set in Los Angeles, the series will explore the complexities of social tolerance in contemporary America by digging into the meaning of what it takes to reach the American dream. Characters will intertwine and crash into each other, coming face to face with the daily hurdles and obstacles that threaten to get in the way of achieving that dream.

About LIONSGATE(R)

Lionsgate is a 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 is leveraging its content leadership and marketing expertise through a series of partnerships that include the operation of the highly successful FEARNet branded VOD and Internet horror channel with Sony and Comcast, the recent announcement of the fall 2009 launch of a new premium entertainment channel with partners Viacom, Paramount Pictures and MGM, investment in the leading young men's digital distribution platform Break.com, ownership of the premier independent television syndication company Debmar-Mercury LLC and an alliance with independent filmed entertainment production and distribution company Roadside Attractions. Lionsgate also has forged partnerships with leading content creators, owners and distributors in key territories around the world, including Televisa in the U.S. and Latin America, StudioCanal in the UK, Hoyts and Sony in Australia and Eros International in India.

The Company has generated more than $450 million at the North American theatrical box office in the past 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. The Company has also forged leadership positions in television and home entertainment with the production of such critically-acclaimed television series as Weeds and Mad Men, the distribution of Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Family Feud, South Park, Trivial Pursuit and The Dead Zone, among others, and approximately 9% market share and the industry's leading box office-to-DVD conversion rate in home entertainment. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with entrepreneurial innovation and original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.

About Starz Entertainment

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz(R) and Encore(R) brands with approximately 16.8 million and 31.4 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, Starz Play, and Vongo(R). Starz Entertainment (http://www.starz.com/) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Entertainment Group (NASDAQ:LMDIA) (NASDAQ:LMDIB) , a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.

    Contacts:     Chelsye J. Burrows            Robin Mesger/Leah Krantzler    Starz Entertainment           The Lippin Group/LA    720/852-5838                  323/965-1990    chelsye.burrows@starz.com     rmesger@lippingroup.com                                  lkrantzler@lippingroup.com     Steve Belgard                 Matt Biscuiti    Starz Entertainment           The Lippin Group/NY    720/852-5843                  212/986-7080    steve.belgard@starz.com       Matt@lippingroup.com  

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Source: Starz Entertainment

CONTACT: Chelsye J. Burrows, +1-720-852-5838, chelsye.burrows@starz.com,
or Steve Belgard, +1-720-852-5843, steve.belgard@starz.com, both of Starz
Entertainment; or Robin Mesger, rmesger@lippingroup.com, or Leah Krantzler,
lkrantzler@lippingroup.com, both of The Lippin Group|LA, +1-323-965-1990, or
Matt Biscuiti of The Lippin Group|NY, +1-212-986-7080, Matt@lippingroup.com,
all for Starz Entertainment

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

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Profile: International Entertainment