Lionsgate and Tyler Perry Team Up for Big Screen Version of Landmark Play FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF

Lionsgate and Tyler Perry Team Up for Big Screen Version of Landmark Play FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF

Perry To Direct, Produce And Write First Project For His 34th Street Films Banner Studio Acquires Worldwide Distribution Rights Principal Photography Begins Late Fall 2009 For Expected 2010 Release

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LIONSGATE (NYSE: LGF) , the leading next generation studio, announced today that it has acquired worldwide distribution rights to filmmaker Tyler Perry's adaptation of Ntozake Shange's award-winning 1975 play FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF. Perry will write, direct and produce. The film will be the first project for 34th Street Films, Perry's new production company, which is housed at Lionsgate. Paul Hall (PRIDE) also produces. The announcement was jointly made today by Joe Drake, Lionsgate Co-Chief Operating Officer and Motion Picture Group President, and Mike Paseornek, Lionsgate President of Motion Picture Production.

FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF will feature an all-star cast of female actors. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in Atlanta in November 2009 and continue through December 2009. Lionsgate plans to release the film in 2010.

FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF will be the tenth title in Lionsgate's ongoing franchise with filmmaker Perry, and it is Perry's first film to be based on non-original material. The franchise's eighth title, TYLER PERRY'S I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF, opens nationwide on September 11, followed by the opening of TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO? on April 2, 2010. Perry is also a co-presenter and executive producer, with Oprah Winfrey, of Lee Daniels's Sundance Film Festival award-winner PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE, which Lionsgate is releasing in November.

Said Paseornek, "We are thrilled to see Tyler take the helm on FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF. From the very beginning of his career, Tyler has told compelling stories about women's lives, and he has created a memorable gallery of multidimensional female characters. He is an ideal person to bring Ntozake Shange's play to the screen, and this movie will be a major treat for audiences across the board."

Commented Perry, "Making a film of FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF is a dream come true for me. Ntozake Shange's play is a magnificent tribute to the strength and dignity of women of color, and I think audiences of all generations will be able to recognize and embrace the experiences these women represent. Creatively, this movie is one of the most exciting undertakings of my career, and I'm excited to start production this November."

The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Paseornek and Robert Melnik, Lionsgate Executive Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs; and by Charles King of WME and Matthew Johnson of Ziffren Brittenham, on behalf of the filmmakers.

SYNOPSIS

FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF brings to the screen Ntozake Shange's Obie Award-winning play, a poetic exploration of what is to be of color and a female in this world.

ABOUT 34th STREET FILMS

34th Street Films was formed in September 2008 as a subsidiary of Tyler Perry Studios to produce projects under the Tyler Perry umbrella, with a focus on expanding the brand via projects written and directed by outside talent.

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) is the leading next generation studio with a strong and diversified 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 built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, production, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury, reality programming through its joint venture with ISH Entertainment and an array of channel platforms, including its partnership with One Equity Partners and Allen Shapiro in TV Guide Network and TV Guide.com, its partnership with Viacom and MGM in the multiplatform premium channel Epix, its partnership with Sony and Comcast in the branded horror channel FEARnet and its recent launch of the KIX action channel and the Thrill horror/suspense channel in Asia. Its feature film business achieved a record box office performance in the January-March 2009 quarter, driven by the success of TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL, MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3-D and THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT. The Company's home entertainment business has grown to more than 7% market share and leads the industry in its box office-to-DVD revenue conversion rate. 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 remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

   www.lionsgate.com     For further information, contact:    Sarah Greenberg   310-255-3856   sgreenberg@lionsgate.com     For corporate inquiries, please contact:    Peter D. Wilkes   310-255-3726   pwilkes@lionsgate.com  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: cfish@lionsgate.com

Source: Lionsgate

CONTACT: Sarah Greenberg, +1-310-255-3856, sgreenberg@lionsgate.com, or
corporate inquiries, Peter D. Wilkes, +1-310-255-3726, pwilkes@lionsgate.com,
both of Lionsgate

Web Site: http://www.lionsgate.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment