Lionsgate Acquires U.S. Distribution Rights to Lakeshore Entertainment and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment's ONE FOR THE MONEY, Starring Katherine Heigl

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), the leading next generation studio, today announced that it has acquired U.S. distribution rights from Lakeshore Entertainment and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment to the upcoming crime thriller ONE FOR THE MONEY, starring Katherine Heigl (Lionsgate's upcoming KILLERS, "Grey's Anatomy").  The film is based on the first novel in writer Janet Evanovich's bestselling Stephanie Plum series.  Lakeshore's Elisabeth Costa de Beauregard and Nick Meyer's Sierra Pictures are jointly handling international distribution.  The announcement was jointly made today by Joe Drake, Lionsgate Chief Operating Officer and Motion Picture Group President, Tom Rosenberg, Lakeshore Entertainment Chairman and CEO, and Sidney Kimmel, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (SKE) Chairman. 

Julie Ann Robinson (THE LAST SONG, "Grey's Anatomy") directs, from a current rewrite  by Liz Brixius ("Nurse Jackie").  Lakeshore's Tom Rosenberg and Gary Lucchesi are producing with Sidney Kimmel and Wendy Finerman (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA).  Mike Paseornek, Lionsgate President of Motion Picture Production, will oversee the production for Lionsgate.  

Said Paseornek, "We're very excited to join our friends at Lakeshore and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment in bringing ONE FOR THE MONEY to the big screen.  And we're delighted to be working again with Katherine Heigl, who is the perfect actress to play Janet Evanovich's smart, gutsy and funny heroine."  

Said Rosenberg, "Janet Evanovich has created an extraordinary literary character in Stephanie Plum.  Katherine Heigl is the perfect actress to bring Stephanie to the screen.  Gary Lucchesi and I are thrilled to be reunited with her after our wonderful experience on THE UGLY TRUTH.  This is our second collaboration with Sidney Kimmel and we are looking forward to many more.  Having worked on several films with Lionsgate over the years, we know that ONE FOR THE MONEY is in the best possible hands."

Said Kimmel, "We are thrilled to be partnering again with Gary Lucchesi and Tom Rosenberg on this exciting project.  ONE FOR THE MONEY will be a great second collaboration.  With Katherine Heigl lending her tremendous talent to Janet Evanovich's character, we foresee a great film in the making." 

The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Rob McEntegart, Senior Executive Vice President, Motion Picture Group, and Wendy Jaffe, Executive Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs, Acquisitions & Co-Productions; and by Eric Reid, Lakeshore Entertainment Chief Operating Officer, on behalf of the filmmakers.

ONE FOR THE MONEY

Stephanie Plum (Katherine Heigl) can't catch a break.  At 30, she finds herself newly-divorced, recently laid-off, and living with her hamster in Trenton, N.J.  Broke and desperate, she lands a job working for her slimy cousin and his bail bond business.  In need of fast cash she latches on to his biggest case – a local cop wanted for murder who just happens to be the guy that broke her heart in high school.  Stephanie gets resourceful and tough, as she is swept up in a suspenseful world of murder, deceit, with a bit of romance.   

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF - News) 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, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has nearly 20 shows on 10 different networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as "Mad Men," "Weeds" and "Nurse Jackie" along with new series such as "Blue Mountain State" and the syndication successes "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," its spinoff "Meet The Browns" and "The Wendy Williams Show."

Its feature film business has generated such recent hits as TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?, the action film KICK-ASS, which opened at #1 at the North American box office and the critically-acclaimed PRECIOUS, which has garnered nearly $50 million at the North American box office and won two Academy Awards®. The Company's home entertainment business has grown to more than 7% market share and is an industry leader in 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.

ABOUT LAKESHORE ENTERTAINMENT:

Lakeshore Entertainment is one of the leading independent production, finance and international sales and distribution companies.   Founded in 1994 by Chairman and CEO Tom Rosenberg, Lakeshore has produced more than 60 films including the Academy Award® winning MILLION DOLLAR BABY as well as RUNAWAY BRIDE, THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, the UNDERWORLD franchise, EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, CRANK, THE GIFT,  AUTUMN IN NEW YORK and ARLINGTON ROAD. Most recently, Lakeshore produced UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS, starring Michael Sheen and Rhona Mitra, CRANK: HIGH VOLTAGE, starring Jason Statham, and THE UGLY TRUTH starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler. 

ABOUT SIDNEY KIMMEL ENTERTAINMENT:

Veteran producer Sidney Kimmel heads Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, the Los Angeles-based, wholly independent production and finance company focused on bringing high profile, quality entertainment projects to contemporary audiences via major studio distribution partners. President Jim Tauber oversees the financing, development and production of the Company's motion picture slate, as well as sales of its films in the international marketplace. SKE has financed and produced, both independently and with studio partners, 18 features since Kimmel founded the Company in 2004. The Company's most recent releases were the remake of its own 2006 British comedy DEATH AT A FUNERAL, with co-writer/co-producer Chris Rock leading an all-star ensemble cast for Screen Gems and ADVENTURELAND, the Greg Mottola-directed critical hit co-financed and co-produced with Miramax.

Prior SKE feature presentations include such critical successes Frank Oz's DEATH AT A FUNERAL, starring Matthew Macfadyen, Peter Dinklage and Ewen Bremner; Craig Gillespie's LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, starring Ryan Gosling; THE KITE RUNNER, directed by Marc Forster and produced with DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Productions; Billy Ray's BREACH, starring Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe and Laura Linney; and UNITED 93, based on the true story of the doomed flight of 9/11, directed by Oscar-nominee Paul Greengrass, among others.

ABOUT SIERRA PICTURES LLC

Sierra Pictures LLC is an independent film finance, production and foreign sales company which was launched by Nick Meyer and Marc Schaberg in June 2009.  In addition to financing films, Sierra Pictures sells and services Sidney Kimmel Entertainment's film library and upcoming slate.  In addition to working with Sidney Kimmel, Incentive Filmed Entertainment recently made Meyer its exclusive sourcing and sales agent through the Sierra Pictures banner, which will package and make all distribution deals for Incentive's pictures.  In March of 2010, Sierra Pictures and filmmaker Brett Ratner launched White Knuckle Pictures which will finance, develop, produce and distribute action films and thrillers with Sierra handling foreign sales.

SOURCE Lionsgate