Lionsgate® Scores 7 Emmy® Awards Including Historic Wins for MAD MEN and NURSE JACKIE's Edie Falco

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- With its third consecutive win for Outstanding Drama Series, LIONSGATE's ® (NYSE: LGF) acclaimed AMC drama MAD MEN made Emmy® history again this year as the first cable program ever to clinch the top prize three times.  Equally historic was Edie Falco's Lead Actress win for Lionsgate's hit Showtime comedy NURSE JACKIE, making her the only performer with Lead Actress Emmys® for both Comedy and Drama Series.  This was her fourth Emmy® and first in the comedy category. 

MAD MEN creator/executive producer Matthew Weiner, who earned two of this year's five drama series writing nominations, won his third consecutive Emmy® in this category for the Season 3 finale episode "Shut the Door. Have a Seat," written with Erin Levy.  

Sunday's wins brought Lionsgate's total number of Emmy® Awards this year to seven.  At last Saturday's Creative Arts Emmys®, WEEDS took home the prize for Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series (Michael Trim), MAD MEN won the awards for Casting for a Drama Series (Laura Schiff, Carrie Audino) and Hairstyling for a Single Camera Series (Lucia Mace, Anthony Wilson, Mary Guerrero, Peggy Semtob) and NURSE JACKIE picked up the trophy for Original Main Title Theme Music (Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman).

"The outstanding casts and creative teams of MAD MEN, NURSE JACKIE and WEEDS strive to raise the bar each year and we are so proud of the continued success of these shows," said Kevin Beggs, President, Lionsgate Television Group. "We salute all our winners and nominees and thank the TV Academy members for this exciting recognition."  

The Emmy® wins cap a strong month for Lionsgate in which its films THE EXPENDABLES and THE LAST EXORCISM have been among the leaders at the North American box office for three consecutive weeks.  THE EXPENDABLES was number one at the North American box office for two straight weeks and has now grossed more than $82 million in its first 17 days of release, and the film opened at number one in the U.K. as well.  THE LAST EXORCISM grossed more than an estimated $20 million in its opening weekend at the North American box office.  The Lionsgate theatrical title KICK ASS also ranked first on the DVD and digital charts last week.    

In addition to its three Emmy® wins for Outstanding Drama Series, MAD MEN is the only series to have won three consecutive Golden Globes® for Best Drama.   The program, which launched its fourth season on AMC July 25, has earned numerous additional honors, including three AFI Awards, a Peabody Award, two SAG Awards and three Writers Guild Awards, among many others.  Set in New York in the 1960's, MAD MEN follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising and stars an outstanding ensemble cast, including Golden Globe® winner Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, and John Slattery, and guest stars Robert Morse.  Produced by Lionsgate, the drama is created, written and executive produced by Matthew Weiner in association with Weiner Bros.  Joining Weiner as executive producer is Scott Hornbacher.  

NURSE JACKIE, the recipient of an AFI Award as One of the Top 10 Television Series of 2009, recently completed its second season on Showtime and has been renewed for a third.  The dark comedy stars Edie Falco as a strong-willed, fiercely loyal, deeply dedicated but very flawed emergency nurse working in a New York City hospital.  For her starring role in the series, Falco has earned a Golden Globe nomination and a SAG Award nomination.  Also starring are Eve Best, Peter Facinelli, Merritt Wever, Paul Schulze, Anna Deavere Smith, Dominic Fumusa, Ruby Jerins, Mackenzie Aladjem, Arjun Gupta and Stephen Wallem.  Co-produced by Lionsgate and Showtime Networks, the series was created by Evan Dunsky and Liz Brixius & Linda Wallem and is executive produced by Wallem, Brixius, Richie Jackson, Christine Zander, Mark Hudis and Caryn Mandabach

WEEDS returned to Showtime for its sixth season on August 16.  Produced by Lionsgate in association with Tilted Productions, the series was created by Emmy® Award winner Jenji Kohan and follows the complicated life of a single mom, played by Mary-Louise Parker, as she evolves from a small-time suburban pot dealer struggling to support her family to a seasoned player in the drug trade where the stakes can be life or death.  Also starring are Kevin Nealon, Justin Kirk, Hunter Parrish and Alexander Gould.  The acclaimed comedy has earned three Golden Globe nominations for Best Comedy Series, two SAG nominations for Best Comedy Ensemble and a Writers Guild Award for executive producer Jenji Kohan.  Mary-Louise Parker has earned four Golden Globe nominations including a 2006 win, as well as multiple Emmy and SAG Award nominations, for her work in WEEDS.  The series is executive produced by Kohan and Roberto Benabib. 

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 primetime cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury and an array of channel platform 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 "Running Wilde" and "Blue Mountain State" and the syndication successes "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," its spinoff "Meet The Browns" and "The Wendy Williams Show."   Lionsgate's motion picture business has generated more than $400 million at the North American box office in the past 12 months, propelled by such recent hits as THE EXPENDABLES, THE LAST EXORCISM, KICK ASS, Tyler Perry's WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO? and PRECIOUS, which won two Academy Awards(R).  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

SOURCE Lionsgate