LIONSGATE(R) Roars With Record 26 Emmy(R) Nominations for its Acclaimed Series MAD MEN, NURSE JACKIE and WEEDS

SANTA MONICA, Calif, and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LIONSGATE's ® (NYSE: LGF) acclaimed AMC drama MAD MEN and hit Showtime comedies NURSE JACKIE and WEEDS earned a total of 26 Emmy® nominations today, a record for the studio, including nods for both MAD MEN and NURSE JACKIE in the Outstanding Series categories.

MAD MEN, winner of back-to-back Emmys® the past two years for Outstanding Drama Series, topped the category again this year with 17 nominations breaking its previous record of 16, including nods for Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor (Jon Hamm), Lead Actress (January Jones), Supporting Actress (Christina Hendricks and Elisabeth Moss), Supporting Actor (John Slattery), Guest Actor (Robert Morse), Writing, Directing and Cinematography.  

The Company's hit Showtime comedy NURSE JACKIE earned eight nominations, the most for any series in Showtime's history, led by an Emmy® nod for Outstanding Comedy Series and a nomination for Edie Falco for Outstanding Lead Actress.  WEEDS earned a nomination for Outstanding Cinematography.  

"The continued success of MAD MEN, NURSE JACKIE and WEEDS is a testament to the excellence of our extraordinary casts and creative teams as well as the prowess of our television executives led by Kevin Beggs and Sandra Stern," said Lionsgate Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer.  "We are delighted that NURSE JACKIE is attaining the signature status of franchises like MAD MEN and WEEDS, and we believe that all three shows will resonate with television and home entertainment audiences for years to come.  We thank the members of the TV Academy once again for this tremendous recognition."

MAD MEN received the following nominations:  

Outstanding Drama Series

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series – Jon Hamm

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series – January Jones

Outstanding Supporting Actress in Drama Series – Christina Hendricks

Outstanding Supporting Actress in Drama Series – Elisabeth Moss

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – John Slattery

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series – "Shut the Door. Have a Seat." – Robert   Morse

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series – "Shut the Door. Have a Seat." – Matthew Weiner, Erin Levy

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series – "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency" – Matthew Weiner, Robin Veith  

Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series – Laura Schiff, Carrie Audino

Outstanding Cinematography for a One Hour Series – "Shut the Door. Have a Seat." – Christopher Manley

Outstanding Costumes for a Series – Janie Bryant, Costume Designer; Le Dawson, Costume Supervisor

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series – "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency" – Lesli Linka Glatter

Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series – "The Gypsy and the Hobo" – Pattye Rogers, Christopher Nelson  

Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series – "Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency" – Tom Wilson

Outstanding Hairstyling for a for a Single Camera Series – Lucia Mace, Dept Head Hairstylist; Anthony Wilson, Key Hair Stylist; Mary Guerrero, Additional Hairstylist; Peggy Semtob, Additional Hairstylist

Outstanding Makeup for a single Camera Series (non-prosthetic) -- Lana Horochowski, Dept Head Makeup Artist; Ron Pipes, Key Makeup Artist; Maggie Fung, Makeup Artist;

Kate Shorter, Additional Makeup Artist; Bonita Dehaven, Additional Makeup Artist;

Angie Wells, Additional Makeup Artist

NURSE JACKIE received the following nominations:    

Outstanding Comedy Series

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series – Edie Falco

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series – "Chicken Soup" – Eli Wallach

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series – Pilot -- Allen Coulter

Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series – Vanja Cernjul, Director of Photography

Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series – Julie Tucker, CSA; Ross Meyerson, CSA

Outstanding Main Title Design – Stephen Fuller, Creative Director; Mark Gardner, Creative Director; Corey Weisz, Editor; Cara McKenny, Creative Lead

Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music – Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman

WEEDS picked up a nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series for Director of Photography Michael Trim.  

Premiering its fourth season on AMC July 25, MAD MEN made history as the only cable series to win back-to-back best drama Emmy® Awards and the only series to win three consecutive Golden Globes® for Best Drama.  The show 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 series 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 returns 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 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