COMPANY STRENGTHENS MOTION PICTURE GROUP PRODUCTION OPERATIONS BY NAMING NOW YOU SEE ME PRODUCER BOBBY COHEN TO TEAM WITH GILLIAN BOHRER AS LIONSGATE CO-PRESIDENTS OF PRODUCTION

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and VANCOUVER, June 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In a move reflecting the continued growth of the Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) Motion Picture Group, producer Bobby Cohen (Now You See Me franchise, Revolutionary Road, Memoirs of a Geisha, Cider House Rules) and Lionsgate production executive Gillian Bohrer (the Twilight and Divergent franchises, Warm Bodies) have been named Co-Presidents of Production for the Lionsgate label.

Veteran Lionsgate film executive Mike Paseornek has been named to the newly-created role of President of Production for the entire Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, overseeing production of films encompassed by the Company's expanding array of labels.  Geoff Shaevitz remains President of Production for Summit Entertainment, and Director of Development James Myers has been promoted to Vice President of Production for the Summit label under Mr. Shaevitz.  Messrs. Cohen, Shaevitz and Paseornek and Ms. Bohrer all report directly to Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-President Erik Feig.

"We're thrilled to bring in-house one of the driving forces behind our emerging Now You See Me franchise, and Bobby's long track record of critically-acclaimed box office successes reflects the quality of his relationships, the expanse of his creative vision and his tremendous reputation for collaborative team-building," said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-President Erik Feig.  "He and Gillian have the complementary skills to help us continue growing a muscular and diversified Lionsgate portfolio of audience-pleasing event movies.

"During the 12 years I've worked with Gillian, she has overseen films that have collectively grossed over $4 billion at the global box office, including the Twilight and Divergent franchises, and her growth trajectory has been remarkable," Mr. Feig continued. "She and Bobby are immensely qualified to lead our Lionsgate production team, and Mike Paseornek is highly experienced in executing our vision and bringing major properties to the screen with trademark Lionsgate efficiency.  With Geoff Shaevitz's continued expert leadership of our Summit production operations and the promotion of James Myers, we're very well positioned to move forward with balanced and robust film slates from both of our major labels."

As a senior producer with Alex Kurtzman's Secret Hideout, Mr. Cohen has worked closely with the Lionsgate family on the blockbuster hit Now You See Me, which grossed more than $350 million at the worldwide box office, and Now You See Me 2, slated for release next June after completing production in London and Macau.  He has also played a key role in the feature film re-imagining of Universal Studios' classic monsters, including writer/director and producer Kurtzman's upcoming reboot of The Mummy.

Previously, Mr. Cohen achieved a string of critically-acclaimed box office successes, teaming with director Sam Mendes on the Oscar-nominated drama Revolutionary Road, producing Rob Marshall's Oscar-winning screen adaptation of Arthur Golden's classic Memoirs of a Geisha while serving as President of Red Wagon Entertainment and shepherding Lasse Hallström's multiple Oscar-winning Cider House Rules while producing films for Miramax.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Cohen was Senior Vice President of Production at Miramax where he served as executive producer on box office hits and critically-acclaimed successes such as Rounders, Clerks, Scream and Beautiful Girls.

"Lionsgate is bold and fearless in its films and culture, and the studio's tremendous energy and entrepreneurial spirit was a great attraction," said Mr. Cohen.  "I've worked closely with the Lionsgate family for more than a decade on films ranging from the Now You See Me franchise to Happy Endings.  I love making movies with these guys, and I can't wait to get started."

As Executive Vice President of Production for Lionsgate, Ms. Bohrer has shepherded: Oscar-nominated director Damien Chazelle's eagerly-anticipated musical comedy drama LaLa Land, teaming Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling; the first two films in the Divergent series, which have grossed more than $550 million at the global box office, the most successful launch of a young adult franchise since The Hunger Games; as well as the surprise zombie hit Warm Bodies and the cult favorite Perks of Being a Wallflower.  While at Summit Entertainment prior to its January 2012 acquisition by Lionsgate, she also oversaw the blockbuster Twilight Saga franchise.

Mr. Paseornek, an 18-year veteran of Lionsgate, has compiled a track record of  box office successes closely associated with the Company's emergence as a leading studio, including: the development and production of acclaimed films such as Monster's Ball, which earned Halle Berry an Academy Award, and American Psycho; bringing Tyler Perry to the studio for 15 films, which collectively grossed over $600 million at the domestic box office; growing Lionsgate's genre business; and overseeing physical production efforts on the Company's entire slate of films.

In addition to serving as the in-house production executive on the Now You See Me franchise, Mr. Shaevitz, an eight-year veteran of the Company, is overseeing such highly-anticipated upcoming films as Deepwater Horizon, Gods of Egypt and The Last Witch Hunter for the Summit label.  Prior to his promotion, Mr. Myers was a director of development helping to oversee development of: filmmaker Francis Lawrence's The Odyssey, reuniting The Hunger Games creative team in the film adaptation of one of the greatest adventure stories of all time; Zealot, the film adaptation of Reza Aslan's provocative book Zealot: The Life & Times of Jesus of Nazareth; and The Emerald Mile, the exhilarating true story of the attempt to capture the speed record for fastest boat ride through the Grand Canyon based on Kevin Fedarko's adventure classic.  

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms, video games and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has more than 30 television shows on over 20 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black and the breakout series The Royals.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first three installments of The Hunger Games franchise, the first two installments of the Divergent franchise, Age of Adaline, CBS/Lionsgate's The DUFF, John Wick, Now You See Me, Roadside Attractions' A Most Wanted Man, Lionsgate/Codeblack Films' Addicted and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 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 and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com

For further information, please contact:

Peter D. Wilkes
(310) 255-3726
[email protected]

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SOURCE Lionsgate

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