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Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, announced today that it has acquired distribution rights to an untitled documentary about world religion, directed by Larry Charles (BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN, "Curb Your Enthusiasm") and starring political humorist and author Bill Maher ("Real Time With Bill Maher," "Politically Incorrect"). Jonah Smith and Palmer West of Thousand Words (A SCANNER DARKLY, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) are producing. CAA arranged financing for the film in 2006. Stuart Ford of IM Global is handling international sales. The announcement was made by Lionsgate President of Theatrical Films Tom Ortenberg.
The documentary follows Maher as he travels around the globe interviewing people about God and religion. Known for his astute analytical skills, irreverent wit and commitment to never pulling a punch, Maher brings his characteristic honesty to an unusual spiritual journey. The film will mark Charles' first feature project since the critically acclaimed, wildly successful BORAT.
"It's an honor and a privilege to be working with Larry Charles and Bill Maher, two of the sharpest, funniest minds in show business," said Ortenberg. "I can't imagine a better team to tackle the subject of religion in a smart, inventive and unpretentious way. We feel this film can play as broadly as a Michael Moore film, and it's sure to be as provocative, informative and entertaining as any documentary in recent memory. Certainly, the promo reel that the sales team screened at Cannes generated enormous enthusiasm among acquisition executives across the board. Of course, a movie that deals topically with religion is bound to generate controversy, and that makes it a risky proposition. At Lionsgate, we've dealt with that kind of challenge before, so we are very, very happy to partner with Larry, Bill and Thousand Words to give this film the release it deserves."
Said Maher, "Comedically, the topic of religion is hitting the side of a barn -- it's literally hard to miss. This movie will make you laugh so hard you'll pray for it to stop."
Observed Charles, "Nietzsche said God is dead, but he didn't see the grosses for PASSION OF THE CHRIST."
Remarked Smith and West, "We're delighted to be in business with Lionsgate, a cutting-edge company that is the ideal home for this provocative film."
The project reunites Charles and Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer, who previously worked together when Feltheimer headed the Columbia TriStar Television group and Charles served as writer, producer, supervising producer and executive producer on the company's Emmy Award-winning hit series "Mad About You."
The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Ortenberg, Eda Kowan, Vice President of Acquisitions and Wendy Jaffe, Executive Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs, Acquisitions & Co-Productions; and by CAA and Alan Grodin, Esq. of Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall, on behalf of Thousand Words and the filmmakers.
ABOUT BILL MAHER
Standup comedian, television personality and author Bill Maher is recognized as one of America's finest political humorists, capable of making audiences laugh as well as think. He is the star of the critically acclaimed HBO series "Real Time with Bill Maher," which combines Maher's hilariously incisive monologues with interviews and stimulating panel discussions about current events. Launched in 2003, "Real Time with Bill Maher" has received multiple Emmy nominations as well as nominations from the Writers' Guild of America and Producers' Guild of America. In 1993, Maher created the Comedy Central series "Politically Incorrect," which brought together an array of politicians, entertainers and journalists for frank and funny topical debate. Winners of four CableACE Awards combined, Maher and his program grew in popularity year to year, eventually catching the attention in 1997 of ABC and capturing the post-"Nightline" time slot. "Politically Incorrect" concluded its run in July 2002, having received a total of 18 Emmy nominations since 1995.
Maher's television credits include numerous HBO specials, including the critically acclaimed "Bill Maher: Be More Cynical" and most recently, the Emmy-nominated "I'm Swiss." His newest HBO special, "Bill Maher: The Decider" will air in July. In 2005, Maher published New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer, adapted from his extremely popular "New Rules" segment on "Real Time with Bill Maher." The book spent nearly three months on The New York Times bestseller list, and the audio book received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Spoken Word Album. His other books include When You Ride Alone You Ride with Bin Laden: What the Government SHOULD Be Telling Us to Fight the War on Terrorism (2002); Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits (1996); and True Story (1994), a comic novel based on his life and early career in standup comedy. Maher has participated in sold-out comedy tours throughout the United States. He received a Tony nomination for the three-week run of his one-man Broadway Show, "Victory Begins at Home."
ABOUT LARRY CHARLES
Larry Charles is an award-winning writer, producer and director whose credits include the 2006 critical and box-office smash BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN and the celebrated television programs "Seinfeld," "Mad About You" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." He has won two Emmy Awards, for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing (both for "Seinfeld"), a Golden Globe Award and the prestigious Peabody Award. He has received eight Emmy Award nominations for writing and producing, as well as multiple Golden Globe, WGA and DGA nominations. Charles made his feature directorial debut in 2003 with the controversial comedy/drama MASKED AND ANONYMOUS, co-written with and starring Bob Dylan and featuring an all-star cast including Jeff Bridges, Penelope Cruz and Jessica Lange. Charles executive produced the pilot and the first two seasons of the acclaimed HBO series "Entourage," and wrote and co- wrote many episodes of the hit series. Charles also developed and served as executive producer of the Emmy award-winning animated series, "Dilbert," and of the live-action version of the cult underground comic, "The Tick."
ABOUT THOUSAND WORDS
Thousand Words is an independent development, production and financing company founded by producers Palmer West and Jonah Smith in 1999. In addition to the Untitled Larry Charles/Bill Maher Religion Project, West and Smith recently produced Chris Gorak's RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR, which was acquired by Lionsgate at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and will be released on August 24th. The team also produced Richard Linklater's Keanu Reeves-starrer A SCANNER DARKLY, which was released by Warner Independent Pictures, and Scott Caan's THE DOG PROBLEM, which premiered last year at Toronto and was acquired by Think Film. Additional credits include THE CLEARING, THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND, WAKING LIFE and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM.
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, winning the 2006 Best Picture Academy Award(R) for CRASH, generating two consecutive years of $300 million-plus domestic theatrical box office, operating a $500 million-plus home entertainment business and producing a broad slate of prime time television series for fiscal 2007. It is a premier producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of more than 10,000 titles is a valuable source of stable, recurring revenue and a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
http://www.lionsgate.com
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