Tracey Edmonds Named President and Chief Operating Officer of Our Stories Films, a Robert L. Johnson and Weinstein Company Venture

Tracey Edmonds Named President and Chief Operating Officer of Our Stories Films, a Robert L. Johnson and Weinstein Company Venture

Longtime Leader of Edmonds Entertainment to Head New Urban Film Company

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Answering the promise to assemble a top-notch management team, Our Stories Films, the recently announced film studio created by Robert L. Johnson and The Weinstein Company, has named well-respected entertainment executive Tracey Edmonds as its president and chief operating officer. The announcement was made jointly today by Robert L. Johnson and Bob and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company.

As president and chief operating officer, Edmonds will be responsible for driving the vision of the new film studio and all operations. In running the company, she will be charged with identifying and executing on projects from development to production. She will soon assemble a team of executives to support her in establishing the studio's unique position in the marketplace. Last month, through the privately-held RLJ Companies (RLJ), Johnson, founder of BET and owner of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats, entered into the new venture with The Weinstein Company (TWC) to create a film company that will produce titles in the urban comedy genre.

"For a long time, the African-American creative community has wanted to have a studio where greenlight authority rests with an African-American. I'm happy that Harvey and Bob have joined me in making this vision a reality. I'm excited that Tracey has chosen to become a part of this venture -- her track record and creative abilities will insure that the vision becomes a success."

"When looking for someone to lead Our Stories, we identified an executive who has a track record of innovation and success, the respect of the industry, and a strong understanding of, and relationships with, both business and talent," said Harvey Weinstein. "Tracey is the ideal choice, and we're thrilled that she will be heading up Our Stories."

Over the past 10 years as owner, president and CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group, Edmonds has amassed a track record filled with significant accomplishments in film, television and music. Edmonds' first feature film, Soul Food, was produced for $7 million and grossed over $43 million at the box office, spawning a triple platinum soundtrack and a popular Showtime television series of the same name that ran for five seasons. Both the feature and the series won multiple NAACP awards.

Edmonds' independent film production company, e2 filmworks, produced two critically acclaimed motion pictures: Hav Plenty, released by Miramax in 1998, and PUNKS, which won Best American Independent Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Torino Italy Film Festival, and Outstanding Emerging Talent at the L.A. OutFest, as well as a distinguished John Cassavetes Independent Spirit Award nomination.

Edmonds has also produced some of the most popular television shows to ever appear on BET, including the first African-American reality series, "College Hill," which debuted in 2004 to set a network record as BET's highest rated series premiere in 25 years. "College Hill" is now in its fourth season and continues to be a ratings winner. In 2006, Edmonds created and executive produced "Lil Kim: Countdown to Lockdown," which currently stands as the top-rated series debut in BET history. Edmonds also produced the popular "DMX: Soul of a Man" for BET.

In the music world, Edmonds has executive produced and music supervised several gold and platinum soundtracks, including those for Light it Up and Josie and the Pussycats. She has also had success in live theatre, producing the musical play "Love Makes Things Happen," which was nominated for multiple NAACP Image Awards.

Edmonds serves on the Board of Governors for the Producers Guild of America, and served as one of two African-American executives on the board of the Recording Industry of Association of America (RIAA). She has won numerous awards for her achievements in the industry, including Turner Broadcasting System's prestigious Tower of Power Award 2000; the Ebony Magazine Outstanding Women in Marketing & Communications Entrepreneur Award (2002); a 2004 award from Girls Inc. in recognition of her efforts to inspire girls to be strong, smart and bold; an honorary doctorate in business from Southern Methodist University (2004); the National Organization for Women's Excellence in Media Award (2005) and most recently, the National Coalition On Black Civil Participation, Inc.'s Spirit of Democracy Award (2005).

Currently, Edmonds is in production on Good Luck Chuck, a romantic comedy for Lions Gate starring Jessica Alba and Dane Cook. Edmonds also has a slate of feature film project set up at Disney, Fox Searchlight, Columbia and Universal.

Our Stories is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in New York City. Our Stories titles will be theatrically distributed by The Weinstein Company's Dimension Films and on DVD by Genius Products, Inc. Under the agreement, TWC has an equity stake in the venture. Johnson will oversee the decisions to produce, acquire and finance film projects. JP Morgan Chase has committed to financing the venture with up to $175 million under terms to be negotiated.

About The RLJ Companies

The RLJ Companies ("RLJ"), founded by Robert L. Johnson, founder and former CEO and Chairman of Black Entertainment Television owns or holds majority interests in a diverse portfolio of companies in the financial services/asset management, real estate, hospitality, professional sports, film production, gaming and recording industries. An innovative business network, The RLJ Companies seeks to target undiscovered or underserved markets, then exercise solid management and achieve exceptional results. RLJ is located in Bethesda, Maryland, and currently has operations in New York and San Francisco.

About The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films

Bob and Harvey Weinstein launched The Weinstein Company, a multi-media company, on October 1, 2005. Dimension Films, the genre label that began at Miramax, is also included under The Weinstein Company banner.

The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films have released the sexy psychological thriller "Derailed," starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen; "Wolf Creek," the terrifying Australian horror film; "Hoodwinked," a tremendously successful CGI animated family film; "Lucky Number Slevin," starring Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu, and Academy Award winners Morgan Freeman, and Sir Ben Kingsley; "Scary Movie 4," the record breaking latest installment in the hugely successful and hilarious horror-parody series; "The Matador," starring Pierce Brosnan; "Transamerica," starring Golden Globe winner Felicity Huffman; and "Mrs. Henderson Presents," starring Academy Award winner Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins; "Clerks II," a hilarious new film from Kevin Smith; and "Pulse," a remake of a Japanese horror film starring Kristen Bell and Ian Somerhalder. "Lucky Number Slevin" and "Clerks II" are Weinstein Company presentations that are distributed by MGM.

In 1994, Bob Weinstein founded Dimension Films, a film label committed to producing highly commercial science fiction, thriller, action, urban, and horror genre films. Some of the company's successful slate of releases include the "Scary Movie" franchise, Wes Craven's "Scream" trilogy, Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids" trilogy, "Bad Santa," "Halloween: H2O," "The Crow," Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's "From Dusk Till Dawn," Wes Craven's "Cursed," and Robert Rodriguez's "Sin City" franchise.

Upcoming films from Dimension include "School for Scoundrels," a comedy from director Todd Phillips ("Old School") starring Jon Heder ("Napoleon Dynamite") and Billy Bob Thornton ("Bad Santa," "Monster's Ball"); "Black Christmas" a remake of the 1970's cult horror classic of the same name, which stars Michelle Trachtenberg, Lacey Chabert, Oliver Hudson, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead; "Superhero Movie" a spoof on the latest trend of comic-book inspired films from director David Zucker; a big screen adaptation of "Welcome Back, Kotter," starring Ice Cube; and "Sin City 2," the second installment in the franchise based on the electrifying graphic novels from Frank Miller, which will be co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Miller.

Source: Our Stories Films

CONTACT: Doug Piwinski of BNC, +1-310-854-4834, dpiwinski@bncpr.com, for
Our Stories/Tracey Edmonds; Lisa Pickrum of RLJ Companies, +1-301-280-7703,
lisa@RLJcompanies.com; or Julie Cloutier, +1-646-862-3825,
Julie.cloutier@weinsteinco.com, or Sarah Levinson Rothman, +1-646-862-3823,
Sarah.rothman@weinsteinco.com, both of The Weinstein Company

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