Lionsgate Tries a Little TENDERNESS

Lionsgate Tries a Little TENDERNESS

Studio Secures North American, U.K., Australian and South African Rights to GreeneStreet Films' New Thriller, Directed By John Polson and Starring Academy Award(R) Winner Russell Crowe, Jon Foster, Sophie Traub and Academy Award(R) Nominee Laura Dern

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF), the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, announced today that it has acquired the North American, U.K., Australian and South African distribution rights to GreeneStreet Films' TENDERNESS, a thriller directed by John Polson (HIDE AND SEEK, SWIMFAN). Written by Emil Stern and based on the novel by Robert Cormier, TENDERNESS is produced by GreeneStreet co-founder John Penotti, Howard Meltzer and Charles Randolph; GreeneStreet co-founder Fisher Stevens and Tim Williams are executive producers. Jana Edelbaum of iDeal Partners Film Fund and Scott Hanson and John Allen of Hanson Film Fund are also executive producers. GreeneStreet Films, iDeal Partners Film Fund and Hanson Film Fund co-financed TENDERNESS. The film stars Academy Award(R) winner Russell Crowe, Jon Foster, Sophie Traub and Academy Award(R) nominee Laura Dern. The announcement was made jointly by Lionsgate President of Theatrical Films Tom Ortenberg and President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions Peter Block.

"TENDERNESS delivers an unbeatable combination of story, filmmakers and actors," noted Ortenberg and Block. "The common denominator here is intensity: on the one hand, you have the heightened emotions of a young couple on the run, and on the other, the fierce resolve of the cop who is hard on their trail, trying to prevent disaster. John Polson, Russell Crowe, Jon Foster, Sophie Traub, and Laura Dern have given it their all -- which means that audiences can count on an incredibly gripping experience."

Said Penotti, "We are delighted to be partnering with Lionsgate on TENDERNESS. The entire Lionsgate team is renowned for their sharp ideas and enormous energy, and we are looking forward to working with them to bring TENDERNESS to moviegoers on four continents."

SYNOPSIS

Lori Cranston (Sophie Traub) is a confused fifteen-year-old dreamer in search of an escape from her troubled home life. She discovers and becomes enthralled with Eric (Jon Foster), a young man with a violent past. As they embark on a harrowing journey, a hardened local cop (Russell Crowe), who has been following Eric for years, is intent on exposing him as a serial killer before Lori's fate is determined.

The deal was negotiated for Lionsgate by Block, Jason Constantine, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions, and Wendy Jaffe, Senior Vice President Legal & Business Affairs, Acquisitions; and for GreeneStreet by Vicki Cherkas, GreeneStreet Head of Business Affairs, Business Development and New Ventures, and CAA.

ABOUT GREENESTREET FILMS (GSF)

GreeneStreet Films is an independent film company founded by John Penotti and Fisher Stevens. Most recently, GreeneStreet co-financed and executive produced Robert Altman's A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (Picturehouse) and financed and produced ONCE IN A LIFETIME (Miramax). The company is also responsible for the five-time Academy Award(R) nominee IN THE BEDROOM. On the company's horizon is BILL, a comedy directed by Melissa Wallack and Bernie Goldmann starring Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Elizabeth Banks, Timothy Olyphant and Logan Lerman. In addition, Danny Leiner's GARY THE TENNIS COACH starring Seann William Scott, is in production. Soon-to-be-released GSF titles include THE PLEASURE OF YOUR COMPANY (MGM) starring Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher, on tap for a March 2007 release; AWAKE (The Weinstein Company) starring Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Lena Olin and Terrence Howard, slated for early next year; and SLOW BURN (Lionsgate) with Ray Liotta, LL Cool J., Taye Diggs and Mekhi Phifer, set for June 2007.

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate is the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, winning this year's 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.

www.lionsgate.com

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For further information, contact:

For Lionsgate:
Sarah Greenberg
310-255-3856
sgreenberg@lionsgate.com

For corporate inquiries, please contact:

Peter D. Wilkes
pwilkes@lionsgate.com
310-255-3726

For GreeneStreet Films:
Liza Burnett
917-817-3566
liza.burnett@gmail.com

Source: Lionsgate

CONTACT: Sarah Greenberg, +1-310-255-3856, sgreenberg@lionsgate.com, or
corporate inquiries, Peter D. Wilkes, +1-310-255-3726, pwilkes@lionsgate.com,
both of Lionsgate; or Liza Burnett, +1-917-817-3566, liza.burnett@gmail.com,
for GreeneStreet Films

Web site: http://www.lionsgate.com/

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