Starz Entertainment Acquires Three Films From The Weinstein Company

Starz Entertainment Acquires Three Films From The Weinstein Company

Deal Provides Exclusive Rights to Tarantino/Rodriguez Directed Grindhouse, Scary Movie 4 and Dixie Chicks' Award-Winning Shut Up & Sing

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz Entertainment continues its relationship with the Weinsteins and directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, acquiring the exclusive Pay TV rights to The Weinstein Company's recently released pulp thriller Grindhouse, directed by Tarantino and Rodriguez; the comedy horror spoof Scary Movie 4, directed by David Zucker; and Shut Up & Sing, the award-winning documentary about the controversial band The Dixie Chicks, directed by Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck. In addition to the films premiering on Starz' linear channels, the deal also encompasses availability on Vongo, Starz' movie download service, as well as Starz On Demand.

"Starz has enjoyed a long-term relationship with the Weinsteins since their Miramax days and we're elated to continue it through their exciting new company," said Stephan Shelanski, Starz Entertainment's senior vice president, programming. "We're also continuing our association with Quentin, as we've premiered all of his films on our channels including Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown and the Kill Bill films, plus most of Robert's work such as El Mariachi, From Dusk Till Dawn and Sin City. We're eagerly anticipating the premiere of Grindhouse on Starz, as we believe it will be a phenomenal experience for our audience."

"We are thrilled to be back in business with Starz," said Bob Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company. "Starz's industry leading premium channels and innovative on-demand and broadband offerings are the perfect outlets for these three films. Through this deal, audiences will be able to experience Grindhouse, Shut-Up & Sing, and Scary Movie 4 whenever and wherever they want."

From groundbreaking directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez comes the ultimate film experience: a double-bill of thrillers that will recall both filmmakers' favorite exploitation films. Grindhouse is currently being presented in theaters as one full-length feature comprised of two individual films helmed separately by each director. Tarantino's film, Death Proof, is a rip-roaring slasher flick where the killer pursues his victims with a car rather than a knife, while Rodriguez's film explores an alien world eerily familiar to ours in Planet Terror. Starring Rose McGowan, Marley Shelton, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, Naveen Andrews, Stacy Ferguson, Elise and Electra Avellan, Kurt Russell, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Tracie Thoms, Rosario Dawson, Zoe Bell, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Eli Roth and Omar Doom, Grindhouse also showcases faux trailers from Eli Roth (Cabin Fever, Hostel and the upcoming Hostel Part II), Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and the upcoming Hot Fuzz) and Rob Zombie (House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects).

Scary Movie 4 is the comedy horror spoof directed by David Zucker (Airplane!, The Naked Gun) and starring Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Bill Pullman, Leslie Nielsen and Carmen Electra.

Rounding out the lineup is Shut Up & Sing, the award-winning documentary on the controversial Dixie Chicks, in the wake of singer Natalie Maines' anti- George W. Bush statement during a European concert. The film is directed by Cecilia Peck (daughter of Gregory) and two-time Oscar(R)-winner Barbara Kopple.

Starz Entertainment is the exclusive subscription television and broadband provider of first-run films from leading Hollywood studios including Walt Disney Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Overture Films, Revolution Studios, Miramax Films, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Pixar, TriStar, Screen Gems, Sony Classics and Warren Miller Films. Select first-run theatrical films from The Weinstein Company, IFC and Yari Film Group are also available for subscription television and broadband exclusively on Starz Entertainment services. A vast collection of classic and favorite titles are provided by a wide array of other Hollywood studios.

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz(R) and Encore(R) brands with approximately 15.5 million and 27.3 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Starz On Demand and Vongo(SM). Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital Group.

About The Weinstein Company

The Weinstein Company (TWC) was created by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films Corporation in 1979. TWC is a multi-media company that officially launched on October 1, 2005. Dimension Films, the genre label that was founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, is also included under the TWC banner.

Since launching on October 1, 2005, The Weinstein Company has made several investments in diverse companies including a 70% ownership in the home video company Genius, aSmallWorld.net, the exclusive social networking Web site, and Ovation TV, the cable channel devoted exclusively to art-related programming, as well as launched Weinstein Books, which will be distributed by Hachette Book Group.

Upcoming Weinstein Company films to be domestically distributed in theaters by MGM include "The Ex" starring Amanda Peet and Zach Braff; "The Nanny Diaries," based on the NY Times No. 1 best-selling satirical comedy, starring Scarlett Johansson and Paul Giamatti; Rob Zombie's reinvention of "Halloween" starring Malcolm McDowell and Brad Dourif; and "1408" adapted from the terrifying short story by suspense master Stephen King starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mary McCormack.

Other upcoming films to be released by The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films include Michael Moore's "Sicko," the romantic comedy "Dedication" starring Billy Crudup and Mandy Moore; the heartfelt drama "Grace Is Gone" starring John Cusack; and Wong Kar Wai's "My Blueberry Nights" starring Norah Jones.

During the Weinsteins' tenure at Miramax Films the company released some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful independent feature films, which received 249 Academy Award(R) nominations and won 60 Oscars(R).

Contact:

Steve Belgard Sarah Levinson Rothman
Starz Entertainment The Weinstein Company
(720) 852-5843 (646) 862-3823
steve.belgard@starz.comSarah.Rothman@weinsteinco.com

Source: Starz Entertainment, LLC

CONTACT: Steve Belgard of Starz Entertainment, +1-720-852-5843,
steve.belgard@starz.com; or Sarah Levinson Rothman of The Weinstein Company,
+1-646-862-3823, Sarah.Rothman@weinsteinco.com

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