HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE ON FACEBOOK AS LIONSGATE AND SOCIAL GAME UNIVERSE RELEASE THE DIRTY DANCING FACEBOOK GAME

HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE ON FACEBOOK AS LIONSGATE AND SOCIAL GAME UNIVERSE RELEASE THE DIRTY DANCING FACEBOOK GAME

More Than 10.9 Million Loyal Facebook Fans of the 1987 Hit Film Will Be Able To Spread Romance at Kellerman's Resort In A Whole New Way Through Social Gaming

SANTA MONICA, Calif., and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a leading diversified global entertainment company, is continuing its push into social gaming by teaming with Social Game Universe to release the first-ever Facebook game based on the beloved 1987 film Dirty Dancing the two companies announced today.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110913/LA67160)

By visiting http://apps.facebook.com/dirtydancinggame, everyone who has ever wanted to be a part of those magical times in the Catskills can now have the time of their lives by acting as managers and caretakers of Kellerman's Resort. Players and their Facebook friends will join the characters to build the resort, provide guests with fun activities and dances, spread romance and enjoy music from the classic Dirty Dancing soundtrack. The game is designed using Pixel Art to re-create that fun and innocence which made Dirty Dancing one of the most popular films of the '80s.

With more than 10.9 million fans, Dirty Dancing is a Facebook sensation, ranked as one of the top 10 most "liked" entertainment franchises. It is also the 9th ranked movie on Facebook and is by far the leading '80s movie on the site with millions of passionate and active fans. Posts on the fan page regularly receive tens of thousands of "likes" and comments and one specific post on the anniversary of actor Patrick Swayze's death broke the Guinness World Record for the most responses in a 24 hour period with over 100K "likes" and over 10K comments.

The launch of the Dirty Dancing social game is part of a multiplatform initiative built around one of the Company's most popular and enduring franchises. Lionsgate announced last month that it will make a new Dirty Dancing feature film for release in 2013, directed by Kenny Ortega, the choreographer of the original Dirty Dancing movie and director of High School Musical.

"Dirty Dancing is that rare movie that resonates with each new generation and continues to expand upon what is already an extremely loyal and active group of people who can't get enough of this coming of age story," said Anne Parducci, Lionsgate's Executive Vice President, Family & Home Entertainment Marketing. "Whether through DVDs, licensed products, live theatre, or the recently announced remake of the film directed by the film's original choreographer, Kenny Ortega, we are constantly developing ways to satiate the hunger of the fans so they can relive this remarkable film in new and exciting ways. There is no single place that the fan base is more active than on Facebook and this game will provide them with the ultimate way to experience Dirty Dancing and Kellerman's Resort."

"We are capitalizing on new platforms to drive additional, incremental revenues for our successful brands - and Dirty Dancing, with its incredibly strong Facebook following, was a natural fit for extension into social gaming. We view this as a clear opportunity to further monetize one of our most popular brands and we will continue to identify and develop innovative brand extensions as we explore the emerging platforms of the digital marketplace," said Curt Marvis, Lionsgate's President of Digital Media. Marvis noted that Lionsgate is also launching a social game built around its long running Weeds comedy television series.

In the Dirty Dancing Facebook game, developed by Toronto-based Social Game Universe, players manage the legendary Kellerman's Resort and are tasked with building it into a thriving and romance-filled getaway for its guests. To do this, users drop cupid-style grenades that result in "Romance Waves" that echo across their resorts, causing resort guests to fall in love and extend their stay. To further immerse fans in the Dirty Dancing world, the game also uses the unforgettable songs from the movie soundtrack to help guests fall in love.

"We wanted to create a game that would not only capture the essence and aesthetic of the Dirty Dancing film, but also offer Facebook gamers an opportunity to experience it in a whole new way," said Nathon Gunn, CEO of Social Game Universe. "By enabling players to partner with their Facebook friends to generate love and romance at Kellerman's, they can add their own unique spin to the game, creating a different social experience for each player."

To create the resort of their dreams, players can use the game's watermelon currency to purchase iconic virtual items like tennis courts. Players can also build lodges in order to increase capacity and decorate their resorts with everything from hedges to jukeboxes.

Of course, the main attraction at Kellerman's is the dance shows. Featuring a set of players' Facebook friends alongside characters from the movie, each show must be properly rehearsed before it is ready to be performed. The more dance shows a player hosts, the more romance waves they generate, all of which contributes to returning Kellerman's to its former glory. If they really want to put on a show for the ages, players must discover secret dance style combinations that give them bonuses.

As their resort thrives, users will be able to take pictures of it, store them in a keepsake album and share them with friends on Facebook. They can also visit friends' resorts to help out and send gifts to their friends.

About The Dirty Dancing Brand

First released in 1987, Dirty Dancing redefined date movies and continues to captivate the hearts and minds of generations of fans. A sleeper hit that for its time was one of the most profitable independent films, Dirty Dancing cost $6 million to produce and went on to gross $213 million worldwide. Dirty Dancing remains one of the most popular films in Lionsgate's 13,000-title library, having sold more than 10 million units on DVD, and is one of the most enduring modern classics in feature film and home entertainment history. Lionsgate recently announced plans for a remake of the film, to be directed by the original choreographer, Kenny Ortega.

Starring Jennifer Grey (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) as "Baby" Houseman and Patrick Swayze (Ghost) as the sexy Johnny Castle, Dirty Dancing is the story of a naive girl who meets an experienced dance instructor and becomes his pupil in dance and love. The film won dual Oscars® for Best Music and Best Original Song.

In 2007, Lionsgate orchestrated a multi-platform 20th anniversary celebration that included a 300 theater theatrical re-release of the original film, the release of The Dirty Dancing 20th Anniversary Edition on DVD and Blu-ray, a remastered soundtrack companion CD from Sony/BMG, and a full licensing and merchandising program that included everything from retro t-shirts, to calendars, board games, infant clothing, PC games, and sleepwear. The anniversary celebration was a resounding success, and opportunities to expand the brand continued to present themselves. The Dirty Dancing: Official Dance Workout was launched soon after, and it ranked in the top 15 of all fitness DVDs on Nielsen for 2009, as well as debuting as the #1 fitness DVD when it launched in the UK. The Dirty Dancing: Limited Keepsake Edition, which included a heartfelt Patrick Swayze tribute, was released on DVD and Blu-ray in May 2010. Recently, the Dirty Dancing video slots game launched at casinos nationwide, allowing players to dance the mambo with Baby and Johnny while singing along to the film's hit soundtrack as they enjoy the entertainment-packed multi-sensory interactive slot.

Fans of the franchise are not only motivated, passionate consumers of all things Dirty Dancing , they love to connect with each other in public: a stage show that also launched twenty years after the film's release sold out theaters in seven cities in six countries spanning four continents, totaling 3,800 shows, with more than four million theatergoers. The London show sold out with $50 million in advance ticket sales. But more telling than even the numbers was the atmosphere at the shows- the Los Angeles Times reported memorably on the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" like boisterousness and fan bonding that took place across the globe. Each year, there is also a fan organized tribute festival at Lake Lure, where the film was shot.

Lionsgate has continually modernized the brand and employed emerging technology to further connect its legions of devotees. With more than ten million fans (and more than 1.5 million of them added in the past three months alone) Dirty Dancing is a Facebook sensation, ranked as one of the top 10 most "liked" entertainment franchises ahead of more current phenomena such as The Dark Knight. Posts on the fan page regularly receive tens of thousands of "likes" and comments and one specific post on the anniversary of actor Patrick Swayze's death broke the Guinness World Record for the most responses in a 24 hour period with over 100K "likes" and over 10,000 comments.

ABOUT LIONSGATE

Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution and new channel platforms. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 15 shows on more than 10 networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as "Mad Men", "Weeds" and "Nurse Jackie" along with the comedy "Blue Mountain State, " the upcoming drama "Boss" and the syndication successes "Tyler Perry's House Of Payne", its spinoff "Meet The Browns", the upcoming "For Better or Worse," "The Wendy Williams Show" and "Are We There Yet?".

Its feature film business has generated more than half a billion dollars at the North American box office in the past year, fueled by such successes as THE LINCOLN LAWYER, TYLER PERRY'S MADEA'S BIG HAPPY FAMILY, THE EXPENDABLES, which was #1 at the North American box office for two weeks, THE LAST EXORCISM, TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?, KICK ASS and the critically-acclaimed PRECIOUS, which won two Academy Awards®. The Company's home entertainment business has grown to more than 8% market share and is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 13,000 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 brand remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

ABOUT SOCIAL GAME UNIVERSE

Social Game Universe is a Toronto-based social games innovator founded in 2009 by veteran digital media entrepreneur and game designer Nathon Gunn. Social Game Universe has developed a sophisticated and scalable suite of tools for optimizing social game performance that enable branded entertainment companies to effectively monetize their IP. These tools are being used to power Social Game Universe's revolutionary new ad banner platform, igapi, as well as three popular Facebook games:Dirty Dancing, Hollywood Tycoonand Grow-Ops. For more information and news about Social Game Universe, please visit the official website.

Press Contact for Lionsgate:
Jodie Magid / Jennifer Sandler
212-386-6885 / 310-255-4072
jmagid@lionsgate.com / jsandler@lionsgate.com

For Lionsgate Corporate Inquiries, Contact:
Peter D. Wilkes
310-255-3726

Press Contact for Social Game Universe:
Racheal Caswell / Nathalie Nourian
Wonacott Communications, LLC
(310) 477-2871 Ext. 662 / Ext 674
rcaswell@wonacottpr.com / nnourian@wonacottpr.com

SOURCE Lionsgate

Photo:http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110913/LA67160
http://photoarchive.ap.org/
Lionsgate

Web Site: http://apps.facebook.com/dirtydancinggame

-------
Profile: intent