Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Undergoes Layoffs

I have just spent a week at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. I saw no sunlight from Monday around noon to Thursday. But I did see some movies, or at least part of them. It was of course CinemaCon week, or as I like to call it, ‘the unofficial start to Oscar season’. Many pundits might rather give the upcoming Cannes Film Festival with that kind of distinction, but in recent times this smoke-filled exhibitors extravaganza looks to be the starting gun, if you go by what the studios are dropping footage of between all the popcorn movies entertainment theatre owners really care about.

It isn’t just the proximity to New York’s top-shelf production community. It’s also the scale.

Never mind that it’s been almost eight years since “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” hit theaters. After Suzanne Collins published “The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes” in 2020, a prequel to her hit YA sci-fi series “The Hunger Games” was all but guaranteed Lionsgate would make a movie of it.

“Nothing in any future I see can replace the communal theatrical experience,” emphasized Lionsgate Motion Picture Chair Adam Fogelson at the top of Lionsgate CinemaCon presentation, which closed out the 2023 Las Vegas confab this afternoon.

Film and TV studio Fifth Season has reduced its staff by 2%. Eight executives are leaving as part of the cuts, including SVP Marketing Beth McPhee, who previously worked for Focus Features and Bloom; SVP Communications Sharon Liggins, a veteran, respected communications executive who spent many years at Disney; and Jennifer Saull, Counsel, TV Business and Legal Affairs.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to Pedro Almodóvar’s short Western “Strange Way of Life,” excluding the territories of the U.K., France, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Italy and Latin America. Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal star in the short that will premiere in official selection at the Cannes Film Festival. The short is now in pre-production and Sony Pictures Classics will release this fall. It’s Almodóvar’s second English-language project after “The Human Voice,” which was also distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. “Strange Way of Life” is produced by Almodóvar’s El Deseo and presented by Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello. It also stars Pedro Casablanc, Manu Ríos, George Steane, José Condessa, Jason Fernández and Sara Sálamo. It’s produced by Agustín Almodóvar, with Esther García as executive producer and Bárbara Peiró, Diego Pajuelo, and Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello as associate producers.

For the second year in a row, CinemaCon is in full swing. And, unlike last year when there were hopes the post-pandemic box office would turn around, the last six months have seen a slew of big hits and increased optimism that the movies are truly “back.” One studio that has had a somewhat slow start to 2023 is Sony Pictures, and the Culver City staple kicked off the convention touting a number of its upcoming tentpoles including “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Kraven the Hunter,” “Dumb Money” and, in partnership with Apple Original Films, Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon.” READ MORE: ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’ Trailer: Miles Morales wants to change his destiny in the new ‘Spider-Verse’ sequel Sony also brought some in-person star power to the event with Jennifer Lawrence (“No Hard Feelings”); David Harbour and Orlando Bloom (“Gran Turismo”); Issa Rae, Haliee Steinfeld and Shameik Moore (“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”); Glenn Powell and Sydney Sweeny (“Anyone But You”); and Dakota Fanning and Denzel Washington (“Equalizer 3”).

Tom Hanks has expertly re-invented himself over the years, moving from rom-com star (Big) to war hero (Saving Private Ryan) to character actor (Elvis), and as a writer-director with That Thing You Do! and Larry Crowne. His newest chapter: novelist.

No shortage of Manchester United supporters ripped into Erik ten Hag's players after going 2-0 down right at the start of the second-half of their Europa League quarter-final second-leg against Sevilla in Spain on Thursday evening.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Warner Bros. Intl. Television Prod. (WBITVP) has appointed former Fremantle exec Harry Gamsu as new VP, creative, for format, development and sales. He will report to Andrew Zein, SVP creative, for format development and sales and oversee relations between WBITVP’s international division and the WB’s U.S. TV production units Warner Horizon, Telepictures and Shed. Gamsu will also evaluate formats in WB’s catalogue for international exploitation and format sales to Canada. He succeeds Adam Steinman, who ankled WBITVP earlier this year. In his previous role as VP of non-scripted content acquisitions at Fremantle, Gamsu managed the U.S. content acquisition team and working on factual and entertainment series.

Lionsgate is behind an upcoming “Hunger Games” prequel film with “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” looking to expand that story with a different setting without having a pricey star like Jennifer Lawrence return. However, that’s not the only young adult genre franchise from their IP library they’re looking to resurrect from the grave as a series reboot based on the “Twilight” franchise is in the works at Lionsgate Television.

EXCLUSIVE: Percy Daggs IV (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey) and Anthony B. Jenkins (Florida Man) have been set to join Halle Berry in Lionsgate‘s thriller Never Let Go (fka Mother Land) from 21 Laps.

The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news, “Tell Me Lies” and “The Get Down” writer Sinead Daly is attached to pen the script. There also isn’t a timeline for the project at the moment. Lionsgate TV plans to lead development on the series before shopping the rights to the package.

Twilight is getting the TV treatment.

TV series is reportedly in the works from Lionsgate, on April 19. If you missed out on the Team Edward or Team Jacob drama the first time, looks like you'll have another opportunity to participate in the fandom.The reported Twilight series will turn the film franchise (and original novels by ) into a television show format. THR doesn't have a ton of details yet — no network or writer news.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A “Twilight” TV series adaptation is in very early development at Lionsgate TV, Variety has confirmed with sources. The series would be based on the Stephanie Meyers book series of the same name, which was previously adapted into a film franchise. At this time, there is no writer or a network/streaming service attached to the project. According to sources, Wyck Godfrey and Erik Feig are attached as executive producers. Feig is the former co-president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, while Godfrey and his Temple Hill production company produced the five “Twilight” films. Meyers is also expected to be involved in any potential series.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Charter Spectrum has filed a lawsuit accusing Lionsgate of reneging on an agreement to deliver a third season of the “Manhunt” anthology series that was connected to the cable operators carriage of the Pop TV channel. The suit, filed late Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, underscores the Byzantine nature of dealmaking between media giants these days, and it demonstrates the desperate measures that studios have taken to keep low-profile cable channels on the air. At the time of the events in quesiton, Lionsgate jointly owned Pop TV with CBS. But Lionsgate’s motivation changed after it sold its stake in Pop TV to CBS in 2019, according to the suit.

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Emmy nominee Rebecca Sonnenshine (The Boys) is set to pen a feature adaptation of Freida McFadden’s bestselling novel The Housemaid for Lionsgate.

Aziz Ansari is making his feature directorial debut with Good Fortune at Lionsgate, a movie he’ll also write and star alongside with Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen. Lionsgate will launch sales for the pic at Cannes next month, which is also when cameras roll in LA. The storyline is under wraps.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Aziz Ansari is making his feature directorial debut with “Good Fortune,” a comedy whose plot is shrouded in secrecy. Lionsgate has landed rights to the film, which will be written and directed by Ansari. The comedian, who is also starring in “Good Fortune,” has assembled the high-wattage cast of Seth Rogen and Keanu Reeves. Since the logline is being kept under wraps, it’s unclear who the actors are playing in the movie. The production has been greenlit and will start principal photography next month in Los Angeles. Around the same time, Lionsgate is launching sales in Cannes Film Festival.