Jon Feltheimer Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Lionsgate said today its acquisition of global entertainment platform eOne from Hasbro is done.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer recently picked up shares of the company on the open market and vice chair Michael Burns said today he thinks the purchase was spurred by a visit the set of the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Adam Fogelson is replacing Joe Drake as chair of Lionsgate‘s motion picture group. Drake reportedly initiated the transition and will be working with Fogelson over the coming months on succession plans.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Joe Drake is exiting the company, and handing over executive duties and title to Motion Picture Group Vice Chair Adam Fogelson.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer expressed an optimistic view of the movie business – at least the way it is approached by his cost-conscious executive team.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Lionsgate closed its $375 million acquisition of studio Entertainment One (eOne) from toy company Hasbro Wednesday. The deal adds 6,500 film and television titles to Lionsgate’s existing library, including Showtime hit “Yellowjackets,” ABC’s “The Rookie” and Discovery’s “Naked & Afraid” franchise.

Lionsgate Studios — the TV studio, motion picture group and film and television libraries —  will merge with Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp., a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company led by CEO Eli Baker, in a long-anticipated move to split from Starz that’s expected to close this spring.

Lionsgate, which agreed to buy eOne last August, is cutting the production outfit’s already-depleted workforce by a single-digit percentage as the acquisition approaches its official close at the end of the month.

Jon Feltheimer, CEO of the first media company to report quarterly earnings since SAG-AFTRA struck a deal with studios, said Thursday that he’s so pleased that “we can now all get back to making great content for a global audience.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor John Wick continues to be the straw that stirs the drink at Lionsgate. The home entertainment debut of the fourth film of the hit man hit man series and the premiere of its streaming spin-off “The Continental” lifted revenues at Lionsgate to just over $1 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimates.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer‘s compensation rebounded to prior levels in fiscal 2023, reaching $21.5 million.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said the planned split of Lionsgate and Starz will take place in the first quarter of 2024, a change from the prior outlook for early fall of this year.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Losses narrowed and revenues climbed as film hits such as “John Wick: Chapter 4” helped power Lionsgate’s quarterly earnings. It’s a time of change for the company, which is exploring separating its motion picture and television groups from its Starz streaming and pay TV business, and relaunching them as two publicly traded entities. In the near term, Lionsgate reported revenues of $909 million, a 2% increase from the $893.9 million it logged in the prior-year quarter.

Lionsgate has furnished more details to investors ahead of its planned split into two publicly traded entities — one centered on film and TV production and the other on media networks, principally Starz.

Brent Lang Executive Editor The Bride is back. Lionsgate said it is releasing a new and remastered 4K edition of “Kill Bill” to coincide with the Quentin Tarantino film’s 20th anniversary at the end of the year. No word yet on what kind of extras and added footage that version may or may not include. But it does come as Lionsgate announced on its quarterly earnings call that it has landed distribution rights to both “Kill Bill” films and “Jackie Brown.” That gives the company the largest portfolio of Tarantino movies. Lionsgate also has the rights to “Reservoir Dogs,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Django Unchained,” “The Hateful Eight” and “Death Proof.” Most of those movies were initially released by The Weinstein Company or Miramax. Some of those movies later became available after the Weinstein Company went bankrupt after its founder Harvey Weinstein was accused by dozens of women of sexual abuse, harassment and assault.

Lionsgate said today it’s partnered with Quentin Tarantino for distribution rights to three of the director’s iconic films – Kill Bill Volumes I & II and Jackie Brown. 

Lionsgate again came in above market expectations as it reported results for its fiscal fourth quarter Thursday. It once more topped $1.1 billion in revenue, a 17% year-to-year jump, with $17 million in net income, for adjusted earnings per share of $0.21.

Ethan Shanfeld It’s been nearly four years since we learned that a “Weeds” sequel series was in the works at Starz. When Variety exclusively broke the news of the revival in 2019, Mary-Louise Parker was set to executive produce and reprise her role as Nancy Botwin in the potential new series. But Justin Kirk, who played her charming and unfiltered brother-in-law Andy Botwin, isn’t so sure about it. “Even as a fan, do you really want to see us all old and coming back? By the time of Season 8, I don’t think the general idea was, ‘We should keep doing this!'” he told Variety. “Look, I love those people, I love that character. I probably know as much as you do about any future reboots.”

Season 9 of SeriesFest, the international festival and non-profit organization dedicated to championing emerging and underserved voices in storytelling, is “What’s Your Perspective?” Each thought leader will share their point of view on the rapidly evolving television landscape.“It is thrilling to welcome three of the industry’s most respected leaders to the SeriesFest: Season 9 ‘Innovation Talks’ stage. Wade, Kathryn and Adam are trailblazers at the forefront of the ever-changing television landscape,” shares SeriesFest co-founder and CEO, Randi Kleiner.

Jordan Moreau SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers are ahead for “John Wick: Chapter 4,” now playing in theaters. After killing countless High Table henchmen, falling down hundreds of stairs and dueling one blind master swordsman, Keanu Reeves’ John Wick is…dead? “John Wick: Chapter 4” ends with Wick seemingly six feet under, after succumbing to three gunshot wounds he suffered during his final duel with Caine (Donnie Yen). Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) even pay their respects at the master assassin’s tombstone, which is located next to his wife’s final resting place.

As it gets set to reveal plans for the likely separation of Starz and the Lionsgate movie and TV studio, Lionsgate has re-upped two key members of its management team: Vice Chairman Michael Burns and COO Brian Goldsmith.

Lionsgate punched through Wall Street forecasts reporting a jump in revenue to $1 billion last quarter on a record $845 million in sales from its 17,000 film and television library.

Lionsgate, the Santa Monica studio and owner of the Starz cable network, came in well above market expectations as it reported results for its third quarter Thursday. It pulled in $1 billion in revenue and $16.6 million in net income, or adjusted earnings per share of $0.26.Lionsgate’s results reflected a welcome development for a smaller studio trying to survive in an industry pushed to prioritize streaming over theatrical and linear television.

Sandra Stern has been promoted at Lionsgate TV.

Lionsgate total global subscribers rose to 37.8 million for the fiscal second quarter ended in September, driven by international and domestic streaming, where subs were up 52% year-on-year to 27.3 million. Rebranded Lionsgate+ subscribers grew 97% to 14.8 million.

Jim Packer isn’t leaving Lionsgate any time soon.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor CANNES — International TV sales veteran Jim Packer has set a multi-year deal with Lionsgate that will keep him on the senior management team as president of worldwide TV distribution. News of his contract extension was revealed Oct. 17, just as the Mipcom content marketplace kicks off this week in Cannes, bringing the global TV community together for the first full time in three years. Packer has been with Lionsgate since 2011. The news that he has re-upped comes at a time of uncertainty for the studio. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer has said the company, which is home to the Lionsgate studio and Starz pay TV platform, is considering options for separating those assets, possibly by selling off the studio to focus on building up Starz.

Joe Drake has inked a new long-term employment agreement with Lionsgate as their Motion Picture Group Chair.

“Joe and his team continue to execute our core mission of creating great intellectual properties with a strong slate of tentpole films ready for launch beginning with John Wick: Chapter Four,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said. “He is an entrepreneur with strong talent relationships and a firm grasp of the global theatrical marketplace, and he will continue to be a great partner in helping us move the Company forward.”Drake initially served as Lionsgate’s motion picture group chair from 2007-2012, overseeing the launch of the “Hunger Games” and “Expendables” series along with the expansion of the “Saw” horror franchise. In 2012, he left Lionsgate with producing partner Nathan Kahane to create the production company Good Universe, which produced films like “Neighbors,” “Don’t Breathe” and Spike Lee’s remake of Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy.” Drake returned to the Lionsgate chair in 2017 after the studio acquired Good Universe, with Kahane being named president of the motion picture group.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Longtime film executive Joe Drake has extended his contract as Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group chair. The multi-year deal will unfold as Lionsgate debuts a slew of sequels and spinoffs in theaters, including “John Wick: Chatper Four,” the “Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” “Now You See Me 3,” “Expendables 4,” and the remake of “Dirty Dancing.” “Joe and his team continue to execute our core mission of creating great intellectual properties with a strong slate of tentpole films ready for launch beginning with ‘John Wick: Chapter Four,'” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “He is an entrepreneur with strong talent relationships and a firm grasp of the global theatrical marketplace, and he will continue to be a great partner in helping us move the company forward.”

Kevin Beggs is sticking around Lionsgate.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Lionsgate Television Group chairman and chief content integration officer Kevin Beggs has signed a multi-year renewal of his contract. “Kevin and his team have done a great job in building Lionsgate Television into a world-class supplier of valuable premium content to buyers throughout the ecosystem,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “Kevin is a trusted partner whose entrepreneurial, innovative and collaborative approach reflects our culture at its best. Under his leadership, our television business is positioned to continue growing its profitability and strengthening its respected brand.” Under Beggs, Lionsgate’s current roster of scripted series include three broadcast TV shows — “Home Economics” at ABC, “Welcome to Flatch” at Fox, and the breakout hit “Ghosts” at CBS. The studio also picked up a series order at NBC recently for an untitled multi-cam from Mike O’Malley with Jon Cryer starring.

Kate Aurthur editorLionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer — in his regular weekly letter to the staff — has vowed that the company will prioritize and protect the reproductive rights of its employees.In the letter, which was obtained by Variety, Feltheimer noted that Lionsgate already has strong protections in place “to safeguard employees from discrimination, harassment, bullying and invasion of privacy,” and wrote that after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June, which overturned Roe v. Wade, “it has become necessary to develop strong policies and add to our comprehensive benefits to protect our employees’ reproductive rights as well.” Feltheimer’s letter is copied in full below.The Lionsgate show “P-Valley,” which airs on Starz, is filmed in Georgia, where abortion is forbidden as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSubscriber growth at Starz lifted shares of Lionsgate in after-hours trading, giving investors optimism that the media company will be able to demand top dollar when it finalizes plans to sell off its cable and streaming arm. Streaming subscribers jumped to 26.3 million worldwide, a 57% year-over-year increase.On an earnings call, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said that potential buyers are also interested in the company’s film studio, suggesting that Amazon’s $8.5 billion purchase of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had made Lionsgate a more attractive target.“Our library is newer, fresher than the MGM library,” Feltheimer said.His remarks came as Lionsgate saw a dip in revenue for the most recent fiscal quarter, dropping from $901.2 million to $893.9 million.

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate has hired public relations executive Laurel Pecchia as their VP, Corporate Communications, reporting to EVP, Corporate Communications Peter Wilkes.

Lionsgate Chairman Kevin Beggs has said the studio is “working on a variety of projects” with 42, ramping up international productions and has put recent successes down to there being “a little more room at the broadcasters.” Beggs also defended Netflix following a period of lower-than-expected growth for the streamer but said it may need to be “more judicious and disciplined” going forwards.