SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 6, 2013 /CNW/ - Sea to Sky Entertainment, the television production and distribution joint venture between LIONSGATE ® (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company, and Frank Giustra's Thunderbird Films, has brought Brett Burlock onboard as Vice President, Creative Affairs, it was announced today by Lionsgate Television Group President Kevin Beggs and Thunderbird Films CEO Tim Gamble.
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Formerly head of development for CTV, Burlock is based in Toronto and joins Sea to Sky as it ramps up its efforts to become a full service studio alternative for Canadian networks. While at CTV, Burlock was instrumental in driving the critical and ratings success of the network's original production slate, including "Flashpoint," "The Borgias," "The Bridge" and "Saving Hope."
"Brett is a highly creative executive with excellent industry relationships and an impressive track record in developing exciting material for television," said Beggs. "We anticipate a great collaboration as we work together to diversify and expand our imprint in Canada."
"Brett's hiring represents a great opportunity for us to continue our push into the cross-border and international co-production space. As business models continue to emerge and evolve, Sea to Sky is extremely well-positioned to help bring the next generation of hits to our networks," said Gamble.
Burlock added, "I look forward to working with the accomplished people at Lionsgate and Thunderbird to attract the best talent and help foster innovative and compelling content for our network partners in Canada, the US and internationally."
Sea to Sky Entertainment already has a number of projects in development, including a television series based on novels by "Gone Baby Gone" author Dennis Lehane and a limited television series based on the book "An Uncommon Youth," a first-person account of the events surrounding the John Paul Getty III kidnapping in 1973.
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, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of primetime cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 26 shows on 19 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men, Weeds and Nurse Jackie, the new comedy Anger Management, the network series Nashville, the syndication successes Tyler Perry's House of Payne, its spinoff Meet the Browns, For Better Or Worse, The Wendy Williams Show, Are We There Yet? and the upcoming Orange Is The New Black, an original series for Netflix.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of The Hunger Games franchise, the 13th highest-grossing North American release of all time, The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn – Part 2, which has grossed more than $800 million at the worldwide box office, The Expendables 2, The Possession, Sinister, The Cabin in the Woods, Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection and Arbitrage. With the January 2012 acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the Company has now added the blockbuster Twilight Saga franchise, which has grossed more than $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office, to its current slate, giving the Company the two premier young adult franchises in the world. Recent Summit hits include Red, Letters to Juliet, Knowing, the Step Up franchise and the Academy Award-winning Best Picture, The Hurt Locker.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business 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 15,000 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 and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
Media Contact:
Leah Krantzler
The Lippin Group
(323) 965-1990
lkrantzler@lippingroup.com
Nicola Pender
604-683-3555
nicola@thunderbirdfilms.net
For Lionsgate corporate information, please contact:
Peter D. Wilkes
310-255-3726
pwilkes@lionsgate.com
SOURCE: Lionsgate
