Screenwriting

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LIONSGATE® (NYSE: LGF), the leading next generation studio, earned a combined nine Golden Globe® Award nominations today in the film and television categories, the highest number of nominations in the studio's history.

The company earned five Golden Globe nominations for its recent, critically acclaimed films PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE and BROTHERS, including a nomination for PRECIOUS for Best Picture - Drama.

Gabourey Sidibe received a nomination for Best Actress - Drama for her performance in the title role, and co-star Mo'Nique scored a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Tobey Maguire earned a nod for Best Actor - Drama for his performance in BROTHERS. BROTHERS earned a second nomination for Best Original Song, for U2's "Winter," with music by U2 and lyrics by Bono.

The company earned four Golden Globe Award nominations for its critically acclaimed AMC series "Mad Men" and Showtime comedy "Nurse Jackie," including a nod for "Mad Men" for Best Television Series - Drama. "Mad Men"'s best drama series nomination is its third in this category following consecutive wins for its first two seasons. Golden Globe winner Jon Hamm also received his third nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama, and January Jones picked up her second nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama.

Golden Globe winner Edie Falco scored a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical for "Nurse Jackie."

"We are proud of the singular achievements of our creative talent and the skills of our motion picture and television teams that shine such a bright spotlight on Lionsgate and its diversified portfolio of businesses," said Lionsgate co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer.

Both PRECIOUS and BROTHERS are currently in theaters. PRECIOUS has grossed over $38 million since opening in limited release on Friday, November 6; and will move into wide release this weekend. BROTHERS is in its third week of wide release.

Set in 1987, PRECIOUS is a dramatic, vividly realized story of a Harlem teenager who overcomes tremendous obstacles to discover her own worth, beauty and potential. PRECIOUS is directed by Lee Daniels from a screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher based on the book Push, a novel by Sapphire. The film stars Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, Lenny Kravitz and introduces Gabourey Sidibe. PRECIOUS was produced by Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness and Gary Magness. Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Lisa Cortes and Tom Heller are Executive Producers; Simone Sheffield serves as Co-Executive Producer; Mark G. Mathis is Co-Producer; and Asger Hussain serves as Associate Producer.

In BROTHERS, a decorated Marine goes missing overseas and his black-sheep younger brother steps in to care for his wife and children at home--with consequences that will shake the foundation of the entire family. BROTHERS is directed by Jim Sheridan from a screenplay by David Benioff. It stars Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Bailee Madison, Taylor Grace Geare, and Mare Winningham. The producers are Ryan Kavanaugh, Sigurjon Sighvatsson, and Michael De Luca. Executive producers are Tucker Tooley, Jon Feltheimer, Scott Fischer, and Zach Schiff-Abrams, with co-executive producer Jeremiah Samuels and co-producers Kenneth Halsband, Mark Fischer and Matt Battaglia. BROTHERS is based on the Danish film BRODRE by Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen.

"Mad Men," set to launch its fourth season on AMC in 2010, has earned a long list of honors, including two Golden Globe® Awards for Best Television Series - Drama, two Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, a Peabody Award and two Writers Guild Awards, among many others. Created by Matthew Weiner, "Mad Men" is set in New York in the 1960's and follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising when the industry was at its height of glamour, power and prestige. Produced by Lionsgate in association with Weiner Bros. and executive produced by Weiner and Scott Hornbacher, the series stars Jon Hamm, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Bryan Batt, Michael Gladis, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer and Robert Morse.

"Nurse Jackie," which earned a Writers Guild nomination this week for Best New Series and an AFI Award as one of the Top 10 Outstanding Television Programs of 2009, returns to Showtime for its second season in March 2010.

The series stars Edie Falco as the title character, a strong-willed, fiercely loyal, deeply dedicated - but very flawed - emergency nurse in a complicated New York City hospital. Also starring are Eve Best, Peter Facinelli, Merritt Wever, Paul Schulze, Anna Deavere Smith, Dominic Fumusa, Ruby Jerins, Mackenzie Aladjem, Arjun Gupta and Stephen Wallem. Co-produced by Showtime Networks and Lionsgate, the series was created by Evan Dunsky and Liz Brixius & Linda Wallem and is executive produced by Wallem, Brixius, Richie Jackson, Christine Zander, Mark Hudis and Caryn Mandabach.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) is the leading next generation studio with a strong and diversified presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury and an array of channel platform assets. The Company's home entertainment business has grown to more than 7% market share and is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 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.

www.lionsgate.com

    For further information, contact:

    Sarah Greenberg
    LIONSGATE
    (310) 255-3856
    sgreenberg@lionsgate.com

    Leah Krantzler
    The Lippin Group for Lionsgate
    (323) 965-1990
    lkrantzler@lippingroup.com

    For corporate inquiries, please contact:
    Peter D. Wilkes
    LIONSGATE
    (310) 255-3726
    pwilkes@lionsgate.com

SOURCE Lionsgate