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Lions Gate re-releases Benigni's Monster
NEW YORK, March 29 /CNW/ - Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
AMEX/TSE:LGF
On the heels of his two Academy Awards for Life is Beautiful, Lions Gate
Films is re-releasing heralded international filmmaker and star Roberto
Benigni's 1994 hit comedy The Monster (Il Mostro), it was announced today by
Lions Gate Releasing Co-Presidents Tom Ortenberg and Mark Urman. The film,
originally released in 1996 (by Cinepix Film Properties, the predecessor to
Lions Gate Films), will open exclusively in Los Angeles on April 2 at the
Landmark Nu Wilshire Cinema in Santa Monica and will expand into New York City
on April 16. Lions Gate Films is a division of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp
(AMEX/TSE:LGF).
When The Monster originally appeared in Los Angeles, it was critically
lauded by such top reviewers as Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times, who
said, ''A genius at work. The funniest man in film today!,'' and Ella Taylor
of LA Weekly who said, ''Benigni is irresistible!''
''The Monster actually did quite well at what was an earlier time for
both Benigni and Lions Gate.'' said Ortenberg. ''Clearly Benigni has won many
new fans who should love the film,'' added Urman.
In the hysterically funny comedy of errors, Benigni is mistaken by the
police for a wanted serial killer and followed by an attractive policewoman
who hopes to catch him in the act. Benigni's wife and muse Nicoletta Braschi
stars opposite her husband and alongside Michel Blanc.
Like Benigni, Lions Gate Films is currently celebrating two Academy
Awards of its own for current releases Gods and Monsters (winner of the Best
Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Bill Condon) and Affliction (which won James
Coburn a Best Supporting Actor Oscar).
Lions Gate Productions recently announced its collaboration with Condon
on his latest endeavor, Vicki Oberjeune. The company is also in production on
American Psycho, Mary Harron's adaptation of the controversial novel that
stars Christian Bale, Reese Witherspoon and Willem Dafoe. In the year and a
half since Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. purchased Cinepix Film Properties,
the company has worked non-stop to produce, acquire and distribute such
intelligent and award-winning films as Love and Death on Long Island (which
the New York Film Critics Circle named Best First Film of the Year) and
Vincent Gallo's art-house hit Buffalo '66. Upcoming titles on its domestic
release slate include the romantic comedy Metroland, which stars Christian
Bale and Academy Award-nominee Emily Watson; Friends and Lovers, which stars
Robert Downey Jr. and Claudia Schiffer; the multiple Genie award winner,
François Girard's The Red Violin, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Greta Scacchi,
Jason Flemyng and Don McKellar; McKellar's own prize-winning apocalyptic
romance, Last Night and the multiple Cesar-winner The Dinner Game, directed by
Francis Veber.
Lions Gate Films Corp. is a production and distribution company operating
under the Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. umbrella, with a reputation for
producing and distributing high-quality and critically acclaimed films for
audiences around the world. The company maintains several operating divisions,
including Lions Gate Productions, Lions Gate Releasing, Lions Gate
International, Lions Gate Home Entertainment, Films Lions Gate and Avalanche
Home Entertainment. Lions Gate Films has rapidly become a leading producer and
distributor of both English and French-language films. With offices in Los
Angeles, New York, Montreal and Toronto, Lions Gate Films has emerged as a
dynamic force in the ever-changing global film marketplace.
Lions Gate Entertainment (AMEX/TSE:LGF) develops, produces and
distributes a wide range of film and television content. Through its four main
operating groups-motion pictures, television, animation, and studio
facilities-the Lions Gate brand is recognized both in North America and around
the world. The Academy Award winning films ''Gods and Monsters'' and
''Affliction'' are both now playing in movie theatres in the U.S. and Canada.
Current television productions include ''Rude Awakening'' (Showtime) and ''Red
Handed'' (UPN). And popular animated programs, such as ''Bad Dog'' and
''Princess Sissi'' can be seen on television in several countries, including
Canada and France.
www.lionsgate-ent.com
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For further information: INVESTOR RELATIONS - Peter Waal, Vice
President, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (604) 609-6114, FAX (604) 609-6145;
MEDIA RELATIONS (Los Angeles) - Lou Casale, Bragman, Nyman, Cafarelli (310)
274-7800, FAX (310) 274-7838; MEDIA RELATIONS (Toronto) - Jim Deeks, Primary
Counsel Group (416) 488-6181, FAX (416) 488-5059 |
