LOS ANGELES, July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- TCA - "Crash," the first original drama series from Starz Entertainment, co-produced with Lionsgate, will premiere Friday, October 17 at 10:00 p.m. (et/pt) on Starz.
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Inspired by the Academy Award(R)-winning Best Motion Picture of 2006, "Crash" is a provocative new 13-episode drama starring an ensemble cast led by film icon Dennis Hopper. Set in Los Angeles, the series explores the complexities of social and racial tolerance and the meaning of the American dream through characters whose lives intersect and collide as they strive to achieve that dream.
The drama features a disparate group of Los Angelenos, including maverick record producer Ben Cendars (Dennis Hopper); impulsive cop Kenny Battaglia (Ross McCall); his actress-turned-police officer partner Bebe Arcel (Arlene Tur); frustrated Brentwood mom Christine Emory (Clare Carey); her pre-bust real-estate developer husband Peter Emory (D.B. Sweeney); former gang member-turned-EMT Eddie Choi (Brian Tee); Ben's street-smart driver Anthony Adams (Jocko Sims); illegal Guatemalan immigrant Cesar Uman (Luis Chavez); and cocky, hot-tempered detective Axel Finet (Nick E. Tarabay).
The production team is headed by writer/executive producer Glen Mazzara ("The Shield"), and includes executive producers Bob Yari, Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis and co-executive producers Don Cheadle, Tom Nunan and Mark R. Harris, who were members of the Oscar-winning theatrical production team, and co-executive producers Jorg Westerkamp and Thomas Becker. Joining Mazzara as series writers are co-executive producers Frank Renzulli ("The Sopranos") and Ted Mann ("Deadwood," "Miami Vice"); producer Stacy Rukeyser ("One Tree Hill," "Without a Trace"); executive story editors Chris Collins ("The Wire") and Randy Huggins ("The Shield"); and staff writer Sang Kyu Kim. John B. Moranville ("Drive") is producer, Elizabeth Kling is associate producer, and Brad Caleb Kane is consulting producer.
Starz Media's Anchor Bay Entertainment will hold exclusive U.S. distribution rights, including home entertainment, to the "Crash" series, while Lionsgate will retain international distribution.
About LIONSGATE(R)
Lionsgate is a leading next generation filmed entertainment studio with a major presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company is leveraging its content leadership and marketing expertise through a series of partnerships that include the operation of the highly successful FEARNet branded VOD and Internet horror channel with Sony and Comcast, the recent announcement of the fall 2009 launch of a new premium entertainment channel with partners Viacom, Paramount Pictures and MGM, investment in the leading young men's digital distribution platform Break.com, ownership of the premier independent television syndication company Debmar-Mercury LLC and an alliance with independent filmed entertainment production and distribution company Roadside Attractions. Lionsgate also has forged partnerships with leading content creators, owners and distributors in key territories around the world, including Televisa in the U.S. and Latin America, StudioCanal in the UK, Hoyts and Sony in Australia and Eros International in India.
The Company has generated more than $450 million at the North American theatrical box office in the past year and has released a string of hits including The Forbidden Kingdom, Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns, The Bank Job, Rambo, The Eye, Saw IV, Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?, Good Luck Chuck, 3:10 To Yuma and War, most of which have opened at #1 or #2 at the box office. The Company has also forged leadership positions in television and home entertainment with the production of such critically-acclaimed television series as Weeds and Mad Men, the distribution of Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Family Feud, South Park, Trivial Pursuit and The Dead Zone, among others, and approximately 9% market share and the industry's leading box office-to-DVD conversion rate in home entertainment. 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 is synonymous with entrepreneurial innovation and original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.
About Starz Entertainment
Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz(R) and Encore(R) brands with approximately 16.8 million and 31.4 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (http://www.starz.com/) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Entertainment Group , a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.
Contacts:
Chelsye J. Burrows Robin Mesger/Leah Krantzler
Starz Entertainment The Lippin Group/LA
720/852-5838 323/965-1990
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