STARZ IN ALIGNMENT WITH INTERNATIONAL CO-PRODUCTIONS FOR UPCOMING SERIES
Company Partners with Ben Silverman's Electus for a Pair of Development Projects Conceived for the Global Community as it Ramps Up Originals Programming Plans for 2011
Announcement Follows Starz' Chris Albrecht MIP-TV Keynote Urging Producers to Think and Collaborate With Global Outlook
Cannes, France - April 12, 2010 - Starz Entertainment is lining up top international partners for new development projects aimed at filling out the company's lineup of original productions. A pair of projects being developed with Ben Silverman's new multimedia studio Electus underscore the premium entertainment company's expanding commitment to working with the best producers and production partners around the world, Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht announced today at the MIP-TV Market here.
"It is nearly impossible for producers to fully monetize shows without utilizing a global perspective," Albrecht said, echoing a central point in his MIP-TV keynote address earlier today, which focused on the need for producers to think beyond their home borders. "We are developing some strong ideas with Ben Silverman's company that will clearly demonstrate Starz is more focused than ever on creating event television with the world's TV audience in mind."
Starz and Electus, the next-generation global multimedia studio created by Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) winning producer and former NBC Entertainment Co-Chairman Ben Silverman, are developing two projects, with more in the pipeline to be announced later this year. Current projects include:
* "William the Conqueror" - created by hit director Pierre Morel (Taken) who is set to helm the pilot. Morel will also executive produce the series with his producing partner Renee Tab. It is a historical epic series about the French monarch who in 1066 successfully invaded England and set the British Isles on their future course. The series will shoot all across Europe.
* "Peacekeeper" - A contemporary action thriller set at the UN building in New York as well as hot spots around the world, and is co-created by Ben Silverman and Oscar(R)-winning producer-director Fisher Stevens (Awake, The Cove). The series is negotiating with an A-List director to be announced at a later date.
Electus is assembling a transcontinental group of producers and financiers to make these and other series. The company is the first integrated multimedia entertainment studio to unite producers, creators, advertisers and distributors under one roof to develop all forms of content for distribution across a variety of platforms around the world.
"The world is getting smaller but continues to be more local as well. Throughout my career I've worked to create and develop global connections within TV production, having identified, developed, packaged and exec produced such international formats as �The Office' and �Ugly Betty' in the U.S., as well as creating the concept with Michael Hirst of global hit �The Tudors' which was designed to appeal to a worldwide audience," said Ben Silverman, CEO of Electus. "Now with Chris Albrecht and Starz we have a partner and projects to take it to the next level with Pierre Morel's �William the Conqueror' and �Peacekeeper.'"
Starz already airs one of the truly global series on TV with "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," which is shot in New Zealand and features a lead cast of actors from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the U.S. and Ghana. The company is also set to air the European co-production "The Pillars of the Earth," which it will debut in the U.S. in July, and in 2011, Starz will air the Irish-Canadian co-production, "Camelot."
About Starz Entertainment, LLC
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 16.9 million and 30.6 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies and new original series every 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 (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Starz, a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.
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