Expanded Responsibilities Include Close Collaboration on
Starz Scripted Programming
SANTA MONICA, Calif. and
VANCOUVER, British Columbia,
March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Marcello Bellisario has been
promoted to Senior Vice President of Talent & Casting for
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) under a new long-term agreement that
encompasses expanded responsibilities for all scripted casting for
Lionsgate as well as collaboration with Starz on their original
programming. The announcement was made by Lionsgate Executive
Vice President and Head of Worldwide Scripted Television Chris
Selak and Starz President of
Programming Carmi Zlotnik.
Bellisario will continue to report directly to Selak, as well as
work closely with Zlotnik in his new role. The appointment
marks Starz's first full-time hire in this area, and Bellisario
will have offices in both Santa
Monica and Beverly Hills as
part of his expanded responsibilities for both companies.
Bellisario's skill in identifying great talent and managing
talent relationships has contributed to the Lionsgate Television
Group's growth into a leading supplier of premium content to
broadcast, cable and digital networks alike. Lionsgate's
slate now encompasses nearly 90 series on 40 different U.S.
networks.
"Since joining Lionsgate, Marcello's incredible knowledge of
actors and industry relationships has helped our TV Group develop a
slate of award-winning, critically acclaimed series that stand out
from the crowd and help define the networks with whom we work,"
said Selak. "As our television operations continue to scale
and diversify, we are happy to recognize Marcello with this
promotion and expansion of his duties, which will be a huge benefit
to Lionsgate, Starz and all of our creative talent."
Zlotnik said, "We are very excited to have Marcello as part of
the team, helping to guide our casting partnerships and decisions.
His eye for talent is incredible and we look forward to our
creative collaboration on the STARZ series."
Bellisario holds the distinction of being the first head of
Casting & Talent Relations in Lionsgate Television
history. This is a department and Vice President position
that he created upon his joining the company in 2014. To
date, he has worked closely with and supervised the casting of
series and pilots for Academy Award®-nominated producers
Jason Reitman and Helen Estabrook (Casual/Hulu),
Oprah Winfrey
(Greenleaf/OWN), Jenji Kohan (Orange Is The New
Black/Netflix), Clyde Phillips (Nurse
Jackie/Showtime and Feed The Beast/AMC), Josh Stern and Greg
Shapiro (Graves/Epix), Mark
Schwan (The Royals/E!), Thomas Schlamme and Sam
Shaw (Manhattan/WGN), and Alli Shearmur (Dirty Dancing/ABC).
He is currently overseeing the casting of several forthcoming
series, such as Dear White People (Netflix), White
Famous (Showtime), Dimension 404 (Hulu), Nightcap
(Pop), and Manhunt: The UNABOMer (Discovery/Trigger
Street). Furthermore, Bellisario's upcoming projects include
Lionsgate's first series for YouTube Red, Step Up, and the
Studio's TV adaptation of its ground-breaking film and television
franchise The Kingkiller Chronicle.
Bellisario's relationship with Lionsgate began as the studio and
network executive in charge of overseeing the casting of the pilot
for Nashville, which
resulted in an Emmy® and Golden Globe®
nomination for star Connie Britton,
as well as two Golden Globe® nominations for
Hayden Panettiere. Prior to
that, he spent four and half years working at ABC and ABC
Studios, overseeing the casting of Scandal
(Emmy®-nominated Kerry
Washington and -winner Joe
Morton), How To Get Away With Murder (Academy
Award® and Emmy® winner Viola Davis), Grey's Anatomy and
Revenge (Golden Globe®-nominated Madeleine Stowe).
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) is a
vertically integrated next generation global content leader with a
diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution,
television programming and syndication, premium pay television
networks, home entertainment, global distribution and sales,
interactive ventures and games and location-based
entertainment.
With the acquisition of Starz, Lionsgate adds to its portfolio
of businesses the flagship STARZ premium pay network serving 24.3
million subscribers and the STARZ ENCORE platform
with 31 million subscribers. The combined company will operate five
over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and the STARZ app delivering
content directly to consumers.
The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and
includes the blockbuster The Hunger
Games franchise, the Now You See
Me series, the box office blockbuster La
La Land, which won six Academy
Awards®, the hit franchise sequel John Wick: Chapter Two, double Oscar
winner Hacksaw Ridge, Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween, CBS Films/Lionsgate's Hell
or High Water, Roadside
Attractions' critically-acclaimed Manchester by the Sea, Codeblack
Films' breakout concert film Kevin
Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion
Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing
Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
One of the largest independent television businesses in the
world, Lionsgate's slate of premium quality series encompasses
nearly 90 shows on more than 40 different networks. These include
the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, the fan
favorite Nashville,
the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the
hit drama The Royals, the
acclaimed Casual, the breakout
success Greenleaf and hit STARZ series
including Outlander, Black
Sails, Survivor's
Remorse and Power, the second highest-rated
premium pay television series of 2016.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in
box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates.
Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of more than
16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important
source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the
growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate, Summit
Entertainment and Starz brands are synonymous with original,
daring, quality entertainment in markets around the
world. www.lionsgate.com
MEDIA CONTACT:
Peter Wilkes
Lionsgate
(310) 255-3726
PWilkes@lionsgate.com
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SOURCE Lionsgate