Twilight Creator Stephenie
Meyer and Television Icon Stephen Garrett to Executive
Produce New Premium Series
Series Will Debut on STARZ Platform in the U.S. and Across
Liberty Global's International Platforms in Europe, Latin
America & the Caribbean
SANTA MONICA and BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., and LONDON, July 28,
2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz President and Chief
Executive Officer Chris Albrecht
announced today that STARZ has picked up the supernatural spy
thriller The Rook, produced by a ground-breaking partnership
between global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) and
Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB, LBTYK, LILA and LILAK), the
world's largest international TV and broadband company.
The Rook is a premium series executive produced by
Twilight Saga creator Stephenie
Meyer, with industry icon Stephen
Garrett serving as showrunning Executive Producer. The
announcement was part of Starz's presentation to the Television
Critics Association (TCA).
The series will air on the STARZ platform in the U.S. beginning
next year. At the same time, Liberty Global will feature the
series exclusively on demand across its footprint in Europe, Latin
America and the Caribbean. Lionsgate will distribute
the series worldwide.
A riveting supernatural thriller about a young woman pursued by
shadowy paranormal adversaries while grappling with extraordinary
abilities of her own, The Rook is executive produced by Ms.
Meyer (The Twilight Saga, Lionsgate's upcoming Down A
Dark Hall, Austenland and The Host) and producing
partner Meghan Hibbett under their
Fickle Fish production banner.
An accomplished producer in both television and film,
Stephen Garrett will serve as
showrunning Executive Producer under his Character 7 banner.
Garrett most recently served as Executive Producer on the
award-winning and ratings hit, The Night Manager. The
Rook is adapted and co-produced by award-winning playwrights
and screenwriters Sam Holcroft
(Rules for Living) and Al
Muriel (Precious & Rich) based on the novel by
Daniel O'Malley.
"A high-end series aimed right at the sweet spot of our
audience, The Rook is a great addition to a STARZ slate
loaded with the most exciting new and returning series offered by
any platform anywhere," said Albrecht. "We are thrilled to add the
talents of Stephen Garrett and
Stephenie Meyer to our creative
family and forge our partnership with the Lionsgate Television
Group and Liberty Global. The Rook is instantly addictive
from the very first scene and introduces what we believe will be
one of the most fascinating and thrilling female protagonists on
television."
"Stephenie is one of the world's great creative talents, and
Stephen has an incredible track record in bringing remarkable
stories to the screen," said Lionsgate Television Group Chairman
Kevin Beggs and President of
Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution Jim Packer.
"The Rook is a major premium property driven by an amazing
creative team, and it's not only a terrific addition to the STARZ
platform but the perfect series to launch a content alliance with
our friends at Liberty Global."
"The Rook is another important step in Liberty Global's
premium scripted content strategy. Shot in the UK, this project is
a perfect fit for Virgin Media as well as our other European
markets," said Liberty Global chief programming officer
Bruce Mann. "The series, which we
look forward to making available exclusively to millions of Liberty
Global subscribers worldwide, is an amazing supernatural thriller
which we are excited to have in the hands of an elite creative
showrunner like Stephen
Garrett. We're also delighted to be partnering with
our good friends at Lionsgate and Starz."
"Everything starts with great writing," said Character 7's
Executive Chairman Stephen
Garrett. "To be conspiring on The Rook in
partnership with Stephenie based on a book that is as dazzling as
it is surprising and working with the talented team of Sam and Al,
is the perfect springboard for thrilling television. The teams at
Lionsgate, Starz and Liberty Global are great champions of
creativity, and we're looking forward to partnering with them."
The Rook tells the story of a young woman who wakes up in
a London park suffering total
amnesia – surrounded by dead bodies, all wearing latex gloves.
Pursued by shadowy paranormal adversaries, grappling with peculiar
'abilities' of her own, she must fight to uncover her past, and
resume her position at the head of Britain's most secret (supernatural)
service... before the traitors who stole her memory can finish what
they started.
About Stephenie Meyer
Ms. Meyer has gained worldwide recognition for her original and
captivating stories that have paved the way for a new generation of
women heroes, and her blockbuster Twilight Saga film
franchise, which she created and produced, grossed $3.5 billion at the worldwide box office.
The Twilight films were based on her acclaimed book series
which has sold over 100 million copies in more than 50 countries
and been translated into 37 languages. She also co-produced
The Host, based on her #1 New York
Times best-seller, and Austenland with Hibbett.
They are producing an adaptation of Lois
Duncan's teen classic Down A Dark Hall, starring Uma
Thurman and AnnaSophia Robb, with
Temple Hill's Marty Bowen and
Wyck Godfrey, for Lionsgate.
Ms. Meyer was the best-selling author of 2008 and 2009 in the
U.S., selling over 29 million books in 2008 and another 26.5
million in 2009. USA Today
named Ms. Meyer "Author of the Year"
in 2008, noting that she swept the top four slots on the
USA Today best-seller book list,
something that no one else had done in 15 years. Ms. Meyer
accomplished this feat again in 2009.
About Character 7
As an accomplished producer with an eye for pedigree material,
Stephen Garrett most recently served
as Executive Producer of "The Night Manager." The series
marked the first under his Character 7 production company, which is
based in Los Angeles and
London for high-end television and
film projects. A ratings and critical success, "The Night
Manager" was done in collaboration with The Ink Factory, and
garnered multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. The Character
7 team also includes Head of Development Michele Wolkoff, who works
closely with Garrett on the company's expanding slate of
projects. Wolkoff joined the company last year having most
recently led development for The Mark Gordon Company as Head of
Film where she oversaw a robust slate as well.
Prior to Character 7, Garrett was Founder and Executive Chairman
of Kudos, the UK's leading independent producer of TV
drama. While running the company, he and his team
galvanized British television with popular and acclaimed shows
including the BAFTA-winning "Spooks" (based on Garrett's original
idea), "Hustle," "Life on Mars," Frank
Spotnitz's "Hunted," and ITV's hit "Broadchurch."
About Lionsgate
The first major new studio in decades, Lionsgate is a global
content platform whose films, television series, digital products
and linear and over-the-top platforms reach next generation
audiences around the world. In addition to its filmed
entertainment leadership, Lionsgate content drives a growing
presence in interactive and location-based entertainment, gaming,
virtual reality and other new entertainment technologies.
Lionsgate's content initiatives are backed by a 16,000-title film
and television library and delivered through a global licensing
infrastructure. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with
original, daring and ground-breaking content created with special
emphasis on the evolving patterns and diverse composition of the
Company's worldwide consumer base.
About Starz
Starz (www.starz.com), a Lionsgate company (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B),
is a leading global media and entertainment company that provides
premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay
television networks and produces and distributes content for
worldwide audiences, including its investment in the STARZ PLAY
Arabia OTT service. Starz is home to the flagship
STARZ® brand and STARZ ENCORE channels and provides
high-quality, entertaining premium subscription video programming
with 17 premium pay TV channels and associated on-demand and online
services, including the STARZ app. Sold through U.S. multichannel
video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television
providers, telecommunications companies, and other online and
digital platforms, Starz offers subscribers more than 5,000
distinct premium television episodes and feature films every year
and up to 1,500 every month, including STARZ Original series,
first-run movies and other popular movie and television
programming.
About Liberty Global
Liberty Global is the world's largest international TV and
broadband company, with operations in more than 30 countries across
Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. We invest in the infrastructure
that empowers our customers to make the most of the digital
revolution. Our scale and commitment to innovation enable us to
develop market-leading products delivered through next-generation
networks that connect our 25 million customers who subscribe to
over 50 million television, broadband internet and telephony
services. We also serve over 10 million mobile subscribers and
offer WiFi service across 6 million access points.
Liberty Global's businesses are comprised of two stocks: the
Liberty Global Group (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) for our
European operations, and the LiLAC Group (NASDAQ: LILA and LILAK,
OTC Link: LILAB), which consists of our operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Liberty Global Group operates
in 11 European countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media,
Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC. The Liberty Global Group also owns 50%
of VodafoneZiggo, a Dutch joint venture, which has 4 million
customers, 10 million fixed-line subscribers and 5 million mobile
subscribers. The LiLAC Group operates in over 20 countries in
Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow,
Liberty, Más Móvil and BTC. In addition, the LiLAC Group operates a
sub-sea fiber network throughout the region in over 30 markets.
For more information, please contact:
Peter
Wilkes
|
Cristina
Castañeda
|
Lionsgate
|
Lionsgate
|
PWilkes@lionsgate.com
|
CCastaneda@lionsgate.com
|
(310) 255 –
3726
|
(310)
255-5114
|
|
|
Matt Beake
|
|
Liberty
Global
|
|
MBeake@libertyglobal.com
|
|
00-44-20-8483-6428
|
|
|
|
Eric
Becker
|
Michelle
Portillo
|
Starz
|
Starz
|
eric.becker@starz.com
|
michelle.portillo@starz.com
|
(303)
638-3469
|
(720)
921-4157
|
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SOURCE Lionsgate