The Hunger Games: Catching Fire!

 

Comingsoon.net is reporting that Lionsgate announced the title of Catching Fire will be "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

Lionsgate has announced a minor title change for the second part of their blockbuster franchise. Formerly titled Catching Fire, the Francis Lawrence-directed sequel to this year's The Hunger Games will now be called The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

This makes total sense as the audience needs to connect "Catching Fire" with "The Hunger Games" for those not familiar with the books.

Source: ComingSoon.net

Lionsgate Splitting Marketing Groups; Tim Palen and Nancy Kirkpatrick to Stay | THR

Fear not, Hunger Games fans! When the Summit/Lionsgate merger was announced, we wondered who would be heading Lionsgate's marketing. Since The Hunger Games had a very successful and innovative marketing campaign, we were hoping they'd keep Tim Palen so that we can expect more awesome marketing for the future Hunger Games movies. Looks like they've reached a compromise!

Lionsgate marketing head Tim Palen and Summit marketing chief Nancy Kirkpatrick are both staying with the company, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. 

The Hunger Games studio has closed a new long-term deal with Palen, who will now run marketing for the Lionsgate-branded film slate. Kirkpatrick will head up marketing for Summit-branded films, including the final installment of the Twilight franchise, set for release in late November.

There had been widespread speculation in Hollywood that one of the marketing execs would depart Lionsgate in the wake of the company's merger with Summit this year. As part of that deal, Summit'sRob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger took control of the film studio, potentially giving Summit's Kirkpatrick the inside track. But Palen is considered a talented marketing executive, responsible for the campaign for Lionsgate's current blockbuster Hunger Games. The studio now has worked out a compromise that seems to have satisfied both executives in the short term while planting the seeds of a long-term plan. 

Combining the two studios has resulted in a large number of films on the upcoming release slate, so splitting the duties and allowing each executive to run his and her own slate makes sense. However, once the merged Lionsgate trims its film slate to about 14 films a year, as it has said it plans to do, two marketing heads probably won't make sense. 

At that point, locking Palen into a long-term deal probably gives him the pole position to remain with the company.

UPDATE: Lionsgate is confirming the news with a press release announcing Palin's new long-term deal. 

"Tim is a gifted marketing executive who has been a driving force in the success of our motion picture business over the years, and he elevated his game to a new level with a groundbreaking marketing campaign for The Hunger Games," said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer and vice chairman Michael Burns in a statement. "His marketing campaigns integrate digital and traditional resources in innovative and cost-effective ways that reflect Lionsgate's entrepreneurial culture at its best." 

"One of the great benefits of Summit’s recent merger with Lionsgate is the opportunity to be in business with a marketing executive as talented as Tim,” said Friedman and Wachsberger said in a statement. “As we roll out a combined slate capable of generating more than a billion dollars at the North American box office, we are fortunate to have two extremely talented marketing executives to guide both the Lionsgate and Summit brands going forward.”

We're glad that Tim Palen's work on The Hunger Games hasn't gone unnoticed. We love the marketing done for The Hunger Games and we can't wait to see what's in store for Catching Fire and Mockingjay!

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Lionsgate/Summit Merger Official Press Release

LIONSGATE ACQUIRES SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT FOR $412.5 MILLION

Unites Two Leading Independent Media Companies

Transaction Expected to be Significantly Accretive to Lionsgate Shareholders Brings Together Hunger Games and Twilight Young Adult Movie Franchises SANTA MONICA, Calif. and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) ("the Company") and Summit Entertainment today announced that Lionsgate has completed a transaction to acquire Summit for a combination of cash and stock valued at $412.5 million.
(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110919/LA70620LOGO)

Check out the entire press release under the cut.

It's Official: Lionsgate Purchases Summit for $412 Million

Variety reports:

Lionsgate has announced that it's agreed in principle to buy Summit Entertainment for $412 milliion, combining Hollywood's leading minimajors. Lionsgate announced the deal at the close of the stock market Friday.

Waiting on official release from Lionsgate...

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From the LA Times Twitter:

Some quotes from The Wrap:

"We are uniting two powerful entertainment brands, bringing together two world-class feature film franchises to establish a commanding position in the young adult market, strengthening our global distribution infrastructure and creating a scalable platform that will result in significant and accretive financial benefits to Lionsgate shareholders," Lionsgate Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer and Vice Chairman Michael Burns said in a statement.

"Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger have built a remarkable organization, and we're pleased to welcome Summit's talented team to the Lionsgate family," the pair added.
In nabbing Summit, Lionsgate beat out other suitors such as Colony Capital.
Summit brings with it debt, but that will be paid off with profits from the final two “Twilight” movies, allowing Lionsgate to keep that sum off its own books.

The remainder was funded with $55 million of existing Lionsgate cash, $45 million of cash received from a newly issued series of Lionsgate convertible notes, $50 million of Lionsgate common stock and an additional $20 million of cash or stock to be issued at Lionsgate's option within 60 days.

In return, Lionsgate will get a modest library of titles that also includes “The Hurt Locker” and “R.E.D.,” which it can add to its paid TV network Epix. Perhaps more important, Lionsgate will gain Summit’s expertise in international distribution -- an area where it is lacking.

However, insiders at both studios feel that Summit’s experience in transforming the vampire "Twilight" series into a global box office phenomenon can help Lionsgate pull off a similar feat with "The Hunger Games." This could help turn the studio, a launching pad for mid-budget genre films, into a lekking ground for young adult film franchises.

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Lionsgate/Summit Merger Very Close!

Woah surprise! The main worry among Hunger Games fans when it came to this possible merger news was that Lionsgate might relinquish any kind of control to Summit, thus affecting The Hunger Games franchise. But if everything is what Deadline is reporting, we needn't have worried at all, in fact it turns out that Lionsgate would be acquiring Summit. Not only that, but if this deal goes through, it may be  that Lionsgate acquires the success of Twilight and that no one from Summit will have a say in any creative control. Given this is all speculation at this point, but this merger situation seems to be looking a little brighter than it did when the news first came out.

Check out what Deadline is reporting:

The hard-fought Lionsgate purchase of Summit Entertainment now looks about to consummate with insiders telling me it’s a $700 million deal consisting of $400M in equity plus an assumption of $300 million of debt...  First, behind the scenes, Lionsgate toppers Jon Feltheimer and Michael Burns have no interest in continuing to let Summit make movies. But also in recent days the negotiations between the two indie studios became so rough and tumble that insiders now feel there is no possible way that Summit chiefs Patrick Wachsberger and Rob Friedman and the Lionsgate pair could ever work together far beyond the obvious transition period. “It’s gotten very rough recently. Burns and Feltheimer rolled over these guys hard. The odds of Rob and Patrick staying on is nil. I don’t give them 30 days.” [UPDATE: Other sources claim the two Summit chiefs plan to work "within the Lionsgate structure".]

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Is a Lionsgate/Summit Merger on the Horizon?

Maybe, maybe not. But it looks like a solution to solve Lionsgate's money woes.

The companies have resumed discussions that broke down in the past over price and control issues, said the people, who declined to speak publicly because talks are private and there’s no assurance a deal will be reached. Summit has additional suitors, one of the people said. Lions Gate would gain access to the cash generated by the five “Twilight” movies. The first four films have grossed more than $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales for Summit, according to Box Office Mojo. A combination would produce a payday for owners of closely held Summit who formed the studio in 2007 with funding from Merrill Lynch & Co.

Here are my thoughts on this: Yes, it seems a little appalling to us since we despise all the HG/Twilight comparisons, and the idea of having Twilight be affiliated with our beloved Hunger Games is a little repellent. I absoutely love how Lionsgate is handling the entire Hunger Games franchise, and would like it to stay that way. Lionsgate has a great head on its shoulders, and I for one do not want to see anything interfere with that. Maybe the merger would keep things the way they were, I'm not sure. But it seems as if this would definitely help out Lionsgate monetarily, especially since the last couple of their movies haven't done so well.

But hold on! Lionsgate has something really going for them, The Hunger Games. This movie has a great potential to do extremely well, and you know what that means: money, money, money! We're hoping enough to warrant all the sequels which means EVEN MORE MONEY! So I guess what I'm saying is this: Maybe Lionsgate should hold off on any mergers until we see how lucrative The Hunger Games will be?


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