Lionsgate in Business with Buscemi, Tucci

SANTA MONICA: Lionsgate has entered into a first-look television deal for broadcast and cable scripted fare from Olive Productions, the venture recently established by actors Steve Buscemi and Stanley Tucci and run by their producing partner Wren Arthur.

Based in New York, Olive Productions is the result of a 20-year friendship between Buscemi, whose credits include Reservoir Dogs, Fargo and The Sopranos, and Tucci, star of such titles as Road to Perdition, The Terminal and the mini-series Winchell and Conspiracy. Arthur, their producing partner, worked for legendary film director Robert Altman for 11 years.

Announcing the first-look deal, Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate’s president of television programming and production, noted: “Steve and Stanley are brilliant actors and along with Wren Arthur, talented filmmakers whose careers reflect the same creative sensibility that defines and drives Lionsgate Television. They have a daring, innovative aesthetic and are highly regarded for their bold, uncompromising work, in front of and behind the camera. We anticipate a long and productive collaboration.”