Lionsgate Picks Up Australian Comedy

SANTA MONICA, January 18: Lionsgate has acquired the
international rights to the comedy series Chandon Pictures, an
original production from Australia’s Movie Network Channels.

Lionsgate retains the rights to distribute the series
worldwide outside of Australia, including to the U.S. market, and will be
offering up the property to buyers at NATPE. The deal was brokered by Craig
Cegielski, who was recently promoted to executive VP of programming and sales
for international television at Lionsgate. “We’re proud to add this innovative
gem to our strong slate of award-winning, top-notch programming,” he said.

The 8×30-minute Chandon Pictures, which
premiered on Movie Extra in November 2007,
follows the comedic adventures of a self-proclaimed documentary-maker, Tom
Chandon (played by Rob Carlton), and his struggling video production company.
The series also stars Rebecca Massey (All Saints, Son of the Mask), Darren Gilshenan (Swinger, Dark City) and Josh Lawson (The Librarians, Sea Patrol). Carlton
also serves as the writer and director of the series.

Peter Jenetsky, the general manager of marketing and content
strategy for Movie Network Channels, said: “Chandon Pictures is an original concept with unlimited potential to
do well in the worldwide marketplace. Audiences from any culture will be amused
by the misadventures of the motley crew that makes up the Chandon team, and
we’re extremely excited that Lionsgate will be exposing it to overseas
markets.”

—By Kristin Brzoznowski