Showtime, Lionsgate, Spitfire Align for New High School Musical Doc

LOS ANGELES, September 24:
Showtime, Lionsgate and Spitfire Pictures have teamed up on a new,
as-yet-untitled documentary that will present a behind-the-scenes look at the
cutthroat world of high school musicals in Southern Indiana.

Written and directed by
Barry Blaustein, whose work includes the award-winning professional wrestling
documentary Beyond the Mat, the
project is being co-produced by Lionsgate through its feature-length
documentary unit, Showtime and Spitfire Pictures. Blaustein is producer, along
with Spitfire's Nigel Sinclair, who produced the Grammy Award-winning
documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, directed by Martin Scorsese. Spitfire's Guy East and Tobin Armbrust
are executive producers.

The film captures the
drama, both on stage and off, when three Southern Indiana high
schools—Floyd Central High School, New Albany High School and
Jeffersonville High School—spend tens of thousands of dollars on their
musical productions in order to compete for admission to the prestigious
International Thespian Festival.
The documentary follows the students who become involved in these
musicals, as well as their parents, teachers, school administrators and local
politicians, all of whom are heavily invested in the success of their shows.

Lionsgate will retain
worldwide rights distribution rights to the film, which is expected to be
released in 2008. This marks the fourth production from Lionsgate's
feature-length documentary unit, which has also included Grizzly Man, about the life and death of amateur grizzly bear
expert Timothy Treadwell; Leonard Cohen I’m Your Man, about one of music's most celebrated troubadours;
and The U.S. vs. John Lennon,
which recounts the story of Lennon's transformation from musical artist to
anti-war activist and the U.S. government's efforts to silence him.

This latest production
continues Showtime's commitment to supporting documentary filmmakers by giving
them an outlet to air their relevant and provocative films. Most recently
Showtime has produced and aired the award-winning documentaries Shame, After Innocence, Shine
and Semper Fi: One Marine's Journey.

"We immediately
recognized this project's tremendous potential to resonate with audiences
everywhere," said Kevin Beggs, the president of television programming and
production for Lionsgate, who also heads up Lionsgate's feature-length
documentary unit with Sandra Stern, the COO of television. "It exemplifies
the kind of distinctive programming we set out to produce across all of our company's
divisions and we're delighted to be in business with Spitfire and
Showtime."