The Weinstein Company, STAR Ink Pan-Asia Output Deal

CANNES/HONG
KONG, May 16: The Weinstein Company (TWC) has signed an exclusive five-year
pan-Asian pay-TV output deal with News Corporation’s STAR that will make a
range of films available on STAR Movies.

TWC
films available on STAR Movies include 1408, Sicko and Rob Zombie’s
Halloween. Upcoming releases also included in the deal are The Reader, Crossing Over and Superhero Movie.

This
deal follows other partnerships that TWC has reached to distribute its film
slate on international pay and free TV, including with BSkyB in the U.K.,
Canal+ in France, ARD in Germany and Rai in Italy. TWC’s agreement with STAR is
also indicative of the company’s commitment to the Asian market. In addition to
the films produced and distributed throughout the world, TWC has formed a
$285-million Asian Film Fund; The fund’s inaugural release, Forbidden
Kingdom, opened recently at number one in North American theaters. TWC also
created a new label called Dragon Dynasty in 2006, which showcases
presentations of classic and contemporary Asian movies for the
home-entertainment market.

Reaching 39 million-plus
viewing homes across Asia, STAR Movies offers a mix of movies spanning action,
drama, comedy, romance, thrillers and children’s entertainment.

Glen
Basner, the president of international distribution for The Weinstein Company,
stated: “STAR is the premier Asian television network and is the perfect pay-TV
home for our films in Asia. In just under three years, we have established a
solid infrastructure to distribute our films across a variety of international
mediums and are excited to continue the momentum with STAR. We have always
prided ourselves on creating films that appeal to audiences across the world
and look forward to working with STAR to share our dynamic and daring slate
with Asian film lovers.”

“We are pleased to have
secured the exclusive output deal with The Weinstein Company—one of the
most popular and sought after producers in the industry,” added Todd Lituchy,
the president of entertainment at STAR. “The Weinstein Company’s quality and
broadly entertaining movies have a strong appeal to film lovers in Asia. They
are a perfect fit for STAR Movies and will further solidify the channel’s’
leadership position in delivering premium content to viewers across Asia.”

—By Irene Lew