Lionsgate President On His Way Out

Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting that Lionsgate President of Theatrical Films Tom Ortenberg may be leaving the company soon. He is apparently wrapping up a one-year option on his previous deal with the company in a few months. About a month ago, we told you that an investment bank was warning its customers to stay away from Lionsgate in the short term. That analyst also said a lot of the company's fortunes were riding on My Bloody Valentine 3-D, which has done pretty well. I can't believe anyone involved would have expected a great deal more from that flick, at any rate. But Lionsgate had a terrible end to 2008, which might have hastened the warning. Outside of Saw V, the studio had The Spirit, W., My Best Friend's Girl, and Bangkok Dangerous in the last four months of the year. None of them were tremendously successful. There's no concrete way to link any of that to Ortenberg's reported departure, but there's no way you can overlook it, either.

Update on Monday, January 26, 2009 at 3:45PM by Get The Big Picture

The news that Ortenberg is leaving Lionsgate is true enough; he's already got a new gig with The Weinstein Company, where he will become that studio's President of Theatrical Films. From The Hollywood Reporter: "The newly created position will entail a range of responsibilities that include distribution, acquisition, marketing and publicity, with the veteran working closely with the Weinsteins on all TWC and Dimension releases. Ortenberg will remain based in Los Angeles. He begins his new post next week."