Miranda to Serve as Producer of Film and TV
Series with an Option for Future Stage
Adaptations
Lindsey Beer to Write the
Film Script
SANTA MONICA, Calif. and
VANCOUVER, British Columbia,
Nov. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --
Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) announced today that multi-award winning
actor, composer, rapper and writer Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of the
smash Broadway musical Hamilton, is partnering with The
Kingkiller Chronicle author Pat
Rothfuss to serve as creative producer and musical
mastermind of feature film and television series adaptations of the
best-selling franchise book trilogy with an option to be involved
in future stage productions as well. Miranda will serve as
producer of the franchise and is expected to compose the original
music and write the songs. Rothfuss is an executive producer for
both film and television.
In an unprecedented collaboration between film and television,
Lionsgate will simultaneously develop and produce the feature film
franchise based on The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy and a
premium quality drama series that expands on the world outside of
the books. The film script, which is being penned by writer
Lindsey Beer (Transformers 5,
Dungeons & Dragons), will be based on the first book,
The Name of the Wind. Miranda and Rothfuss will be
intimately involved in the development of the new characters and
storylines explored in the TV show. As previously announced,
Robert Lawrence (Clueless,
Die Hard with a Vengeance), who has been involved in The
Kingkiller Chronicle series since its earliest days, will
produce for film and television.
"The best way to service Pat
Rothfuss' unique and ambitious view was to invent a new way
of adapting it with Lionsgate's film and television teams working
side-by-side, which meant that only a multi-hyphenate talent like
Lin-Manuel Miranda could do the
job," said Erik Feig, Co-President,
Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. "Lin is an incomparable talent and
a huge fan of the trilogy and, working closely with Pat, his
creative oversight of the franchise will bring an incredible level
of detail and continuity to all of the projects."
"Lin-Manuel Miranda is a creative
genius and Pat Rothfuss has
fashioned a world that is rich in intrigue and detail, which
perfectly lends itself to a high-end television series that can
more thoroughly explore characters and concepts that the books have
only teased," said Kevin Beggs,
Chairman, Lionsgate Television Group. "As creative executives, it
is energizing for us to work with talents like Lin and Pat and to
be part of Lionsgate's collaborative culture, which enables us to
create multiple entertainment experiences for the fans at the same
time."
Lin-Manuel Miranda said,
"Pat Rothfuss' Kingkiller
books are among the most read and re-read in our home. It's a world
you want to spend lifetimes in, as his many fans will attest. Pat
also writes about the act of MAKING music more beautifully than any
novelist I've ever read. I can't wait to play a part in bringing
this world to life onscreen."
Author Pat Rothfuss added: "I've
been working with Lionsgate for months now, and the creative team
we've been assembling is amazing. They're brilliant folks, uniquely
suited to dealing with the challenges of bringing a story like mine
into multiple mediums simultaneously. Now, on top of all that,
we've brought Lin-Manuel Miranda into the mix. Seriously. Let
me type that again just for the joy of it: Lin-Manuel Miranda
is going to be helping us adapt Kingkiller. There is no
living human being I would rather have a creative collaboration
with. There are no words that can express how excited I am."
Lin-Manuel Miranda is an
award-winning composer, lyricist, and performer, who has been
awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, the MacArthur Genius Award,
multiple Grammy and Tony Awards, and an Emmy, among many others.
Miranda's hit Broadway musical Hamilton is an international sensation and
earned a record-breaking 16 Tony nominations. He is also the
songwriter for this weekend's blockbuster hit, Moana.
Miranda's first musical, In the Heights, won four Tony
Awards, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. His other
Broadway hits include the 2009 revival of West Side Story
and Bring it On: The Musical. Miranda is a co-founder and
member of Freestyle Love Supreme, a popular hip-hop improvisational
group that performs regularly in New York
City. He received his B.A. from Wesleyan University in 2002.
The Kingkiller Chronicle series of books and novellas has
sold 10 million copies with The Name of the
Wind and The Wise Man's Fear (books one and
two from the popular series) both ranked on the New York Times
Best Seller list. In addition, The Kingkiller Chronicle is
the best-selling modern epic fantasy series behind Game of
Thrones.
Jeyun Choi Munford, Senior Vice
President, Production for Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, who
helped bring the IP to Lionsgate, and Nirokhi Raychaudhuri,
Director, Production & Development, will shepherd the
property's development on the film side with Senior Vice President
Bonnie Stylides handling ongoing
business negotiations. Lionsgate Executive Vice President of
Television Chris Selak and
Andy Richley, Senior Vice President,
Television, will spearhead its development for TV with Senior Vice
President Dan Hadl handling the
business negotiations for the division.
Matt Bialer of Sanford J.
Greenburger Associates, Matt
Sugarman of Weintraub Tobin
and Jerry Kalajian of Intellectual
Property Group represent Pat
Rothfuss. John Buzzetti at
WME, along with Joe Dapello and
Nancy Rose of Schreck, Rose, Dapello
& Adams LLP represent Lin-Manuel
Miranda. Lindsey Beer is repped by WME and Gang
Tyre.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader
with a diversified presence in motion picture production and
distribution, television programming and syndication, home
entertainment, international distribution and sales, branded
channel platforms, interactive ventures and games, and
location-based entertainment. The Company has nearly 80
television shows on 40 different networks spanning its primetime
production, distribution and syndication businesses. These
include the ground-breaking hit series Orange is the New
Black, the fan favorite drama series Nashville, the syndication success The
Wendy Williams Show, the hit drama series The Royals,
the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy Casual and the breakout
success Greenleaf.
The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and
includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise,
the Now You See Me and John
Wick series, Tyler
Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween, the critically-acclaimed
Hacksaw Ridge, Nerve, CBS Films/Lionsgate's Hell
or High Water, Sicario, Roadside
Attractions' Love & Mercy and Mr.
Holmes, Codeblack Films' Addicted and breakout
concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me
Explain and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included,
the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the
U.S.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in
box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates.
Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of
approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is
an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation
for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and
Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality
entertainment in markets around the
world. www.lionsgate.com
Press Contact:
Joanna Dodd
Massey
(310) 255-3602
JMassey@Lionsgate.com
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SOURCE Lionsgate