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Beggs to Stay on at Lions Gate
president of programming and
production will expand duties
Kevin Beggs has signed a new
multi-year agreement to continue as president of programming and
production for Lions Gate Television, according to Jon Feltheimer, CEO
of Lions Gate Entertainment.
In the wake of Lions Gate’s recent acquisition of Artisan
Entertainment, Beggs will continue to spearhead the expansion of the
company’s television production activities in the areas of dramatic
programming for cable, and longform scripted programming and reality
for both broadcast and cable. Reporting directly to Feltheimer, he
will oversee all development and production of Lions Gate series,
movies for television and miniseries, with new responsibilities for
incorporating all Artisan assets suitable for television.
These assets include numerous franchise properties from the company’s
8,000+ title library.
Lions Gate’s television business has expanded rapidly under Beggs’
leadership. Elevated from executive vice president of domestic
television to president of television production in February, 2002, he
has assembled a series production slate that includes USA Network’s
drama “The Dead Zone,” which debuted in June, 2001 as the
highest-rated dramatic series in the history of cable television and
is set to launch its third season in June, and “1-800-MISSING,” which
premiered as the highest-rated dramatic series in Lifetime’s 20-year
history and will launch its second season in July.
Current longform projects include “Brave New Girl,” an original ABC
Family movie based on a novel by Britney Spears and her mother, Lynne,
“5 Days to Midnight,” the five-hour miniseries starring Timothy Hutton
and Randy Quaid on the SCI FI Channel; and Dean Koontz’
“Frankenstein,” an event series for USA Network expected to launch in
Fall 2004.
Lions Gate’s slate also includes the original Lifetime television
movies “Infidelity,” starring Kim Delaney, and “Baby For Sale,”
starring Dana Delany, both of which are executive produced by Judy
Polone, and a pilot, “Confidence” for USA Network, a limited series
based on the 2003 Lions Gate Films hit film of the same title.
“Kevin is one of the industry’s rising superstars. His exceptional
creative and management skills have led to rapid, major growth in our
television business, paralleling the growth of our other core
businesses,” said Feltheimer. “In a challenging operating environment,
he’s had great success in pursuing the kind of distinctive, high
quality programming that is Lions Gate’s trademark.”
Beggs was tapped to join Lions Gate in 1998 to start up the company’s
television division. He quickly rose from senior vice president of
drama development to become executive vice president of domestic
television, spearheading the company’s dramatic series, “Mysterious
Ways,” “Higher Ground,” “Tracker” and “Hope Island.” He also developed
and produced the reality projects “No Boundaries” for WB and “Iron
Chef USA” for UPN.
Other recent projects include the highly successful movies
“Inappropriate Behavior” for Lifetime and “Lucky Seven” for ABC
Family, which were executive produced by Polone, as well as SCI FI
Channel’s magic special “Criss Angel: Supernatural,” the sequel to
Lions Gate’s “Criss Angel’s Mindfreak” for ABC Family in 2002.
Prior to his five years with Lions Gate, Beggs was vice president of
development for Berk/Schwartz/Bonann Productions under its overall
development agreement with Touchstone Television. In that capacity, he
developed, sold, and produced the one-hour pilot “Daytona Beach” for
ABC, the two-hour MOW/pilot “Steel Chariots” for FOX, and the TNT
Original “Assault on Devil’s Island.”
He first gained prominence in television as a producer on the hit
series “Baywatch.”
Lions Gate Television is the television production and distribution
arm of Lions Gate Entertainment, a premier independent producer and
distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home
entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. |
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