Summit Entertainment

Bringing Hollywood's two biggest independent film studios and the blockbuster young adult franchises "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games" into one powerful entity, Lions Gate Entertainment has agreed to acquire Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million in cash and stock. The two Santa Monica-based companies have engaged in on-and-off merger talks since late 2008 as Lions Gate has sought to bolster its library of film and TV properties and Summit's investors have tried to find a way to cash in on the lightning-in-a-bottle success of its "Twilight" movie series, which has grossed $2.5 billion worldwide over four films.

In the upcoming movie "Ender's Game," boy warrior Ender Wiggin faces a series of challenges as he embarks on a journey to battle insect-like creatures that threaten to destroy the planet. The movie also is a test for the film's co-producer, Digital Domain, the pioneering visual effects house co-founded by director James Cameron in 1993. The Venice studio is co-producing "Ender's Game" with OddLot Entertainment and Summit Entertainment. Taking such a major role in a live-action movie, which opens Nov. 1, is both rare for a visual effects company and a big gamble for Digital Domain, known for its work on the movies "Tron: Legacy" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Lions Gate Entertainment and Summit Entertainment are back in merger talks that would combine two of Hollywood's largest independent studios, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations who are not authorized to speak publicly. Should a deal be consummated, it would bring together one of the movie industry's most successful young adult franchises, Summit's "Twilight," with one of the most highly anticipated new series, "The Hunger Games," from Lions Gate. The two companies, headquartered around the block from each other in Santa Monica, have held on-and-off merger talks since late 2008 but were unable to resolve key issues of price and management control.

It looks like the newest "Star Trek" movie is living long and prospering.  "Star Trek Into Darkness," J.J. Abrams' latest contribution to the venerable franchise, is the bestselling DVD and Blu-ray title and a top rental. The film that made more than $466 million worldwide in theaters was also the top video-on-demand title.  With the fall TV season about to get into full swing, DVD sets of popular series are also populating the bestseller list.  ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll Ahead of its seventh-season premiere Thursday on CBS, the sixth season of "The Big Bang Theory" was the second-biggest seller.  "Now You See Me," Summit Entertainment's film about investigators pursuing a team of illusionist bank robbers, came in at No. 3.  Besides "The Big Bang Theory," other TV shows with seasons debuting in the Top 10 were "Homeland's" second season, "Supernatural's" eighth and "Castle's" fifth.  Here are the top titles for the week that ended Sept.

Roman Polanski may still be in Switzerland, but his movie will be coming to the U.S. The director, who is caught in legal limbo abroad, will see his new movie -- a thriller called "The Ghost Writer" -- released in the U.S. by Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the phenomenally successful "Twilight" franchise. The company plans on a quick turnaround, releasing the Polanski film sometime in the first half of 2010. "Ghost Writer" did not previously have a U.S. distributor. The embattled Polanski is currently living in his Swiss chalet after being released from jail on $4.5-million bail.

Two film veterans have become the latest Hollywood players to tap into the gusher of money Wall Street is putting into the movie business by arranging a $1-billion credit line. Patrick Wachsberger, chief executive of foreign sales and distribution company Summit Entertainment, and Robert Friedman, former head of marketing and distribution for Paramount Pictures Motion Picture Group, aim to use the money from Merrill Lynch & Co.

Summit Entertainment's estimates of how many filmgoers outside North America saw "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" was low. Way low. After more information rolled in from overseas markets, the independent studio updated its estimate of ticket sales in the 24 countries where its blockbuster vampire movie played over the weekend. Its new opening weekend overseas total, $132.1 million, is $14 million, or 12%, higher than its estimate Sunday morning of $118.1 million. Combined with the newly updated domestic total of $142.

Showtime Networks said it acquired the rights for up to 42 movies released by Summit Entertainment, including the independent studio's new blockbuster, "Twilight." The premium cable network, one of the most profitable units of CBS Corp., will have access to Summit movies released from 2008 through 2012, including all films in the "Twilight" franchise. Summit Entertainment plans to release 10 to 12 films a year. This year Showtime did not renew its existing deals with major studios Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Lionsgate Entertainment in a dispute over price.

Executives at Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. received significantly increased bonuses in the last fiscal year, following the Santa Monica studio's successful launch of "The Hunger Games," its acquisition of Summit Entertainment and a more than 100% rise in its stock price. Details on the compensation of top executives at Lions Gate were disclosed in the company's proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission before its annual meeting, which will be held Sept. 11 in Toronto.

"Twilight" star Robert Pattinson has made it official: "Breaking Dawn," the fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer's vampire saga, will be adapted for the big screen. Pattinson confirmed the news Tuesday during the Cannes Film Festival, revealing that he is signed to star in all four "Twilight" films. The actor is shooting the second, "New Moon," with director Chris Weitz and said he was unsure as to when the fourth movie would begin production. Summit Entertainment gave the go-ahead to the second and third films late last year after the first movie took in more than $190 million in domestic box office revenue.

"Now You See Me," which became a surprise hit when it was released in theaters in May, is topping charts in home entertainment. For the week ended Sept. 7, it was the bestselling DVD and Blu-ray title in its first week on retail shelves, according to Rentrak. The Summit Entertainment film, which stars Jesse Eisenberg, follows a team of investigators as they pursue a group of bank-robbing illusionists.  ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll         "Now You See Me" was also the top video-on-demand title and reached No. 1 on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu and Xbox during the last week, noted Lionsgate, which owns Summit.  At the box office, the film grossed $117 million domestically and more than $200 million internationally.

These guys really don't like “Twilight.” First, they ripped on the teen vampire franchise with a raunchy parody film. Now they're suing the makers of “Twilight” for $500 million. Between the Lines Productions, the company responsible for the parody “ Twiharder ” starring and executive produced by John Gearries and Christopher Sean, has sued Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Summit Entertainment, accusing them of derailing the movie. (See the trailer here .)

Young adult movies are the ticket for Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., maker of the “Twilight” and “Hunger Games” sagas. Movies based on teen-oriented books helped the company swing to profit in its fiscal fourth quarter and it's looking ahead to similar offerings that will debut this year and next. “We're obviously not the only ones mining the young adult space, but owning the top young adult franchises, 'Hunger Games' and 'Twilight,' gives us enormous catalyst,” said Jon Feltheimer, Lions Gate's chief executive officer, in a conference call with analysts Friday.

In the end, "Breaking Dawn" couldn't generate as much light as "New Moon. " The fifth and final "Twilight" film hit theaters this weekend and did incredible business, grossing $141.3 million domestically, according to an estimate from distributor Summit Entertainment. Although that is a fantastic start for "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2," the film came in just shy of the franchise opening-weekend record held by 2009's "New Moon" with $142.8 million. However, the final "Twilight" film could easily become the highest-grossing domestic film in the "Twilight" franchise, surpassing the record $300.5 million the third film, "Eclipse," made in 2010. Those Twi-hards who saw the movie this weekend loved it, assigning the movie an average grade of A, according to market research firm CinemaScore.

"The Impossible," from director Juan Antonio Bayona ("The Orphanage"), offers a fictionalized account of one family's real-life experience of being caught in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which killed close to 300,000 people. The film premiered Sunday night to an intensely engaged audience at the Toronto International Film Festival. "The Impossible," starring Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts, is part horror film, part triumph of spirit. The happy parents of three young boys vacationing in Thailand during the Christmas holiday are torn apart when the tsunami strikes in the middle of a sunny day. The movie illustrates the family's post-tsunami journey - the oldest son must help his very injured mother to safety, while the father is left with the two youngest boys, trying desperately to locate his wife and eldest child.

Executives at Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. received significantly increased bonuses in the last fiscal year, following the Santa Monica studio's successful launch of "The Hunger Games," its acquisition of Summit Entertainment and a more than 100% rise in its stock price. Details on the compensation of top executives at Lions Gate were disclosed in the company's proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission before its annual meeting, which will be held Sept. 11 in Toronto.

These guys really don't like “Twilight.” First, they ripped on the teen vampire franchise with a raunchy parody film. Now they're suing the makers of “Twilight” for $500 million. Between the Lines Productions, the company responsible for the parody “ Twiharder ” starring and executive produced by John Gearries and Christopher Sean, has sued Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. and Summit Entertainment, accusing them of derailing the movie. (See the trailer here .)

In the latest in a string of distribution deals, Artisan Entertainment (which changed its name from LIVE Entertainment last week) has struck a five-year foreign distribution agreement with Summit Entertainment. The two Los Angeles-based companies will begin their alliance next month at the Cannes Film Festival, where Summit will represent Artisan films including the $30-million Roman Polanski-directed "The Ninth Gate."

Lionsgate has solved one of the thorniest staffing problems resulting from its acquisition of "Twilight" studio Summit Entertainment by keeping the marketing chiefs from both studios. Tim Palen, Lionsgate's chief marketing officer who is coming off the blockbuster success of "The Hunger Games," has signed a new deal that will keep him in his job through 2015. However, the studio is also keeping Summit's marketing president, Nancy Kirkpatrick, in her current job as president of marketing for the studio, which is now a Lionsgate label.

Combining Hollywood's two biggest independent film studios and the blockbuster young adult franchises "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games" into one powerful entity, Lions Gate Entertainment has agreed to acquire Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million in cash and stock. The two Santa Monica companies have engaged in on-and-off merger talks since late 2008 as Lions Gate sought to bolster its library of film and TV properties and Summit's investors tried to cash in on the lightning-in-a-bottle success of the "Twilight" movie series, which has grossed $2.5 billion worldwide over four films.