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ERIK LOMIS JOINS THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY AS PRESIDENT OF THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION AND HOME ENTERTAINMENT

Posted Wednesday, March 16th, 2011 - Comments Off on ERIK LOMIS JOINS THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY AS PRESIDENT OF THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION AND HOME ENTERTAINMENT
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New York (March 16, 2011) – The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that Erik Lomis has joined the company as president of theatrical distribution and home entertainment.  The announcement was made by TWC COO David Glasser.

In his new position, Lomis will oversee the theatrical distribution slate for TWC and Dimension Films, including such upcoming titles as Miral, from Oscar®-nominated director Julian Schnabel; Wes Craven’s Scream 4, the new installment in Dimension Films’ seminal horror franchise; Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World, the latest installment in Robert Rodriguez’s family franchise for Dimension; the buzzed-about thriller Apollo 18; Simon Curtis’s My Week with Marilyn; the Sundance Film Festival hits My Idiot Brother and The Details; Ralph Fiennes’s directorial debut Coriolanus; Douglas McGrath’s I Don’t Know How She Does It; and So Undercover.  Lomis will also be responsible for the day-to-day management of TWC’s home/digital entertainment business, which includes a strategic partnership with Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Lomis is the latest addition to the all-star executive lineup recruited by Co-Chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein as they, along with Glasser, have reorganized the company.  The new executive team includes Academy Award®-winning producer Donna Gigliotti (Shakespeare in Love) as president of production; Miramax production veteran Meryl Poster as president of television; Sarah Greenberg Roberts as president of publicity; and Peter Lawson, who re-upped as executive vice president, acquisitions & co-productions.

Said Lomis, “I’ve long admired Harvey and Bob Weinstein as producers, distributors and passionate film advocates, so this is a very exciting move for me.  I’m looking forward to working with the Weinsteins and the entire TWC team to bring exceptional movies to audiences here at home and all over the world.”

Commented TWC Co-Chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein, “It’s one thing to make a great, entertaining movie; it’s another to make sure that film finds its audience.  Erik works tirelessly and creatively to devise the optimum distribution plan for his films, whatever the genre, wherever the viewers.  Having him at the helm of distribution is a boon for TWC and for every filmmaker we work with.”

Added Glasser, “Erik is a master strategist with a deep understanding of the marketplace, and an uncanny ability to pinpoint the ideal window for any given title.  We’re thrilled to have him at TWC.”

Prior to joining TWC, Lomis was president of worldwide theatrical distribution, home entertainment & acquisitions of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, where he oversaw domestic theatrical distribution as well as the marketing and distribution of MGM’s international theatrical, home entertainment and acquisitions titles.  He had been a prominent executive and consultant at MGM for over 15 years.  As president of domestic distribution from 2000 to 2005, Lomis was a part of the greenlight committee and oversaw the distribution for Legally Blonde, Barbershop and four of the James Bond films including Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day.  Following that period, he advised MGM, Warner Bros. and a number of other distributors on the domestic and foreign marketing and distribution of feature films.  Prior to arriving at MGM, Lomis was head of the national film department at United Artists Theatres, as well as the head film buyer at Sameric Corp. in Philadelphia, where he was also responsible for real estate development.  Lomis began his career in film as a teenager, when he worked after school as a movie theatre usher.  In addition to his industry positions, Lomis has also served as the chairman and president of the Will Rogers Institute and currently sits on the advisory board of Variety.

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979.  TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as Scream, Spy Kids and Scary Movie.  Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes, most recently Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech, winner of four 2011 Academy Awards including Best Picture; Derek Cianfrance’s Academy Award-nominated Blue Valentine; and John Wells’ feature directorial debut, The Company Men.  Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as Grindhouse, I’m Not There, The Great Debaters, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Reader, The Road, Halloween, The Pat Tillman Story, Piranha 3D, Inglourious Basterds, A Single Man, Nine and 2011 Golden Globe® Best Foreign Language Film nominee The Concert.   Recently wrapping is My Week with Marilyn, Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids 4 and the fourth installment of the Scream franchise.  Currently in production is Douglas McGrath’s I Don’t Know How She Does It.

TWC is also active in television production, with credits including the Emmy® Award-winning hit reality series “Project Runway,” and the critically acclaimed HBO comedy/crime series “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.”  The company is producing two “Project Runway” spinoffs, “Project Runway: Masters” and “Project Runway: Accessories,” which are expected to debut in 2011.  The company currently has 15 series in different stages of development, including: “Mob Wives,” a reality series for VH1; “Marco Polo,” a scripted historical series about the great explorer; “The Nanny Diaries,” based on the hit book; and “The Mad Ones,” adapted from the Mafia novel of the same name.

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