SNEAK PEEK
Building momentum from the first day of its May 2005 theatrical release, Lionsgate's contemporary drama "Crash" won the Academy Award(R) for Best Motion Picture, capping an 'underdog' triumph for the independent studio.
"Crash" also won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Canadian director/cowriter/coproducer Paul Haggis and an Academy Award for Achievement In Film Editing for Hughes Winborne.
Lionsgate, has now earned 25 Academy Award nominations and four victories over the past seven years, more than any other independent studio.
"Crash" also earned Academy Award nominations for Best Director (Paul Haggis), Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role (Matt Dillon) and Best Original Song ("In The Deep," music by Kathleen "Bird" York and Michael Becker, lyrics by York).
The Oscar victory culminated an awards season where "Crash" earned a Screens Actors Guild award for Best Ensemble Cast In A Motion Picture, a Producers Guild nomination for Best Picture, a Directors Guild nomination for Haggis, a Writers Guild nomination for Best Original Screenplay (Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco), nine BAFTA nominations (including Best Film and Best Director) and six NAACP Image Award nominations (including Best Film).
Lionsgate launched an unprecedented marketing initiative by sending out 130,000 promotional DVD screeners, for the film which has generated $54 million at the North American box office, selling approximately 4 million units on DVD.
A "Crash" 'Special Edition' DVD will be released April 4 and a Lionsgate Crash television series, reprising the character roles of the major cast members in the film is currently in development for the FX Network.
"'Crash' is a story I have wanted to tell for 10 years," said Haggis.
"The acquisition, marketing, publicity and distribution teams of Lionsgate have been the perfect partners..."
Lionsgate is currently on a winning streak, with the company's "Madea's Family Reunion" number one at the domestic box office for the second straight week, with a gross of approximately $48 million, and having the number one DVD in North America with Toronto-filmed "Saw II".
Lionsgate will continue its marketing strategies by re-releasing "Crash" for a second theatrical run.
