· Lionsgate and CNN Films, a production and acquisition arm of CNN Worldwide, have acquired North American rights to the documentary DINOSAUR 13 at the 2014 . The film will be released theatrically with a North American broadcast premiere on CNN/U.S. DINOSAUR 13 is directed and produced by Todd Miller.
· Synopsis: On August 12, 1990, in the badlands of South Dakota, paleontologist Peter Larson and his team from the Black Hills Institute unearthed the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex ever found. It was the find of a lifetime—the world’s greatest dinosaur discovery. They named their dinosaur Sue. Two years later, when the FBI and the National Guard showed up, battle lines were drawn over ownership of Sue. The U.S. government, world-class museums, Native American tribal nations, and competing paleontologists became the Goliath to Larson’s David as he and his team fought to keep their dinosaur and wrestled with intimidation tactics that threatened their freedom as well. DINOSAUR 13 chronicles an unprecedented saga in American history and details the fierce battle to possess a 65-million-year-old treasure. With consummate skill, filmmaker Todd Miller excavates layer after layer, exposing human emotion in a dramatic tale that is as complex as it is fascinating.
· Lionsgate has released some of the most successful documentary films ever, including FAHRENHEIT 9/11, the highest-grossing documentary of all time, RELIGULOUS, GRIZZLY MAN and, in partnership with sister company Roadside Attractions, the Oscar®-winning THE COVE. CNN Films has scored with the popular and critically-acclaimed BLACKFISH, acquired at last year’s Sundance Film Festival and broadcast exclusively by the network for television in October 2013. BLACKFISH was a strong ratings success for CNN, attracting more than 20 million total viewers to see the film on CNN since its premiere.
· Todd Miller has been making films and short-form content for more than a decade. His films include GAHANNA BILL and SCARING THE FISH. His work with shorts has won numerous international and national awards, including CINE Golden Eagle, Telly, Aurora, and Axiem awards.
· The acquisition deal was negotiated by Jason Constantine, Lionsgate’s President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions, along with Lionsgate’s Eda Kowan, Marc Danon and Wendy Jaffe; and CNN’s Vinnie Malhotra and Stacey Wolf, with Josh Braun, David Koh, and Dan Braun of Submarine. Legal counsel for the filmmakers is Evan Krauss of Gray Krauss Stratford Des Rochers LLP.