Entertainment One (“eOne”) and The Mark Gordon Company are pleased to announce that they have partnered to create an independent studio that will finance and produce film, network, cable, and digital premium content, which eOne will distribute internationally. The venture, which is led by Mark Gordon in the role of Chief Executive Officer, will continue producing Mark Gordon premium content and will also expand to finance projects by other producers.
The studio, which will remain LA-based, will combine Mark Gordon’s track record of working with emerging and established creative talent with the financial backing needed to bring exciting content to audiences worldwide. The venture’s founding principle is to maximize artists’ creative freedom, while giving them a meaningful stake in their product.
This transformational deal, with eOne taking a significant stake in The Mark Gordon Company, brings together one of the world’s most successful television and film producers with eOne’s extensive international distribution network to deliver film and television content with global appeal.
Mark Gordon is an award-winning film and television producer with an outstanding track record of hits, including television’s Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Army Wives, and Ray Donovan, as well as critically-acclaimed box-office successes including Speed, The Day After Tomorrow, Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, 2012 and Source Code. Gordon brings deep active relationships with leading creative talent and all the major studios and networks to the venture.
“As producers, we have been successful in bringing the vision of talented creators to large audiences. We can now expand our contribution to include financing and strong global distribution. There is a voracious appetite for premium original content worldwide. In order to realize the true value of our content, retention of rights ownership and control of international distribution are musts,” said Gordon. “In eOne, we have found partners that share our vision of supporting the creators and are immersed in the international marketplace with great ambitions to expand in the U.S. Together, we are building an alternative to the traditional studio way.”
“We are delighted to enter into this partnership with Mark and his team. Mark brings a wealth of experience and talent to the table,” said Darren Throop, President & Chief Executive Officer, Entertainment One. “The Mark Gordon Company creates first-class content and has been entertaining audiences around the world for many years. As eOne continues to build its global platform, partnering
with strong creative companies like The Mark Gordon Company is right on strategy and I am very excited to welcome them to the larger eOne family.”
The Mark Gordon Company will complete its tenure with ABC studios and continue to develop and produce film content across all genres, including the production of studio films. eOne’s US Television business will continue developing, financing and producing high-quality scripted and alternative programming, operating independently of The Mark Gordon Company. eOne also plans to leverage its digital expertise to enhance the interactive potential of the content produced by the studio.
The breadth of eOne’s library of titles across Film and Television has delivered one of the most valuable content rights portfolios in the independent sector. In Television, eOne develops, produces, acquires and distributes programming across all genres, delivering over 300 half-hours of original content every year. eOne Television has a significant distribution arrangement with AMC Networks’ AMC and Sundance Channel, whereby eOne handles international distribution for all of their original scripted series. eOne is also the studio and international distributor behind the AMC series Hell on Wheels, and along with Fox International Channels, the international distributor for the zombie-phenomenon, The Walking Dead.
In Film, eOne is the largest independent multi-territory distributor in the world and recently expanded its global production and international film operations. This deal will continue to build on eOne’s commitment to investing and financing projects at source, offering film producers an increased and concentrated investment in their films and working with top creatives to deliver commercial content around the world.
