Update From Summit on Fan Camping

This just in from Summit

Thank you for the overwhelming response!  And since we received so many registrations, we will be conducting a random drawing on Thursday, October 18th to choose the lucky fans that will get the opportunity to participate in the Fan Camp.  Please note that we will send confirmation emails once we confirm these lucky fans.  Please allow 24 – 48 hours to receive your confirmation, as it will take some time to process all confirmations.

If your entry was NOT selected in the random drawing for a camp spot, you will receive an email with instructions on how to request to be added to the wait list in the event that there are cancellations prior to the event.

(Please Note: If your entry did not comply with the registration rules [e.g., duplicate entries, etc.], you may not receive notice of any kind.)

Thank you for your patience! We are looking forward to a safe and happy event – and being a part of the epic finale of the worldwide phenomenon!

Team Twilight (a.k.a. Summit Entertainment)

It’s Official Lionsgate and Summit Merge

According to the press release on the AP wire:

Movie and TV studio Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. is buying Summit Entertainment, the maker of the hit “Twilight” series for teens, for $412.5 million in cash and stock. The deal announced Friday brings together two studios hoping to create a Hollywood powerhouse focused on young adult audiences.

The “Twilight” franchise has grossed more than $2.5 billion worldwide since the first movie blew out of the gates in late 2008, and hordes of fans of the Stephenie Meyer books rushed to theaters. The finale of the five-movie juggernaut, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2,” is due out in November.

Meanwhile Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. plans to kick off its own four-part series based on Suzanne Collins’ young adult novels, “The Hunger Games,” beginning in March. The three books in the trilogy are ranked 1, 2 and 3 on USA Today’s best-seller list and there are about 23 million books in print.

Combined, the studios hope to reap the benefits of selling to similar audiences.

“They have a tremendous outreach with fans and the ability to reach them through email, Facebook, et cetera,” said Lions Gate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “Starting right now, today, we are going to utilize that institutional knowledge to move ‘Hunger Games’ ahead even more quickly.”

Summit co-chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger said in a statement, “We believe that the combined entity will be even greater than the sum of its parts.”

Lions Gate said the majority of the purchase was funded with about $300 million in cash on Summit’s books. It paid another $55 million from its cash reserves, took on new debt of $45 million and paid $50 million in stock. Another $20 million will be due in cash or stock within 60 days.

At the close of the deal, Summit’s existing term loan was refinanced with a $500 million debt facility secured by revenue from Summit’s upcoming and existing films.

Lions Gate said that debt is expected to be repaid well before the maturity date in 2016 and added that the transaction will “significantly” boost Lions Gate’s earnings starting in April.

Feltheimer said Lions Gate would look to consolidate and pare down the combined studios’ upcoming slate of movies but didn’t specify how much. Before the merger they were on track to release a combined 22 to 27 films a year, which would put them on par with Hollywood’s biggest studios. Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros., for example, aims to put out 18 to 22 movies a year.

For Summit’s owners, the deal represents another big payout following a special dividend of around $200 million that accompanied a $750 million refinancing in March 2011.

The biggest winners are Summit’s management, including Friedman and Wachsberger, which owns about 30 percent of Summit, and Summit’s majority owner Suhail Rizvi of Rizvi Traverse Management.

It was not immediately clear if Friedman and Wachsberger would continue to run Summit as a Lions Gate subsidiary.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. already has a strong TV studio, which makes popular series such as “Mad Men,” ”Weeds,” ”Nurse Jackie” and is the key distribution partner of comedian Tyler Perry for his shows “House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns.”

The studio had been distracted recently by a lengthy shareholder battle with activist investor Carl Icahn, who finally agreed last year to sell most of his shares and focus his attention elsewhere. Lions Gate had also taken a close look at buying faltering studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., but lost out to creditors who took it over in late 2010.

Both Lions Gate and Summit have head offices in Santa Monica, Calif., although Lions Gate is technically based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Lions Gate shares closed down 11 cents at $8.60 before the merger announcement.

So what does this mean for us fans? Given what they are talking about in regards to online communities and outreach, this is probably good for us. It seems likes Summit’s people who we have established a working relationship will remain. Historically Summit has been good in this area of fansite outreach, whereas Lionsgate has been in various instances been labeled as, ineffective, oblivious to, and even hostile to the fan community. Considering that there are a fair number of Hunger Games high profile fansites that are run by people connected to Twilight sites (three that come immediately to mind are Mockingjay, HOB, and Hypable) this is good for them as well.

Summit/Lionsgate Closing In On Deal

For those of your who have been following the coverage of the merger of Lionsgate and Summit, a final deal may be close at hand. The Hollywood Reporter states the following:

Two sources confirm that Lionsgate is closing in on an agreement to acquire Summit Entertainment for about $400 million in cash plus the assumption of debt. The sources say the deal also includes the services Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger, the two top executives behind the studio that has ridden the Twilight movie franchise to the top ranks of Hollywood.

Sources also say that Lionsgate is very interested in bringing in Friedman and Wachsberger, the two leaders who helped propel Summit from an indie that was losing money to one of the most profitable studios in Hollywood. Since both companies have movie production and international sales units, it is unclear how they will be merged, but keeping key people in place does appear to be the intent.

As soon as we hear anything definitive, we will let everyone know! Read the whole story at The Hollywood Reporter.

 

Lionsgate and Summit to Merge?

Hypable is reporting the following:

Bloomberg is reporting that two movie studios well known to our readers – Summit Entertainment and Lionsgate – are in talks to merge.

Though it wouldn’t cause much that typical moviegoers would notice, it’d certainly be beneficial for Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games franchise given Summit has experience from turning Twilight into a major financial success.

See more on Hypable

We’ll have to see how this one goes down. If it does go through it’s sure going to make life interesting around here!

Good Luck Campers! See You On the Red Carpet!

With lots of folks heading into LA this week for the Breaking Dawn Premiere we just thought we’d repost the revised camping rules put out by summit Entertainment so that everyone has a safe and enjoyable time.

TWILIGHT Fans are allowed to begin lining up for camping in Tent City at NOKIA PLAZA L.A. LIVE at 6:00am PT on Thursday, November 10, 2011. No fans are allowed to line-up prior to that time.  The location and start of the official fan camp line will be set by Summit Event Security and all other non-official lines will not be recognized. Loitering before 6am PT is not permitted. If you are asked to move multiple times, you will not be permitted to camp. If you stampede the line or the camp site at any time, you will be removed from the camping grounds by event security.

Overnight camping is allowed in designated areas only, starting in the Nokia Plaza. Please follow all directions advised by L.A. LIVE and Summit security. Please note, that special wristbands will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and each fan must be present to receive a wristband. Each wristband will be numbered and reserves a space in the Fan Viewing areas for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 Red Carpet arrivals in sequential order. Every individual who is granted access into Tent City will be entered into a database that matches them with their unique wristband number. The wristbands DO NOT enable access to the Movie Premiere.

Fans will be asked to change location as Premiere set up begins in the Nokia Plaza on Sunday morning November 13 at 6:00am PT. This will be the only relocation during the camping event.

PARTIAL LIST OF RULES AND CODES OF CONDUCT:
·        ONLY Standard Sized Pop Tents will be allowed (8’x8′ [64 sq. ft.] or less. No oversized tents, staked tents, etc., due to limited space)
·        ABSOLUTELY No Drugs or Alcohol allowed on premises
·        No Cooking On-Site or open flame
·        No horseplay. If anyone dumps food or beverages on another camper, they will be subject for removal
·        No amplified music. All music devices must be used with headset or earphone
·        Smoking in Designated Areas Only outside of the NOKIA Plaza boundaries
·        Fans are responsible for their own property. LA Live, AEG, nor Summit is responsible for any lost or stolen items
·        Everyone must please pick up after themselves. A fine will be enforced for anyone who litters on Nokia or LA City property
·        Please only use the restrooms designated for fans and respect the other area businesses
·        Guests must follow the rules and directions of L.A. LIVE Management/Summit Security at all times

THANK YOU for your cooperation and adherence to the above to help ensure a safe and entertaining experience for everyone!

WRIST BAND DETAILS AND EVENT DAY LINE UP TIMES

Twilight fans will be given wristbands starting at 6:00am PT on Thursday, November 10 2011. Wristbands MUST be worn until the premiere is over. Any wristband that has been tampered with or removed will NOT be considered valid. Any fan arriving without wearing the original wristband they were provided will not be allowed into the viewing area. There will be periodic spot checks through November 14, the day of the event.

Summit Entertainment Expands Twilight Saga Social Media

Summit Entertainment has just expanded its Twilight Saga social media:

You and your readers can now ‘like’ the full official network of TWILIGHT SAGA pages on Facebook! In addition to THE TWILIGHT SAGA fan page (Facebook.com/Twilight), you can now ‘like’:

TWILIGHT—http://www.Facebook.com/TwilightMovie
NEW MOON—http://www.Facebook.com/NewMoon
ECLIPSE—http://www.Facebook.com/Eclipse
BREAKING DAWN –  http://www.Facebook.com/BreakingDawn

You can also now ‘like’ Bella, Edward and Jacob!

Bella Swan—http://www.Facebook.com/BellaSwan
Edward Cullen—http://www.Facebook.com/EdwardCullen
Jacob Black—http://www.Facebook.com/JacobBlack

Fans can go to our “World of Twilight” tab on all of our Facebook pages to easily ‘like’ their favorite TWILIGHT SAGA films & characters from there, along with BREAKING DAWN – PART 1 soundtrack artists and partners like the fan favorite Twilight Conventions (http://www.facebook.com/twilight?sk=app_231898960200193).

Twilight Related Domain Name and Content Crackdown

According to two different sources, Summit Entertainment is cracking down on websites that are allegedly putting up content on their sites that make it look as though they are official representatives of the Twilight Saga movies.

The first case involves the URL Twilight.com. According to LA Weekly,

If you responded to a casting call that was posted on the Website www.twilight.com, and have been wondering when you’re going to get that life-altering phone call telling you to prance around with Edward and the gang … don’t hold your breath.

It seems we may have a huckster in our midst.

According to a lawsuit, first reported by Courthouse News Service, the company Summit Entertainment, which produced and distributed the Twilight movies and owns a ton of Twilight-related trademarks, is suing the man behind the apparently duplicitous Website.

Summit, which produced such films as “The Hurt Locker” and “American Pie,” claims that Tom Markkson registered the domain name twilight.com back in 1994, some 14 years before the first Twilight movie was released.

After the movie became a success, however, Markkson began posting material related to the film – copyrighted material, says Summit.

The company accuses Markkson of posting links to unauthorized movie contests and fake casting calls, “leading consumers to believe that they had reached the official Twighlight Motion Picture website.”

The next action involves the site BreakingDawnTheMovie.com. According to Domain Name Wire,

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 is coming to theaters this November.

But before vampires duke it out on screen, a fight has already broken out over the film’s domain name: the creators have filed a complaint against the owner of BreakingDawnTheMovie.com in an effort to get the domain name. The complaint was filed with National Arbitration Forum…Although the domain name is likely to be transferred, there are a whole host of web sites that discuss the new Twilight film and us the name in their domains. Among the results on the first page of Google when I search “Breaking Dawn Movie” are three blogs: breakingdawnmovie.org, thebreakingdawnmovie.org, and breakingdawnmovie101.org. My guess is the studio leaves all of these fan sites alone…it just wants BreakingDawnTheMovie.com to promote the film.”

Unlike the first case which seems to be an ongoing suit, this second case just seems to be the matter of Summit trying to buy up URLs that could be associated with the movie. It’s perhaps somewhat surprising that they waited this long to do this.

Teaser Image From Summit Entertainment Bella’s Ring

According to Summit, “Early tomorrow evening, Entertainment Tonight (check your local listings) and Yahoo! Movies (immediately following broadcast) exclusively debut two THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 1 teaser one-sheets! ”

What else do you think will be in the main poster reveal?

Summit Wakes Up Comic Con Line: Swag, Food, Actors

We woke up ate about 5:45 to security tightening up the lines. Right after that Summit staff showed up with breakfast food, mugs, posters.

Right after that they brought Ashley Greene, Nikki Reed, Booboo Stewart, Liz Reaser, and Julia Jones to sign for the crowd.

Breaking Dawn Stills Coming 9:00am Tomorrow: EW and More

This just in via Summit:

“Please share with your readers that tomorrow at 9am ET/6am PT EW.com will have the exclusive debut of the BREAKING DAWN/Entertainment Weekly dual cover issue, which hits stands this week! Kristen & Rob are featured on one cover and Taylor is featured on the other. Additionally, they will be launching an exclusive BREAKING DAWN image gallery, so be on the lookout for that as well!”