NEW YORK and SANTA MONICA, Calif., July 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pulitzer
Prize®-winning journalist Nikole
Hannah-Jones and The New York
Times (NYSE: NYT) have chosen global content leader
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) to be the home for a wide-ranging
partnership to develop Ms. Hannah-Jones' landmark issue of The New
York Times Magazine, The 1619 Project, and hit New York Times podcast, 1619, into an
expansive portfolio of feature films, television series and other
content for a global audience.
As part of the ground-breaking venture, Lionsgate has partnered
with media titan Oprah Winfrey as a
producer who will provide stewardship and guidance to the
development and production of the 1619 Project.
Lionsgate, The Times and Ms. Winfrey will join forces with Ms.
Hannah-Jones, a 2020 Pulitzer Prize® winner, staff
writer at The New York Times Magazine, and one of the nation's
foremost investigative journalists, who will serve as the creative
leader and producer in developing feature films, television series,
documentaries, unscripted programming and other forms of
entertainment enlisting world-class Black creative voices to help
adapt her celebrated series chronicling the ways that the original
sin of slavery in America still permeates all aspects of our
society today. Her colleague at The Times Magazine, Caitlin Roper, an editor of The 1619
Project and head of scripted entertainment at The Times, will
also produce.
One of the most impactful and thought-provoking works of
journalism of the past decade, The Times Magazine's 1619
Project was a landmark undertaking that connected the
centrality of slavery in history with an unflinching account of the
brutal racism that endures in so many aspects of American life
today. It was launched in August 2019
on the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first
enslaved Africans in the English colonies that would become
the United States, and it examines
the legacy of slavery in America and how it shaped all aspects of
society, from music and law to education and the arts, including
the principles of our democracy itself.
Ms. Hannah-Jones created and was the architect of the initiative
at The Times Magazine with contributions from Black authors,
essayists, poets, playwrights, and scholars comprising a special
issue of the magazine and a special section in the print edition of
The New York Times produced in
collaboration with the Smithsonian's National Museum of
African-American History & Culture, as well as a five-part
podcast that topped the Apple Podcast charts.
One of The Times' most widely read pieces of journalism last
year, The 1619 Project has been discussed in the Senate, is
being adapted into a series of books with One World, a division of Penguin Random House,
and is already changing the way that American history is being
taught in schools.
"We took very seriously our duty to find TV and film partners
that would respect and honor the work and mission of The 1619
Project, that understood our vision and deep moral obligation
to doing justice to these stories. Through every step of the
process, Lionsgate and its leadership have shown themselves to be
that partner and it is a dream to be able to produce this work with
Ms. Oprah Winfrey, a trailblazer and
beacon to so many Black journalists," said Ms. Hannah-Jones. "I am
excited for this opportunity to extend the breadth and reach of
The 1619 Project and to introduce these stories of Black
resistance and resilience to even more American households."
"From the first moment I read The 1619 Project and
immersed myself in Nikole
Hannah-Jones's transformative work, I was moved, deepened
and strengthened by her empowering historical analysis," said
Oprah Winfrey. "I am honored to be a
part of Nikole's vision to bring this project to a global
audience."
"For many Americans, The 1619 Project was a great
awakening and a true history that you probably never learned in
school," said Lionsgate CEO Jon
Feltheimer. "For others, the project was a fresh
analysis of the historical record by one of the world's leading
media authorities. We're proud to partner with The New York Times, Nikole
Hannah-Jones and Oprah
Winfrey, a creative talent with unparalleled stature, to
amplify Nikole's voice and reach across our worldwide platform to
marshal all of our top creative relationships to translate her
vision into a canon of storytelling for a global audience."
"Since the publication of The 1619 Project last year, we
have been searching for the right partners to expand the reach of
its message into film and television while preserving the
authenticity of its voice," said New York Times Assistant Managing
Editor, Sam Dolnick. "We believe
that Lionsgate and Oprah Winfrey are
the perfect combination of partners who understand the editorial
integrity of The Times and the gravity of The 1619 Project's
message, and have the reach, resources, compassion, and talent
relationships to join with us and with Nikole in producing films,
television, and other programming for a global audience that do
justice to the project."
"Nikole Hannah-Jones and her
deeply reported journalism has done nothing short of challenging
the entire history we thought we knew, revealing the true role of
slavery and the impact of racial prejudice in shaping the America
of today," said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chairman
Joe Drake and Lionsgate Television
Group Chairman Kevin Beggs.
"The truths she uncovers are painful and disturbing, but we are
better for it because her crowning accomplishment in shining a
spotlight on the previously untold contributions of Black Americans
delivers a powerful message of empowerment and inclusion. That is
the message that we want to advance through feature films and
television series whose storytelling, breadth of scope, and
world-class talent do justice to their subject matter."
Please see a link to The 1619 Project essays here and
podcasts here.
About Nikole
Hannah-Jones
Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer
Prize®-winning investigative reporter who covers civil rights and
racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. Her work
has also earned three National Magazine Awards, two George Polk
Awards, a Peabody, the John
Chancellor Award for Distinguished Journalism from
Columbia University and a MacArthur
Fellowship, known as the "Genius Grant."
Ms. Hannah-Jones's heroes are the race beat reporters such as
Ida B. Wells, Ethel Payne, Simeon
Becker and Claude Sitton,
whose fearless reporting helped move the nation closer to its
promise. Prior to joining The New York
Times five years ago, she worked as an investigative
reporter at ProPublica in New York
City, where she spent three years chronicling the way
official policy created and maintains segregation in housing and
schools.
Before that, she reported for the largest daily newspaper in the
Pacific Northwest, the Oregonian in Portland, Oregon. She started her
journalism career covering the majority-Black Durham Public Schools
for the News & Observer in Raleigh, NC.
She has said, "I see my work as forcing us to confront our
hypocrisy, forcing us to confront the truth that we would rather
ignore."
Ms. Hannah-Jones was represented by Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka,
Finkelstein & Lezcano.
About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE:NYT) is a global media
organization dedicated to enhancing society by creating, collecting
and distributing high-quality news and information. The Company
includes The New York Times,
NYTimes.com and related properties. It is known globally for
excellence in its journalism, and innovation in its print and
digital storytelling and its business model. Follow news about the
Company at @NYTimesPR.
The Times was represented by Anonymous Content and Gang, Tyre,
Ramer, Brown & Passman.
About Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is a global media
leader, philanthropist, producer and critically acclaimed actress.
She has created an unparalleled connection with people around the
world, making her one of the most respected and admired figures
today.
Winfrey currently hosts a variety of series that tackle issues
and concerns facing Black lives, featuring candid and in-depth
conversations that create real dialogue to inspire systematic
change. Recent specials include "Oprah Talks: COVID-19 -- The
Deadly Impact On Black America" on AppleTV+ and the two-part "OWN
Spotlight: Where Do We Go From Here" that aired worldwide across
the Discovery family of networks which featured Nikole Hannah-Jones.
Through her company's film division, Harpo Films, Winfrey has
produced projects based on classic and contemporary literature
including: the award-winning "Tuesdays With Morrie;" "Their Eyes
Were Watching God;" and the Emmy-nominated "The Immortal Life of
Henrietta Lacks." In 1998,
Harpo Films produced the critically acclaimed "Beloved," based on
the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Toni
Morrison, which co-starred Winfrey and Danny Glover. In 2007, Harpo Films
co-produced "The Great Debaters." In 2009, Oprah Winfrey and Tyler
Perry supported Lionsgate's distribution of "Precious,"
based on the novel by Sapphire. In 2014, Oprah Winfrey teamed with Steven Spielberg and Juliet Blake to produce the feature film "The
Hundred Foot Journey," and in 2015 Winfrey produced and acted
in the Academy Award-nominated "Selma."
Winfrey is also a dedicated philanthropist. She has contributed
more than $200 million towards the
Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, serving underserved and
academically gifted girls in South
Africa. In 2019, Winfrey's donation to Morehouse College brought her total donation to
men's education to $20 million.
In 2020, Winfrey committed $12
million to COVID-19 relief efforts focusing on underserved
communities in her "home cities" of Chicago, Nashville, Milwaukee, Baltimore and Kosciusko, Mississippi. Additionally,
Winfrey is a founding donor of the Smithsonian's National Museum of
African American History and Culture. In 2013, Winfrey was awarded
the Medal of Freedom, the nation's
highest civilian honor. In 2018, she was honored with the
Cecil B deMille award by the Hollywood Foreign Press
Association.
About Lionsgate
The first major new studio in decades, Lionsgate is a global
content leader whose films, television series, digital products and
linear and over-the-top platforms reach next generation audiences
around the world. Lionsgate film and television properties also
support a global network of location-based entertainment and other
branded attractions as well as a robust video game business.
Lionsgate's content initiatives are backed by a nearly 17,000-title
film and television library and delivered through a global sales
and distribution infrastructure. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous
with original, daring and ground-breaking content created with
special emphasis on the evolving patterns and diverse composition
of the Company's worldwide consumer base.
For more information, please contact:
Jordan Cohen
The New York Times
(212) 556-7429
jordan.cohen@nytimes.com
Nicole Nichols
Harpo Productions
(310) 344-5899
NNichols@harpo.com
Peter D. Wilkes
Lionsgate – Corporate Communications
(310) 255-3726
pwilkes@lionsgate.com
Steve Elzer
Elzer & Associates – For Lionsgate Motion Picture
Group
(213) 392-4660
steve@elzerassociates.com
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