Raider Swoops In on Lionsgate In 2005, Icahn Affiliates investor Carl Icahn, better known as a corporate raider, used his stake in Time Warner to try and force changes at the media company, which owns Warner Brothers, among other media properties. Now, Icahn is turning his attention to Lionsgate, the Santa Monica, California and Vancouver, Canadabased independent film studio. Icahn has nearly doubled his holdings to 14.28 percent since last September, and has expressed interest in adding nominees to the company’s board. This is a typical Icahn move. At Yahoo, he secured board representation and tried to push the company into accepting a takeover bid from Microsoft because he felt the firm wasn’t maximizing shareholder value. Microsoft eventually withdrew its bid, but Icahn has remained on the Yahoo board. But the Lionsgate affair is different. He has been a shareholder in the company for four years and is reported to be on good terms with senior management, including Jon Feltheimer, chief executive, and Michael Burns, vice chairman. Icahn Affiliates has said that it was raising its stake because Lionsgate’s shares were “undervalued.” It also said its plans “may include expanding the size of the board… and/or removing individuals from the board.” This may prove to be tough for Icahn. Although Lionsgate is based in Santa Monica, the company is domiciled in Vancouver, Canada, meaning that at least half of its directors must be Canadian. Additionally, Lionsgate’s shares have halved over the last year due to recessionary fears. But Icahn’s interest in Lionsgate comes as the firm is gearing up for a new phase. It is nearing completion of a large investment in a new TV channel, having agreed to pay U.S.$225 million for the TV Guide Network, and is also launching Epix, a new premium cable channel, with MGM and Paramount Pictures. Israeli TV Show Miffs Vatican The Vatican has come out against what it’s calling a “blasphemous” satire of Christianity on an Israeli TV network. The late-night program, which aired in February, included suggestions that Mary was impregnated by a school friend at age 15 and that Jesus died young because he was fat. The Israeli foreign ministry has said the segment won’t broadcast again, and the show’s host, Lior Shlein, has apologized. In the show, Shlein denied a slew of Christianity’s basic tenets — including that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus walked on water — and said that he was doing so in order to teach a lesson to those Christians that deny the Holocaust. This remark was a reference to the Vatican’s recent decision to lift the excommunication of Richard Williamson, a British-born Argentinean bishop who denied that six million Jews were killed during World War II. According to the Vatican press office, its representative in Israel complained to the government about the program, which aired on private Channel 10. In the show, it was said that Jesus couldn’t have walked on water because “he was so fat he was ashamed to leave the house, let alone go to the Sea of Galilee with a bathing suit.” Letters We just received the latest edition of VideoAge and in an effort to be “green,” we’d like to request to no longer receive the hard copies of VideoAge. Pauline [Bohm] wants to assure you that she reads it online, therefore it’s not necessary to receive a hard copy. In respect to the editions that we advertise in, Pauline will pick up hard copies when she is at the markets. Thank you for your support in our effort to go green. Rafaela Reyna Marketing Coordinator NBC Universal, Universal City, CA Famous Quotes Folks will give up $12 [movie] tickets, cancel [online DVD rental service] Netflix, and cut cable to save their highspeed Internet connection. J. Hoberman, The Village Voice, February 4, 2009 MA R C H/ AP R I L 2 0 0 9 (Continued from Page 6)
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