Lionsgate Makes First-Look Deal With Olive Productions

Lionsgate has struck a first-look deal with Olive Productions, the company formed by Stanley Tucci and Steve Buscemi with production partner Wren Arthur.

The deal will be for scripted programming for both broadcasting and cable. Olive is based in New York.

Lionsgate produces Mad Men, Crash and Weeds and distributes South Park, Family Feud and Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

Tucci's TV credits include Emmys for Monk and Winchell. Steve Buscemi's TV acting credits include Sopranos and the upcoming Boardwalk Empire for HBO.

Arthur produced Tanner on Tanner for The Sundance Channel updating Robert Altman's Tanner '88 for HBO. That's because Arther worked for Altman on films including Kansas City, Gingerbread Man, and Gosford Park.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.