Starz

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. jumped after saying it's likely to announce a deal to spin off or sell a piece of its Starz cable network in September, with potential partners also showing interest in the company's film and TV studios. Shares surged 11% to $10.71 at 10:10 a.m. in New York, valuing the media company at about $2.3 billion. Lions Gate has been working with advisers this year to sell a stake in Starz, known for shows like "Power" and "Outlander." Executives have argued that Wall Street is undervaluing the company in its current structure. Lions Gate is one of the last remaining independent studios after tech giants and larger companies snapped up its competitors. "The structure that we're considering has become broader," Lions Gate Vice Chairman Michael Burns said on an earnings call Thursday. "As always, our priority is to create significant shareholder value." The $8.5 billion sale of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to Amazon.com last year helped spur interest and give … [Read more...] about Lions Gate surges as Starz deal talks widen to include studio

Click here to read the full article. In an episode of Netflix’s new drama The Sandman , two characters discuss a shared fondness for the works of William Shakespeare. One of them objects to a recent King Lear production that drastically altered the story, while the other assures him, “The great stories will always return to their original forms.” The latter sentiment is the key to understanding both the assets and challenges of making a TV series out of a comic book long held as one of the medium’s greatest, but also one of its most unadaptable. More from Rolling Stone George Pérez, Influential and Dynamic Comic Book Artist, Dead at 67 Neal Adams, Legendary Comic Book Artist Who Revitalized 'Batman,' Dead at 80 Stephen Sondheim's Death: Stars Pay Tribute to Broadway Legend Written by Neil Gaiman and drawn by a rotating series of artists, The Sandman , which ran from 1989 to 1996, posits that there is a family of cosmic beings more powerful than any … [Read more...] about ‘The Sandman’: Neil Gaiman’s Twisted Dark Fantasy Is Finally Brought (Almost) to Life