Our continuing series introducing friends and neighbors in this great industry of ours!
Will Preuss VP Exhibitor Relations – Lionsgate
In the beginning... I grew up in St. Louis in the 1980s. I can’ t remember a time when I didn’ t love going to the movies. My home theatre was the Wehrenberg Des Peres 4( now the site of their home office). It was a great era. Watching movies like“ Star Wars” and“ Raiders of the Lost Arc” on the big screen when I was just a boy was transformative.
Schooling …
After high school I moved to L. A. and attended USC. Fight On!
Career moves … I got my first break working at 20th Century Fox in 1999. The role of Exhibitor Relations was very different back then. We spent a lot of time( and money) simply getting 35mm trailers to the proper theatres. The job has evolved so much! From Fox, I worked at Roadside Attractions for a spell before coming to Lionsgate. At each stop, I worked with some very smart people. I’ ve been very fortunate.
Giving back...
Giving back is a big part of the culture in our industry and a big part of the culture of Lionsgate. It was an honor last year to partner with the nationwide non-profit Variety- The Children’ s Charity to produce themed pins from“ The Hunger Games: Mockingjay— Part 2” for the year’ s official Gold Heart campaign. The work that is done in theatres in support of Variety and other charities is meaningful and changes lives. I’ m proud to be a part of that.
Fondest convention memories … A real thrill was working with Kevin Hart to host our CinemaCon presentation in 2013. Kevin was game for anything
68 • ShowTime Preview Guide – Fall 2016 and running through notes with him backstage and helping craft that show was really fun.
Favorite movies you worked on … Of course I have to start with“ The Hunger Games” franchise. That was a rocket ride that changed my career, the trajectory of Lionsgate and the movie industry overall. In 2012, we released the first“ Hunger Games” and the final installment of“ Twilight.” Those two releases served as bookends for our calendar year. That was special. And for a film that is completely different, I’ m very proud to have been part of releasing“ The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” That’ s a movie( and book) that has changed people’ s lives.
What makes Lionsgate unique...
There’ s an entrepreneurial culture at Lionsgate that’ s just different from anything else I’ ve experienced. There is a willingness to try new ideas and take smart risks. And because we’ re so lean, we can execute bigger tasks with more moving parts in shorter amounts of time. It’ s a source of pride. So long as it makes financial sense, there’ s a willingness to zig when everyone else zags.
Why you are Optimistic for our industry...
We’ re working in a dynamic industry at a dynamic time. There are more ways to reach moviegoers than ever before, and exhibition’ s reinvestment into the theatres is giving consumers more reasons to see movies on the big screen. But ultimately, what makes the industry so fun – and why I’ m most optimistic-- is the movies themselves. No one truly knows what is going to hit or when we’ re going to see the next Katniss Everdeen. It’ s an exhilarating experience.