Film News Roundup: Lionsgate Completes Financing for Studio in Yonkers, New York

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – In today’s film news roundup, Lionsgate’s new studio is getting final financing, “American Nurse’ is getting re-released, Sony is launching Kid Zone and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s relief fund has given out $1 million.

STUDIO FINANCING

Lionsgate, Great Point Capital Management and real estate company National Resources have secured a $40 million loan from CIT Bank to complete financing for Lionsgate’s film-TV studio complex in Yonkers, N.Y.

Plans for the 100,000-square-foot production center were unveiled last year with GPC and National Resources building for Lionsgate, which will be the long-term anchor tenant and will retain naming rights.

At least one of the three 20,000-square-foot stages is expected to be operational later this year. The production facility will also comprise two 10,000-square-foot stages, offices and parking space.

“CIT is a leader in community-driven projects and our financial support for this development will help bring jobs and revenue into Yonkers at a critical time,” said CIT Chairwoman and CEO Ellen Alemany.

RE-RELEASE 

Kino Lorber is re-releasing the 2014 documentary “The American Nurse” in order to honor those dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

“The American Nurse” will stream free on its streaming platform Kino Now from Tuesday until the end of May, timed to National Nurses Week. The film explores some of the biggest issues facing America, such as aging, war, poverty, and prisons, told through the work and lives of nurses.

The film follows five nurses including Jason Short, who cares for a home-bound cancer patient in Appalachia; Tonia Faust, who runs a prison hospice program where inmates serving life sentences care for their fellow inmates; Naomi Cross, a labor and delivery nurse, who coaches an ovarian cancer survivor through the Caesarean delivery of her son; Sister Stephen, a nun who runs a nursing home filled with goats, sheep, llamas and chickens; and Brian McMillion, an Army veteran and former medic who rehabilitates wounded soldiers returning from war.

“Nurses matter now more than ever,” said Carolyn Jones, who directed the film. “They are on the frontlines of our healthcare system every single today. At some point in our life, each of us will encounter a nurse, whether it be as a patient or as a loved one. That one encounter can mean the difference between suffering and peace; between chaos and order. With nurses risking their lives today responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am so glad that we are able to make the film available to people in their homes for free.”

KID ZONE 

Sony Pictures Entertainment is launching a YouTube Channel, “Sony Pictures’ Kids Zone,” aimed at providing parents and kids with a one-stop central destination for interactive fun, physical movement, learning and hands-on activities.

The “Kids Zone” is curated to support families coping with school closures, new work-from-home routines and social distancing.

“A significant portion of Sony Pictures’ workforce is made up of working parents. The idea of ‘Sony Pictures’ Kids Zone’ was born from parents on our own team adjusting to working from home and managing home schooling,” said Lexine Wong, senior executive vice president of worldwide marketing. “We are proud to offer this resource to help families navigate these new and challenging circumstances, while hopefully having a little fun in the process.”

The programming includes “Make Your Own McGregor Garden,” based on the movie “Peter Rabbit;” “Bird Watching,” based on “Angry Birds,” in a “birds-eye” view of the real-life species that inspired the artists; and “Learn to Draw Brainy Smurf,” based on “Smurfs: The Lost Village.”

RELIEF FUND

The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund has distributed $1 million in emergency assistance to members in less than a month.

Foundation president Courtney B. Vance made the announcement Monday night. “We appreciate your patience as we’re working very hard to help even more people as quickly as we can,” he said in a video.

“I know this is a very trying time for all of us,” Vance added. “This is a moment in our country’s recent history that is unprecedented. Some of our members’ lives have been forever altered by this pandemic.”