Lionsgate Acquires Crime Thriller “SILK ROAD” Releasing February 19

Global content leader Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) has acquired the crime thriller Silk Road, written for the screen and directed by Tiller Russell, starring Jason Clarke, Nick Robinson, Alexandra Shipp, Jimmi Simpson, Katie Aselton, Lexi Rabe, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Daniel Stewart, Darrell Britt-Gibson, and Paul Walter Hauser, for release in the United States in theaters, on digital, and on video on demand on February 19, 2021.

Following its theatrical, digital, and VOD debut, the film will be available to purchase on Blu-ray and DVD February 23, 2021.

Based on larger-than-life true events, Silk Road focuses on the young, affluent, and highly motivated entrepreneur Ross Ulbricht (Nick Robinson), whose ambitious goal is to launch the Internet’s first completely anonymous and unregulated marketplace. With Ulbricht’s passion for the possibilities his invention offers the world, his site – the Silk Road – becomes the world’s fastest-growing drug market, catching the focus of disgraced DEA agent Rick Bowden (Jason Clarke). A dinosaur with a habit for substance abuse and blowing cases, Bowden once had street savvy in dark corners but is unprepared for the dark web as he struggles through tutorials on how to use the Internet. As both men’s private lives erode, with Bowden in over his head and Ross’s growing paranoia driving unthinkable choices, they cling to their jobs in an elaborate game of cat-and-mouse that have both men asking how far their idealism can take them.

Silk Road is based on the Rolling Stone article “Dead End On Silk Road” by David Kushner. The film is produced by Stephen Gans, David Hyman, Duncan Montgomery, Alex Orlovsky, and Jack Selby, and executive produced by B. Thomas Golisano, Dawn Bierschwal, Christopher Figg, Elika Portnoy, and Robert Whitehouse. The deal for the film was brokered by Endeavor Content, and by Lauren Bixby, vice president of acquisitions for Lionsgate.

Years after the legal conclusion of the investigation, the Silk Road saga continues to make headlines, as it was recently reported that $1 billion in bitcoin connected to the site was recently moved for the first time in years – a signal that the criminals who operate in the darkest corners of the internet have not gone away.

Bixby said, “Silk Road is a thrilling story with the kind of stranger-than-fiction details that can only come from a true story. This movie will keep audiences riveted by its cat and mouse game of a criminal mastermind being tracked by a hot-headed narc.”

About Lionsgate:

Combining the STARZ premium global subscription platform with world-class motion picture and television studio operations, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) brings a unique and varied portfolio of entertainment to consumers around the world. Its film, television, subscription and location-based entertainment businesses are backed by a 17,000-title library and the largest collection of film and television franchises in the independent media space. A digital age company driven by its entrepreneurial culture and commitment to innovation, the Lionsgate brand is synonymous with bold, original, relatable entertainment for the audiences it serves worldwide.

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About the Author

Dr. Jerry Doby Editor-in-Chief of The Hype Magazine, Media and SEO Consultant, Journalist, Ph.D. and retired combat vet. 2023 recipient of The President's Lifetime Achievement Award. Partner at THM Media Group. Member of the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture, the United States Press Agency and ForbesBLK.