Former Lionsgate Co-President Jason Constantine Dead At 55

Jason Constantine, former Co-President of Lionsgate, has died at 55, after a battle with cancer, which was announced by Lionsgate themselves on Thursday. The executive was an integral figure in the early festival circuit. His career began with his early years at Trimark Pictures, where he served as director of acquisitions and eventually became Co-President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group when Trimark merged with Lionsgate Entertainment in 2000.

At Lionsgate, Constantine championed many of what would become some of the studio’s biggest hits. This includes his early championing of the first Saw movie. After viewing the short film by then-unknown director James Wan and writer/co-star Leigh Whannell, Constantine pushed for Lionsgate to acquire the rights to make it into a feature film, and would serve as producer on all 10 entries in the franchise. The Saw films would become one of Lionsgate’s biggest successes, with the franchise grossing $1 billion at the box office. As Co-president of Lionsgate, Constantine was also integral in releasing the first John Wick, which would also grow to become one of Lionsgate’s biggest franchises, which is still ongoing with the release of Ballerina.

At Lionsgate, Constantine also worked on the Expendables franchise and was a producer on all 4 films. Constantine’s other work for Lionsgate includes the Best Picture winner Crash, the multi-Oscar-nominated Precious, and Rian Johnson’s sleeper box office hit Knives Out.

In a statement, Lionsgate had this to say:

“With his fearless spirit, creative energy and enduring talent relationships, Jason embodied the very best of our studio and our industry. His influence will continue to be felt in many of our most successful franchises. His career was built around the principles that a great idea can come from anywhere, a box office triumph is meant to be shared by an entire team and our creative choices need to be bold and daring.  We mourn the passing of a highly respected executive, a trusted partner and a cherished friend, and we extend our deepest condolences to his wife Kristin, his three children and his entire family.”