Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation or Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 3, 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. As of 2012, it is the most commercially successful independent film and television distribution company in North America and the third most profitable movie studio.

Lionsgate was originally known as IMI Computer Corp. on May 26, 1986 and later known as Beringer Gold Corp. Beringer Gold later was incorporated as Lions Gate Films under the Business Corporation Act in British Columbia and was founded on July 3, 1997 by Frank Giustra, a Canadian investment banker hoping to capitalize on the growing film industry in his home town. The company bought a number of small production facilities and distributors, including Montreal-based Cinépix Film Properties (also known as Cinéxus-Famous Players Distribution), Trimark Pictures, Mandate Pictures and, most notably, Artisan Entertainment (which itself had formerly been LIVE Entertainment, and before that, Vestron Pictures).

A premiere (or première, from the French première, meaning "first") is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media attention. Standard trappings may include a parade along a red carpet. At a festive film premiere the main actors involved in the performance may attend.

"Worldwide" premieres (or "world" premieres) mark the first showing of the performance ever.

Regional or national premieres may signal the first performance/screening in a given country or region. A film may screen at a film festival before its general release to movie theaters.

Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film premiere to Sid Grauman.

Premieres are usually preceded by tryouts.

Keanu Charles Reeves ( /keɪˈɑːnuː/ kay-AH-noo; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian film actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his role in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure as well as Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix. He has worked under major directors, such as Stephen Frears (in the 1988 period drama Dangerous Liaisons); Gus Van Sant (in the 1991 independent film My Own Private Idaho); and Bernardo Bertolucci (in the 1993 film Little Buddha). Referring to his 1991 film releases, The New York Times’ critic, Janet Maslin, praised Reeves’ versatility, saying that he “displays considerable discipline and range. He moves easily between the buttoned-down demeanor that suits a police procedural story and the loose-jointed manner of his comic roles.” A repeated theme in roles he has portrayed is that of saving the world, including the characters of Ted Logan, Buddha, Neo, Johnny Mnemonic, John Constantine and Klaatu.

In addition to his film roles, Reeves has also performed in theatre. His performance in the title role in a Manitoba Theatre Centre production of Hamlet was praised by Roger Lewis, the Sunday Times, who declared Reeves " … one of the top three Hamlets I have seen, for a simple reason: he is Hamlet."^{[citation needed]} On January 31, 2005, Reeves received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.