ELIE SAMAHA (Producer) is Chairman/CEO of Franchise Pictures, which has fast become one of the most prolific production and co-financing companies in the entertainment industry. Under his leadership, Franchise Pictures will finance and distribute over a dozen films this year alone. Samaha, who has produced/executive produced over 50 films, has built Franchise into a powerful mini-studio with mainstream films populated by the industryís biggest box-office stars.

      Franchise Pictures has instituted a domestic distribution arrangement with Warner Bros. Pictures, which began with the popular comedy The Whole Nine Yards, starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry, released on February 18, 2000. Other films released through Warner Bros. Pictures include The Art of War, starring Wesley Snipes, Get Carter, with Sylvester Stallone, The Pledge, starring Jack Nicholson and directed by Sean Penn, and David Mametís Heist, starring Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito.

      Other Franchise titles distributed domestically through Warner Bros. Pictures include Luis Mandokiís Angel Eyes, with Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel, 3,000 Miles to Graceland, starring Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner, Driven, starring Sylvester Stallone and the upcoming release Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, directed by Kaos and starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu. Currently in production and slated for 2003 release are The In-Laws, starring Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks; A Sound of Thunder, starring Edward Burns, Catherine McCormack and Sir Ben Kingsley; and Alex and Emma, directed by Rob Reiner, starring Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson.

      Additionally, Samaha has shepherded an extensive list of films towards release through Franchise Pictures. He served as producer for the recent drama Zigzag, starring John Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes, as well as the upcoming Steven Seagal action thriller Half Past Dead and Princess of Paradise Park, starring Jim Caviezel.

      Franchise operates a classics division which has produced and distributed films including Cavemanís Valentine, starring Samuel L. Jackson; The Green Dragon, starring Patrick Swayze and Forest Whitaker, which was in competition at Sundance 2001; Rodrigo Garciaís Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her, featuring Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Amy Brenneman and Cameron Diaz, which won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival; and The Big Kahuna, starring Danny DeVito and Kevin Spacey.

      Franchise retains foreign rights to all its films and operates as a full-service international sales company encompassing distribution, marketing and delivery, with output deals covering territories worldwide.