Curzon Appoints Philip Knatchbull as Interim Executive Chairman

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 2, 2024--

Curzon today announces the appointment of Philip Knatchbull as Interim Executive Chairman.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241202236821/en/

“I’m very excited about the next stage of the Curzon journey and am looking forward to reuniting with so many of my colleagues in this new role,” said Philip Knatchbull. “I spent almost 18 years building Curzon to be the hugely respected brand it is now. I trust the team I assembled, and know the company and the industry incredibly well. I return during a pivotal moment for the industry with full confidence in Curzon’s ability to be a strategic and cultural leader."

“Leadership is deeply rooted in Curzon’s history – from being one of the first cinema companies to import European and world cinema in the 1930s, to being among the first global film companies to identify the growing influence of streaming platforms and new production studios. During my tenure as CEO, we forged relationships with many of the industry’s then-new entrants, many of whom have continued to grow their impact on every part of the industry. Together with our long-standing relationships with established studios and distributors, these relationships are a testament to Curzon’s enduring quality in-cinema experience, and our trusted curatorial voice, across development, production, distribution, exhibition and streaming. With this in mind, I can confidently say that Curzon continues to be hugely influential in the film world. I believe the company has the potential to grow that influence significantly over the coming months and years.”

Philip Knatchbull was CEO of Curzon from May 2006 to November 2023. During his tenure, the company grew from a few locations into a national cinema company with film exhibition, distribution, production, and on-demand streaming services.

In November 2024, Fortress Investment Group announced that funds managed by its affiliates had acquired Curzon, making it an independent UK-based company.

The company operates Curzon Cinemas – with 16 cinemas and 46 total screens across the UK – as well as film distributor Curzon Film, and the Curzon Home Cinema streaming service.

Curzon’s pioneering membership programme integrates cinema and streaming, allowing members to use credits against Curzon Cinema visits or watching films on Curzon Home Cinema. The premium Cult membership tier includes seven tickets a week, discounts across food and beverage and more. Curzon members receive priority booking for events, and personalised recommendations based on their film taste. In the past year Curzon has collaborated with Kia, Beronia and Butchers on integrated partnerships that enhance the cinema experience with offerings that include wine tasting screenings, in-person Q&As, and repertory film screenings.

Curzon’s curatorial approach extends to editorial forums and communications, with monthly and weekly newsletters, an online and biannual printed journal, and online video content series ‘Conversations at Curzon’. Curzon has a longstanding relationship with Netflix to exhibit the best of their films in their cinemas.

Curzon Film, which in 2020 set a new UK foreign-language box office record with Parasite (over £12 million at the UK and Irish box-office), has had notable successes in the past year, including:

Curzon Film has released more Cannes Palme d’Or winners than any other UK distributor and has distributed multiple Academy Awards and BAFTA winners, including Best Picture winner Parasite. In 2017, Curzon received a BAFTA in recognition of its Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema.

Curzon Film’s forthcoming slate includes Flow( release date: 21 March 2025)and Julie Keeps Quiet (release date: 7 March 2025) - critically acclaimed hits which have been selected to represent Latvia and Belgium respectively at the Oscars.

Additionally, Curzon is partnering with Amazon MGM on the theatrical release of three of their forthcoming titles:

Curzon has opened new cinema locations in the past several years, including Hoxton, Camden, Kingston-upon-Thames (which features a rooftop bar with panoramic views of the historic riverside town) and Canterbury. Today, Curzon has destination venues across London and around the UK.

About Curzon

Curzon is a multifaceted film company covering exhibition, distribution, production, and on-demand streaming. The company currently operates 16 cinemas across the UK. The distribution business, encompassing Curzon Film and specialist label Artificial Eye, has nearly 50 years of experience in independent film, with a library of critically acclaimed films by some of the world’s greatest directors including Wim Wenders, Michael Haneke, Bong Joon Ho Alice Rohrwacher, and Ruben Östlund. Streaming service Curzon Home Cinema is available to customers through TV, mobile apps, and over-the-top platforms. For more information please visit www.curzon.com.

Philip Knatchbull, Interim Executive Chairman of Curzon (Photo: Business Wire)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily blocked a lower court's order that would have let media witnesses view more parts of state-run executions.

The ruling restores the prior process ahead of the May 21 scheduled execution of Tony Carruthers, and it will remain in place during an ongoing appeal. The order expanding access had not yet been in effect during any execution.

In January, a Nashville judge issued a temporary injunction favoring a coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press. The group sued over claims that state execution protocols unconstitutionally limit thorough and accurate reporting.

The judge had ordered that the curtains to the official witness room be opened earlier during a lethal injection, allowing witnesses to observe the inmate being secured with restraints to a gurney and the IV insertion process itself. The curtains would have to remain open longer as well, until the pronouncement of death, under the judge's ruling.

The judge also had ruled that, in to protect execution team members' identities, they would have had to wear a disposable protective suit covering the members’ regular work uniform, identification badge and hair, and must be offered a mask to further conceal themselves.

While arguing to block the new rules during its appeal, the state attorney general's office has said the media plaintiffs don't have a right under the First Amendment to watch executions, let alone to see the additional segments ordered viewable by the trial court judge. The state also argued that the order that would have expanded the media's view significantly risks exposing the identities of execution team members, introduces “untested” procedures and relies on an erroneous analysis of state statutes.

In response, attorneys for the media organizations contended that blocking the expanded access would deprive the public of valuable information about upcoming scheduled executions. They have said they have a constitutional and statutory right to observe executions in their entirety and that wearing PPE would shield the execution team's identities.

The order reinstates the process from previous executions, when media members begin seeing what happens once the condemned person is already strapped to a gurney and hooked up to IV lines. Witnesses also don’t know at which precise moment the injections begin and those administering the injections are in a separate room.

The protocol says that after the syringes of saline and pentobarbital are administered, a team leader signals to the warden and a five-minute waiting period begins. After that period, the blinds are closed, the camera is turned off and then the doctor comes in to determine if the person is dead. If that is the case, the warden announces on the intercom system that the sentence was carried out and witnesses are directed to exit.

The camera and closed circuit TV are viewed by the execution team, not media witnesses.

In addition to AP, the media coalition includes Gannett Co., Inc.; Nashville Public Media, Inc.; Nashville Public Radio; Scripps Media, Inc.; Six Rivers Media, LLC; and TEGNA INC.

FILE - Ricky Bell, warden at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tenn., gives a tour of the prison's execution chamber, Oct. 13, 1999. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)