As of Sept 1, Marco Weber will acquire all shares in Los Angeles-based Senator Entertainment Inc. and step down as chief creative officer of the German parent company Senator Entertainment AG.

Weber, who is currently CEO and President of Senator Entertainment Inc., will then focus solely on production of English-language films and the establishment of a new US-based distribution entity.

In an adhoc communique, the German media group stressed that 'close ties' would however continue to exist in the future with Weber as they are partnered on two upcoming projects: Gregor Jordan's Unthinkable with Samuel L. Jackson and Martin Weisz's psychological thriller Clocktower.

The areas of production and distribution in Germany, which had been Weber's responsibility at Senator Entertainment AG, will now be administered by board chairman Helge Sasse, but there are no plans to appoint a new board member for these areas.

At the same time, however, Weber will continue to be Senator's largest single shareholder with partner Sasse via their HSW Holding and now serve as HSW's representative on the company's supervisory board.

Tomorrow (Aug 7) will see Weber's first international production made at Senator Entertainment Inc. - Dennis Lee's Fireflies In The Garden with Julia Roberts, Willem Dafoe, Ryan Reynolds and Emily Watson - opening in 250 German cinemas for Senator Film Verleih.

Weber's productions and acquisitions for which he controls US distribution rights also include Vincenzo Natali's science fiction thriller Splice, starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley; Gregor Jordan's The Informers, with Billy Bob Thornton, Mickey Rourke, and Kim Basinger, the action-thriller Public Enemy No. 1 and 2, starring Vincent Cassel; and the horror-thriller All The Boys Love Mandy Lane in addition to Fireflies, Unthinkable and Clocktower.

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