Co-president of Lionsgate movie studio dies of cancer at 55

Jason Constantine, co-president of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles after a long fight with brain cancer. He was 55.

Constantine was a Lionsgate veteran, beginning his career more than 25 years ago at its predecessor company Trimark Pictures as a director of acquisitions, the Santa Monica-based firm said.

At Lionsgate, he was involved in several of the Santa Monica-based studio’s key franchises, including “John Wick,” and “Saw,” which he pushed Lionsgate to acquire early on after watching a brief concept short. He was also closely associated with films including best picture Oscar winner “Crash” (2004), “Precious” (2009) and “Knives Out” (2019).

“With his fearless spirit, creative energy and enduring talent relationships, Jason embodied the very best of our studio and our industry,” Lionsgate said in a statement. “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.”

Constantine is survived by his wife, Kristin, and his sons Lucas, Xander and Nicholas.