Following the departure of Joe Drake in March, Nick Meyer and Sergei Yershov have been named co-presidents of Lions Gate Films International as part of a restructuring. They will share responsibility for the international sales, distribution, marketing, finance and co-productions of Lions Gate strategy.

The joint appointment scotches speculation about which of the two would assume Drake's position. Meyer had worked as a vice president, sales & distribution, at Lions Gate since 1999, while Yershov became a executive vice president of Lions Gate Films International on the merger of Lions Gate and Trimark Holdings last year. Yershov had previously been senior vice president of international sales at Trimark.

The two are gearing up the division for a high profile Cannes. Under chief executive officer of Lions Gate Entertainment Jon Feltheimer and president of production Mike Pasoernak, the company has upped the level of its in-house productions with new pictures including Monster's Ball starring Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry and Liberty Stands Still with Wesley Snipes and Linda Fiorentino and existing projects Frailty directed by Bill Paxton and starring Matthew McConaughey and The Cat's Meow directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

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