ESPN AND TRIBECA ENTERPRISES ANNOUNCE 2007 TRIBECA/ESPN SPORTS FILM FESTIVAL – AMBASSADOR BILLIE JEAN KING
Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival Hosts Twenty-Year Anniversary Special
Director’s Cut of “The Natural” With Director Barry Levinson Chevy Chase, Steve Bornstein, Tony Hawk, Chuck D, Kim Ng, Louis Lamoriello, Donna Orender, Ross Greenburg and Gavin Maloof added to 2007 Advisory Board-

New York, New York(rushprnews) April 18, 2007 – ESPN Inc., the worldwide leader in sports, and Tribeca Enterprises, the parent company of the Tribeca Film Festival, today announced additional screenings, advisory board members, festival ambassador and ESPN cross-platform content support for the inaugural Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, which will take place during the 12 days of the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.  The sixth annual Tribeca Film Festival will take place April 25 – May 6, 2007.

Sports legend and social activist Billie Jean King has been named an ambassador for the sports film festival, joining previously announced ambassador Tiki Barber.  In her role as ambassador, Ms. King will make select appearances throughout the festival to support emerging filmmakers and the showcase Tribeca and ESPN are providing to highlight their work.
“The choice of films provided through the collaboration between ESPN and Tribeca will provide fans with a collection of sports films of great depth and diversity.ESPN will support the creative people behind these films and activities associated with the sports festival with the assets in our considerable media portfolio,” said Geoff Reiss, ESPN executive producer, ESPN Original Entertainment.  “We’re dedicated to giving this exciting genre the attention it deserves.”

Additionally, the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival will host a special retrospective screening.  Barry Levinson, director of the 1987 baseball classic The Natural, will present a special director’s cut of the film, newly released on DVD, followed by a Q&A with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap on May 5 at 3 p.m. ET. Levinson and Schaap will discuss the new cut, the production of the film, where it stands in the pantheon of sports movies and why it is so beloved by fans.

Several more names have joined on for the inaugural advisory board, a very select group of individuals from the world of sports and the entertainment industry who support the creation of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival. Joining previously announced advisory board members are:  actor Chevy Chase; Steve Bornstein, President and CEO, NFL Network: musician/performer Chuck D; X Games and skateboarding legend Tony Hawk; Gavin Maloof, Owner of the Sacramento Kings; Kim Ng, assistant GM, Los Angeles Dodgers; Louis Lamoriello, GM, New Jersey Devils; Donna Orender, Commissioner, WNBA; Ross Greenburg, President, HBO Sports; John Cappelletti, Penn State Heisman Trophy winner; Mike Levine, co-head of CAA Sports; Alex Wallau, The Walt Disney Company, Special Senior Advisor Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Strategy; Todd Wagner, CEO of 2929 Entertainment; Kenneth Lerer, co-founder of Huffington Post; Casey Wasserman, Chairman and CEO, Wasserman Media Group; Brian Robbins, Partner, Tollin Robbins Productions; and actors Josh Pais and Kate Mara.

ESPN cross-platform content support elements for the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival:

• ESPN Classic will support the festival by showing a double feature of movies, which premiered at prior Tribeca Film Festivals on their Sunday night “Reel Classics” series.  “Through the Fire” a documentary that chronicles the early years of Boston Celtic, Sebastian Telfair, will be aired Sunday, April 29 at 8 p.m. followed by “Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos” chronicling the rise and fall of New York’s famous professional soccer team in the 1970s.  Reel Classics is aired every Sunday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN Classic and features some of the greatest sports movies of all time.
• ESPN.com Page 2 will provide featured daily “Reel Wraps”- video highlights from the films selected as part of the sports film festival starting April 26. Video clips and trailers, quick summaries of the featured films, thumbnail photos, information about the sports film festival, a link to Movie Mayhem: Fan’s Favorite Baseball Film Online Voting Site, articles and blogs by ESPN.com writers, and a link to the Tribeca Box Office will be featured too. 
• ESPN Radio 1050 will promote the sports film festival for three weeks, starting April 16 through May 5.  On-air segments will include live appearances by cast members and producers from select films, ESPN 1050 personalities live on site at the sports festival, an interactive listener contest featuring great moments from sports films and live call-ins from the opening night gala of “The Grand” on April 27 and from “Sports Saturday” on May 5. 
• ESPN The Magazine will have writers on site covering the film festival for an upcoming issue.
• ESPN360.com will show Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival clips and trailers.
• At “Sports Saturday” families will have the opportunity to participate in interactive athletic experiences including an X Games Bike Jump from ESPN Consumer Products featuring X Games gold medalist Scotty Cranmer, an NBA Pavilion, representation by the New York Jets, New York Giants, New York Islanders, and New York Mets, a ride on a mechanical from the Professional Bull Riders, freestyle soccer demonstrations by the players from the New York Red Bulls street team, community tennis clinics in conjunction with the USTA, and more.

ESPN will also dedicate spots on air and online to cross promote the sports film festival.
Venues and Tickets
AMC Theatres® is the official theatre partner for the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and will help the Festival expand its reach with two new screening venues: AMC Loews Kips Bay 15 and AMC Loews 72nd Street 1.  Clearview Chelsea West is another key venue addition for 2007.   In addition to these three new venues, festival screenings will take place at the following venues: AMC Loews 34th Street 14, AMC Loews Village 7, Regal Cinemas Battery Park Cinemas 11, Tribeca Cinemas, BMCC Tribeca PAC, Pace University Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, Drive-in at the North Cover, Tribeca Film Center and The Grand Theater @ Tribeca Grand.
Please visit www.tribecafilmfestival.org or call 866.941.FEST (3378) to purchase Festival Passes, Packages and individual tickets. Single tickets can be purchased online, by phone, or at the Tribeca Film Festival box office, located at 15 Laight Street (between Varick and Avenue of the Americas, one block south of Canal Street) and additional satellite locations.  Single tickets will be available to downtown residents (with proof of residency) at only the Tribeca Festival Box Office beginning on Friday, April 13th.  Single tickets will be available for purchase to the general public online, by phone, and at the Box Office beginning on Saturday, April 14-Sunday, May 6.
Tribeca Enterprises
Tribeca Enterprises is a diversified multi-platform media company located in New York City.   Established in 2003 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff, the company currently operates a network of branded entertainment businesses including the Tribeca Film Festival, Tribeca Cinemas and Tomorrow Unlimited.  The Company’s mission is to provide artists with unique platforms to expand the audience for their works and to broaden the access point for consumers to experience independent film and media.
ESPN
ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of six domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU), ESPN and ESPN2 HD simulcast services, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (networks, syndication, radio, web sites), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN360 (Broadband), ESPN on Demand, ESPN Interactive and ESPN PPV.  Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.  The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
About the Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff after the attacks on the World Trade Center to help economically and culturally revitalize Lower Manhattan through an annual celebration of film, music, and culture.  The Festival’s mission is to assist filmmakers to reach the broadest possible audience, enable the international film community and the general public to experience the power of film, and to promote New York City as a major filmmaking center.
In its first five years, the festival attracted over one and a half million attendees from the US and abroad and created more than $325 million in economic activity for New York City.
The sixth annual Tribeca Film Festival will run from April 25th to May 6th, 2007. The Festival is anchored in Tribeca with additional venues throughout Manhattan, and includes film screenings, special events, concerts, a family street fair, and Tribeca Talks panel discussions. For more information on this year’s festival, as well as for highlights on the festival and filmmakers as it takes place, please visit www.tribecafilmfestival.org.
About the 2007 Festival Sponsors
As Founding Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival, American Express is committed to expanding the Festival, bringing it to new audiences in compelling ways while offering Cardmembers and the general public special benefits that enhance the festival-going experience.  As part of a long-term partnership with the Festival, American Express delivers on its Cardmembers’ passion for film, celebrates filmmakers, fosters community and brings energy and business to Lower Manhattan.  

The Festival is pleased to announce the return of its Signature Sponsors: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, AMC Theatres, Apple, Aquafina, Bloomberg, Brookfield Properties, Budweiser Select, Delta Air Lines, Empire State Development/I Love New York, General Motors, Jameson Irish Whiskey, NBC4HD, RR Donnelley, The New York Times, Telemundo 47, Tribeca Grand Hotel and Vanity Fair. 

The Tribeca Film Festival is also honored to welcome the following new Signature Sponsors: AARP, Axium Entertainment, Montblanc, Target and Yahoo!.
For press inquiries regarding the Tribeca Film Festival, please contact Nicole Quenqua Adler at (212) 843-8288 and Tammie Rosen (212) 941-2003. Film stills for the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival are available at www.image.net. If you are not an image.net media user yet, please register using the following referral code: 2604.
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