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ESPN and Tribeca Enterprises Announce 2007 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival ambassador Billie Jean King


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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

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, games and recreational activities from ESPN’s Play Your Way youth fitness outreach program, 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.



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