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Pirates Of The Caribbean Online Set To Launch

1/31/2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DISNEY ONLINE UNVEILS LAUNCH DETAILS FOR UPCOMING
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN ONLINE

Massively Multiplayer Online Game Based on
Popular Film Franchise To Launch in Spring 2007
with Hybrid Business Model


NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- January 31, 2007

Disney Online today announced details surrounding the launch of Pirates of the Caribbean Online, the highly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on the popular film franchise. Scheduled to launch in spring 2007, Pirates of the Caribbean Online will allow players to set sail on their own adventure and interact with Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and other characters made popular in the movie franchise, as they embark on exciting quests in search of treasure and their own notoriety.

At launch, Disney Online will offer two options for Pirates of the Caribbean Online players - "Basic Access," a free, ad-supported section of the game that lets players jump right into the action, or "Unlimited Access" that provides access to the full game as well as premium features.

"The tremendous popularity of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise creates an exciting opportunity for our game," said Paul Yanover, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Disney Online. "We feel our approach to the business model for Pirates of the Caribbean Online will attract and engage a broad base of players, encompassing both fans of the franchise and MMO gamers."

With Basic Access, all players can experience many of the game's compelling features. In addition, it allows advertising partners to associate with the brand through online ads and other interactive ad features that will not interfere with the gameplay experience. For a monthly subscription fee of $9.95, players will have unlimited access to all game content, advertising free. Unlimited Access will unlock features previously limited with Basic Access, allowing players to experience the game's full range of customization, game play and community interaction.

With Pirates of the Caribbean Online fans of the franchise will get to experience the swashbuckling action found in the films right on their computer. Players create and customize their own pirate, build and outfit their own ship, assemble a crew and embark on quests for adventure and treasure in an effort to become the Caribbean's most legendary pirate. Along the way, they will interact with characters made popular by the movies such as Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann and Jack Sparrow as they forge alliances with other players, hunt for buried treasure, battle evil undead forces, and face off against enemies on land and sea.

Pirates of the Caribbean Online, developed and published by Disney Online, is being produced to appeal to a broad audience ranging from teens to adults. The games website, www.PiratesOnline.com includes additional information and in-game assets including screenshots and webisodes.

About Disney Online
Disney Online (www.disney.com), a division of the Walt Disney Internet Group, produces the number one kids' entertainment and family community destination on the World Wide Web. Launched in 1996, Disney.com is the online gateway to all of the company's Disney-branded entertainment initiatives, providing comprehensive access to, and information about Disney movies, travel, television, games, mobile, music, shopping and live events. Disney.com also features Disney Xtreme Digital (Disney XD), a highly interactive broadband experience that will let Disney.com guests create their own customized online channel with games, videos, music, and chat -- all of which can be enjoyed simultaneously in an immersive environment.

In addition, Disney Online develops and publishes a range of online products and services including Disney's Toontown Online, Playhouse Disney Preschool Time Online, Disney Game Downloads, Disney's Blast, Disney Connection and Hot Shot Business.

(source: Disney Online)

Screen Actors Guild Announces Auctions; Disney To Unveil New Site

1/03/2007

Press Release

SAG Awards™ Unique Collectibles, Red Carpet Bleacher Seats and VIP Backstage Tours Auctioned to the Public at www.sagawards.org/auction to Benefit the SAG Foundation

The Screen Actors Guild Awards® will kick off its seventh annual eBay auction to benefit the SAG Foundation on Thursday, Jan. 4, at www.sagawards.org/auction. The month-long weekly auction series features one-of-a-kind SAG Awards television and movie memorabilia, red-carpet bleacher seats and VIP backstage tours for this year's Actors® ceremonies.

The Screen Actors Guild Foundation provides a meaningful way for SAG members to contribute to the literacy of children in their communities through BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools) and its online component, Storyline. SAG Foundation programs provide emergency relief to members in economic distress, video and audio preservation of the creative legacy of SAG members, scholarships for performers and their children and emergency funds for members with catastrophic illnesses. (For details, visit sagfoundation.org and bookpals.net.)

Lucky bidders of the first week's auction will have a chance to see the stars on the SAG Awards' red carpet, take a VIP backstage tour of the awards venue or enjoy sets of men's must-have items from PEOPLE Magazine's Holiday Gift Guide. Autographed collectibles up for bid beginning Jan. 4 include Monk DVD sets signed by cast, Seinfeld scripts signed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, an autographed Walk the Line poster, a Brokeback Mountain signed poster and three posters from Crash, signed by the cast and writer/producer/director Paul Haggis. Also up for bid in the auction's first week are a tote bag autographed by many of the actors who attended the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® this past January, as well as 12th Annual SAG Awards™ hats, programs and press kits.

The benefit auction will also include great items from the hot, up-to-the minute entertainment news outlets, including Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, E! News, Extra, The Insider and the TV Guide Channel. Also up for bid those weeks are 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards hats, press kits, posters and tote bags.

For the final week beginning Jan. 25, the SAG Awards auction staff will, as it did last year, gather unique collectibles from this year's nominated casts and ensembles. Last year's best-sellers included a Desperate Housewives set visit and the shirt Shannon wore when she met her untimely death on Lost. The online bidding will close Feb. 1.

Nominations for the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards® will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 4 at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood and will be carried live on TNT, E! Entertainment Television, TNT.TV and TBS.COM.

The 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulcast live from the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center by TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m. (ET/ PT), 7 p.m. (CT) and 6 p.m. (MT).

The Screen Actors Guild Awards auction to benefit the SAG Foundation is hosted by eBay Giving Works and managed by Auction Cause.

The 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are produced by Jeff Margolis Productions in association with Screen Actors Guild. Jeff Margolis is the executive producer and Kathy Connell is the producer. Yale Summers, Daryl Anderson, Shelley Fabares, Paul Napier and JoBeth Williams are producers for SAG. Gloria Fujita O'Brien and Mick McCullough are supervising producers. Benn Fleishman is executive in charge of production.

Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is the nation's largest labor union representing working actors. Established in 1933, SAG has a rich history in the American labor movement, from standing up to studios to break long-term engagement contracts in the 1940s to fighting for artists' rights amid the digital revolution sweeping the entertainment industry in the 21st century. With 20 branches nationwide, SAG represents nearly 120,000 working actors in film, television, industrials, commercials, video games, music videos and other new media. The Guild exists to enhance actors' working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists' rights. Headquartered in Los Angeles, SAG is a proud affiliate of the AFL-CIO. More information is available online at www.sag.org.

Turner Network Television (TNT), television's destination for drama and one of cable's top-rated networks, offers original movies and series, including the blockbuster detective series The Closer, starring Emmy, Golden Globe® and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee Kyra Sedgwick, and next year's eagerly anticipated television event The Company, executive-produced by Ridley Scott and starring Chris O'Donnell, Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina. TNT is also home to powerful one-hour dramas, such as Without a Trace, Law & Order, Las Vegas, Cold Case, ER, Charmed and Judging Amy; broadcast premiere movies; compelling prime-time specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards® and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is also available in high-definition.

TBS, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television's "very funny" network. It serves as home to such hot contemporary comedies as Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond, Family Guy, Seinfeld and Friends; original comedy series like My Boys and 10 Items or Less; specials and special events, such as The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas; blockbuster movies; and hosted movie showcases.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.

(source: Screen Actors Guild)
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Disney's newly redesigned web site will be unveiled on January 8 in Las Vegas, according to United Press International. Disney CEO Robert Iger is scheduled to introduce the new site at the Consumer Electronics Show. The redesign will reportedly include simpler navigation and attempt to eliminate what the New York Times called its "amateurish" feel.


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