'NASCAR & Hollywood' Offers an Inside Look at Tinseltown and NASCAR's Revved Up Relationship

This 'Starz The Hollywood Reporter' Original Debuts on Starz Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006 at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Nov. 2 -- "Gentlemen, start your engines" and rev up for fast cars and a day at the races with "NASCAR & Hollywood" a "Starz The Hollywood Reporter" original news special focusing on the NASCAR marketing machine -- a multi-billion dollar business -- and how Hollywood is getting in on the action. This 30-minute exclusive premieres on Starz Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT). Catch this special edition earlier on Vongo, Starz' broadband video download entertainment service, beginning Nov. 3.

Viewers will get an inside look at the turbo-charged relationship between Tinseltown and NASCAR and how each is tapping into the other's loyal fan base. The show features actress/model Carmen Electra, country music singer Brad Paisley and scenes from Disney's "Cars" and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" from Sony Pictures. This exclusive report also features the racing world's Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Rusty Wallace and includes interviews with retired NASCAR driver Richard "The King" Petty and Kurt Busch, Nextel Cup Series 2004 Champion driver.

"The NASCAR phenomenon has been growing for years and Hollywood wants in on the action," said Michael Ruggiero, vice president of original programming. "This 'Starz The Hollywood Reporter' exclusive will show viewers the power of the racing world and the influence it has over millions of people."

The show focuses on how 58 year-old NASCAR has attracted a fan base of more than 75 million people who are known for their loyal support of their favorite drivers -- and their sponsors. With NASCAR's growing popularity and shift into mainstream culture, Hollywood's attraction to NASCAR's rabid and passionate fans has grown as well.

In recent years, NASCAR has been actively involved with "NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience" (Warner Bros.), "Herbie: Fully Loaded" (Disney), "Cars" (Disney) and "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (Sony Pictures), allowing the NASCAR message to get out to millions of moviegoers -- including those who may not be familiar with the sport.

As the Hollywood and NASCAR partnership grows, it will continue to offer unique opportunities to promote each other's agenda, helping to fatten the bottom line and put both entities on the fast track straight to the bank.

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz(R) and Encore(R) brands with approximately 15.1 million and 27.1 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Starz On Demand and Vongo(SM). Starz Entertainment is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital Group, www.starz.com.

The Hollywood Reporter is a must-read for entertainment's most powerful, influential professionals. More than 144,000 key decision makers worldwide rely on the publication for intelligence that enables success in a continually evolving business and creative environment. The Hollywood Reporter provides comprehensive coverage of the global entertainment industry with its six editions: Daily; Weekly International; Special Issues; E-Mail; THR East; and its Neal Award-winning Web site -- www.hollywoodreporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter is published by Netherlands-based VNU, the world's largest organization of entertainment-related publications and services.

  Contacts:  Rhiannon Hendrickson              Jonathan Taylor
             Starz Entertainment               The Lippin Group
             (720) 852-5802                    (323) 965-1990
             rhiannon.hendrickson@starz.com    jtaylor@lippingroup.com

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