Oscar(R) Winners Adrien Brody and Ben Affleck, Academy Award(R) Nominee Diane Lane All Star in the 2006 Golden Globe-Nominated Thriller Inspired by Hollywood's Most Notorious Unsolved Mystery 'Hollywoodland'

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Ben Affleck ("Good Will Hunting," "Pearl Harbor") is a Golden Globe Award nominee* for his riveting performance in "Hollywoodland," a story of scandal, corruption and a star's mysterious death during Hollywood's Golden Era. The film comes to DVD and HDDVD/DVD Combo format on February 6, 2007 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

Academy Award(R) winner Affleck, along with Academy Award(R) winner Adrien Brody ("King Kong," "The Pianist") and Oscar(R) nominees Diane Lane ("The Perfect Storm," "Unfaithful") and Bob Hoskins ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit"), leads a sterling cast in the critically acclaimed account of the strange demise of actor George Reeves, known to a generation of Americans as television's Superman. The price of celebrity is viewed in a stark light in this compelling retelling of Tinsel Town's most infamous real-life mystery. Allen Coulter (The Sopranos, Sex and the City) makes an outstanding feature film directorial debut with a picture-perfect thriller set against the glamour and corruption of 1950s Hollywood. Affleck dazzles as the increasingly desperate Reeves, a performance that earned him Best Actor honors at the 2006 Venice International Film Festival. A murder mystery with a twist, "Hollywoodland" dramatizes a search for the truth that will keep audiences guessing at every turn. The DVD includes exciting bonus features that take viewers inside classic Hollywood for a glimpse of the toxic effects of celebrity.

In "Hollywoodland," low-rent private detective Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) is hired to investigate the premature death of Hollywood striver George Reeves (Ben Affleck). Haunted by his own success and unable to shed the superhero image created by his popular television show, Reeves is found dead, apparently by his own hand. As Simo probes the circumstances surrounding the actor's death, he finds tantalizing suggestions of foul play involving Reeves' fiancee, his wealthy lover and her movie mogul husband -- and puts himself at risk. The DVD is priced at $29.98 SRP. The combo disc is priced at $39.98. Preorder close is January 9, 2007.

To view a clip from "Hollywoodland", please access the link below: http://www.hollywoodlandmovie.com/media/hollywoodland_laugh_happy_300k.mov

* Ben Affleck, 2006 Golden Globe nominee -- Performance By an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

SUPER CRITICAL SUCCESS FOR "HOLLYWOODLAND"

Critics agree that "Hollywoodland" is a must-see, and an awards contender. "Hollywoodland" is "a perfect crime thriller!" says Rex Reed of The New York Observer. "Hollywoodland" is "sexy, exciting, [and] mysterious," according to Jan Wahl, KRON TV in San Francisco. Larry King declared, "The performances by Adrien Brody, Diane Lane and Ben Affleck are all Oscar(R)-worthy," and that "this is one sensational film."

INTRIGUING BONUS FEATURES

The "Hollywoodland" DVD contains more than a half-hour of exclusive bonus features including:

  -  Deleted Scenes
  -  Recreating Old Hollywood - In this piece, the production team
     demonstrates how they re-created the glamour of the Hollywood of
     yesteryear.  Interviews include ones with the film's production
     designer, set decorator, costume designer, make-up artists and hair
     stylists.
  -  Behind the Headlines - Director Allen Coulter, screenwriter Paul
     Bernbaum, and other members of the creative team reveal which elements
     of the film story are based on fact, and what creative liberties they
     had to take in order to tell the story of the unsolved mystery
     surrounding George Reeves' death.
  -  Hollywood Then and Now - With help from historians, filmmakers,
     actors and other experts, explore how Hollywood has changed in the last
     60 years, as the similarities and difference between "classic"
     Hollywood and today's big city are examined.
  -  Feature Commentary with Director Allen Coulter

                                 SYNOPSIS

Based on the true story of Hollywood's most notorious unsolved mystery, "Hollywoodland" is a tale of glamour, scandal, and corruption in 1950s Los Angeles. When George Reeves (Ben Affleck), star of TV's Adventures of Superman, is found dead in his home, millions of fans are shocked by the circumstances of his death. The police and the studio bosses want the case closed as a suicide, but rumors linger. Louis Simo (Adrien Brody), a private investigator, picks up the trail and begins to piece together the actor's last, tension-filled days. Who pulled the trigger? Was it the seductive yet scheming fiancee, the spurned lover (Diane Lane), the enraged husband (Bob Hoskins), or was it Reeves himself? Simo must find out before the truth is buried forever.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (http://www.universalstudios.com/). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi.

CONTACTS Universal Studios Home Entertainment Vivian Mayer Senior Vice President, Publicity (818) 777-3594 Lea Porteneuve Vice President of Publicity (818) 777-1391 Craig Radow Senior Manager, Publicity (818) 777-4572 Kelly Castell Assistant Manager, Broadcast Publicity (818) 777-0549 http://www.hollywoodlandmovie.com/