CULVER CITY, Calif., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Major League Baseball
Properties has teamed with Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios for an
unprecedented marketing partnership to support the highly anticipated national
release of Spider-Man(R) 2, it was jointly announced today by Geoffrey Ammer,
president of worldwide marketing for the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
and Tim Brosnan, EVP Business for Major League Baseball.
The focus of the marketing partnership will be a weekend of Spider-Man(R)
2 events coordinated with Major League Baseball Properties and the 15 MLB
Clubs hosting home games June 11-13.
During Spider-Man(R) 2 Weekend, which has been scheduled during a segment
of the 2004 Major League Baseball Interleague Play schedule, ballparks will
feature in-park and on-field Spider-Man(R) signage and each Club will feature
special Spider-Man(R) promotional events, including giveaways with the
world-renowned web crawler. In addition, highlights from Spider-Man(R) 2 will
run on stadium video boards to promote the motion picture's June 30 release.
Major League Baseball Properties and the 15 participating Clubs will promote
Spider-Man(R) 2 Weekend locally in each market and nationally.
"This is the perfect alliance between two quintessential national
pastimes -- baseball and movie going," said Ammer. "This partnership
celebrates superheroes, whether they are on the field or on the big screen and
we are extremely excited about the opportunity to create this unique promotion
with Major League Baseball."
"Spider-Man(R) 2 Weekend is a part of our continuing marketing efforts to
appeal to younger fans in new and non-traditional ways," added Brosnan. "We
anticipate that Spider-Man(R) 2 will break records at our ballparks and in the
theaters."
Major League Baseball Clubs hosting Spider-Man(R) 2 Weekend are the
Anaheim Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox,
Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers,
Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Tampa
Bay Devil Rays, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays.
In Spider-Man 2, two years have passed since Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire)
walked away from his long-time love Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and
decided to take the road to responsibility as Spider-Man. Peter must face new
challenges as he struggles to cope with "the gift and the curse" of his powers
while balancing his dual identities as the elusive superhero Spider-Man and
life as a college student. The relationships Peter holds most dear are now in
danger of unraveling as he clashes with the powerful, multi-tentacled villain
"Doc Ock" (Alfred Molina).
Spider-Man(R) 2 reunites the cast and filmmakers from the first adventure,
including Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris and J.K.
Simmons, under the leadership of director Sam Raimi and producers Laura Ziskin
and Marvel's Avi Arad. Joining the ensemble cast are Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto
Octavius ("Doc Ock"), Daniel Gillies as John Jameson, Vanessa Ferlito as
Louise, Dylan Baker as Dr. Curt Connors and Donna Murphy as Rosalie Octavius.
Columbia Pictures Presents A Marvel Enterprises/Laura Ziskin Production
Spider-Man(R) 2 starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred
Molina, Rosemary Harris, Donna Murphy and J.K. Simmons. The film is directed
by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, For The Love of the Game). The screenplay is by
two-time Oscar(R) winner Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People, Unfaithful) based on
the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The screen story is by
Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and Pulitzer-Prize winning author Michael Chabon.
The producers are Laura Ziskin (Spider-Man, Pretty Woman) and Avi Arad (X-Men,
Daredevil, Hulk).
About Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures, part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, is a
Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a
subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based
Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production
and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content
creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment
acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of
new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of
filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found
on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com .
For further information contact:
Steve Elzer,
Senior Vice President, Media Relations
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
310-244-7142
steve_elzer@spe.sony.com
Kathleen Fineout,
Director, Marketing Communications
Major League Baseball
212-931-7882
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SOURCE Columbia Pictures
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Related links:
http://www.sonypictures.com
CONTACT:
Steve Elzer, Senior Vice President, Media
Relations of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group,
+1-310-244-7142, or steve_elzer@spe.sony.com; or Kathleen
Fineout, Director, Marketing Communications of Major League
Baseball, +1-212-931-7882
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