DISNEY LAUNCHES NEW FILM LABEL - DISNEYNATURE

BURBANK, California, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- - To Produce Outstanding Nature Documentaries With the World's TopDocumentary FilmmakersThe Walt Disney Studios is launching Disneynature, a prestigious newproduction banner that will literally go to the ends of the earth to producemajor big screen nature documentaries, Studios Chairman Dick Cook announced.In the great tradition established by Walt Disney himself, Disneynaturewill offer spectacular entertainment about the world in which we live. Thesignificance of the new banner goes beyond the studio, with The Walt DisneyCompany embracing this new initiative around the world through a number ofits businesses, including publications, licensing, parks and educationaloutreach. Disney veteran Jean-Francois Camilleri, who has served as seniorvice president and general manager for Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesFrance, will head the new unit. Disneynature will be based in France, whereCamilleri and his team will oversee the initiation, development andacquisition of high quality feature projects.Among the first films to be released domestically under the new labelwill be Earth, from award-winning British producer/director AlastairFothergill, whose credits include the landmark Planet Earth series for theBBC and The Discovery Channel and The Blue Planet. Earth, which is producedby BBC Worldwide and Greenlight Media and co-directed by Mark Linfield, willtake us on a tour of our home planet as we've never seen it before. It willbe narrated by renowned actor James Earl Jones and will premiere theatricallyon Earth Day, April 22, 2009. The film will also be released under theDisneynature banner in Latin America."We love balancing heritage and innovation and Disneynature is a perfectexample of this. We are placing the legacy of Disney's 'True-Life Adventures'in the hands of great modern filmmakers using dazzling technology," saidRobert A. Iger, president and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. "Disneynature isa concept we look forward to building across the company and across the globefor years to come. And, we hope these films will contribute to a greaterunderstanding and appreciation of the beauty and fragility of our naturalworld."Dick Cook added, "Our goal is for Disneynature to offer event films thatwill appeal to everyone who is captivated by the grandeur of nature and thewonder of great filmmaking. Thanks to today's state-of-the-art creativetools, filmmakers have an unlimited ability to tell nature's limitlessstories. These stories are as engrossing as any works of fiction and are of ascale and scope that can only be fully appreciated on a big screen. AtDisneynature, the sky is truly the limit.""Nature invents the most beautiful stories. Our role at Disneynature willbe to tell these stories with passion and enthusiasm to the largest publicpossible around the world," said Camilleri. "By working with the bestwildlife directors, we will offer nature as never seen before, help theaudience to discover the incredible beauty of our world but also understandthe challenges for the future generations."Alastair Fothergill added, "This is especially exciting because, thanksto the wide-ranging appeal of Disney, we can expect Earth, as well asChimpanzee and Big Cats, to be seen by the broadest possible audience. Disneyhas been an inspiration to wildlife documentarians for generations and it's agenuine thrill to advance this extraordinary legacy under this new label."Among the other Disneynature projects currently in development orproduction are:-- THE CRIMSON WING: Mystery of the Flamingos -- Co-directed by MatthewAeberhard and Leander Ward, and produced by Paul Webster (KudosPictures), this film will take viewers to the isolated shores of LakeNatron in northern Tanzania for a birds-eye view of the mysteriouslives of flamingos. Worldwide roll-out begins December 2008-- OCEANS -- Nearly three-quarters of the earth's surface is covered byoceans. French co-directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud haveset out to capture the full expanse of these waters that have playedsuch a crucial and constant role in the history and sustenance of man.The deep and abundant oceans are places of great mysteries and dangersthat this film will dare to explore. Domestic release 2010-- ORANGUTANS: One Minute to Midnight -- Directed by Charlie HamiltonJames and produced by Frederic Fougea, this film tells the true storyof a six-year-old male orangutan and his little sister, who must takean incredible journey to find a home and a family. Worldwide release2010-- BIG CATS -- Audiences will get to meet three mothers -- a lioness, aleopard and a cheetah -- as they explore their world on the greatplains of Africa. Co-directed by Keith Scholey and Alastair Fothergilland produced by Alix Tidmarsh, this film will show how thesemagnificent animals survive on their power and their cunning, whilethey protect and teach their cubs the ways of the wild. Worldwiderelease 2011-- NAKED BEAUTY: A Love Story that Feeds the Earth -- In this film,nature is ready for its close-up ... a very close-up, as exactingmacro photography takes us to the realm of flowers and theirpollinators. Acclaimed filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg introduces us to abat, a hummingbird, a butterfly and a bumblebee, demonstrating theirintricate interdependence and how life on earth depends on the successof these determined, diminutive creatures. Naked Beauty is produced byBlacklight Films and Alix Tidmarsh. Worldwide release 2011-- CHIMPANZEE -- Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield co-direct thisintimate look at the world of chimpanzees, with Christophe Boesch,head of the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, serving as principalconsultant and Alix Tidmarsh as producer. To be shot over three yearsin the tropical jungles of the Ivory Coast and Uganda, Chimpanzee willhelp us better understand this exceptionally intelligent species.Worldwide release 2012About Jean-Francois Camilleri:-- After beginning his career working in France with Warner Bros.International, which at the time distributed Disney films overseas,Camilleri came to Los Angeles in 1990 to work for Disney's Buena VistaInternational (BVI). When Disney took over its own overseasdistribution, he returned to Paris to help develop BVI's offices inEurope. He then became in 1997 Vice President and general Manager forGaumont BVI France. In 2004, BVI opened an office dedicated solely tothe French market, with Camilleri as senior vice president and generalmanager. In this position, he also developed local co-productions andacquisitions, including The March Of The Penguins, which became themost successful French film ever in the US and won the Academy Awardfor Best Documentary. He will be serving as executive vice presidentand general manager of Disneynature.About the filmmakers (in order of films):-- Alastair Fothergill joined the BBC's esteemed Natural History Unit in1983, where, among many projects, he produced films with Sir DavidAttenborough. He served as head of the Natural History Unit from1992-1998, when he chose to step down to work full-time on theaward-winning Blue Planet. From 2002-2006, Fothergill was seriesproducer of the landmark Planet Earth. He has entered a multi-picturedeal with Disneynature.-- Mark Linfield has had a prolific career, producing and directing manyaward-winning films, including The Battles of Braveheart, Orangutans:The High Society, The Temple Troop and The Life of Mammals with SirDavid Attenborough. His most recent work has been the multi-awardaward winning Capuchins: The Monkey Puzzle and two episodes of PlanetEarth, including the opening show, Pole to Pole, which won severalEmmys.-- Matthew Aeberhard worked with famed naturalist and filmmaker Hugo vanLawick on the feature films The Leopard Son and Serengeti Symphonybefore helming his own films on such subjects as golden jackals andbaboons for National Geographic.-- Leander Ward first encountered flamingos while filming in Mexico. Hewas cameraman on the BBC documentary Cape Buffalo: The African Boss,where he met Matthew Aeberhard and the two began developing the filmthat will become The Crimson Wing.-- Academy Award nominee, Jacques Perrin, is a prolific French actor,director and producer. In 1968, he produced at age 27, the landmarkfilm, 'Z'. In 2003, he produced the acclaimed film LES CHORISTES: bothfilms were nominated for Best Foreign Film Academy Award. He alsoproduced two of the most important natural history films ever made:MICROCOSMOS in 1996 and THE WINGED MIGRATION in 2001 which he alsodirected. Both received numerous awards around the world. Since 2005,he has been producing and co-directing Oceans.-- Jacques Cluzaud is one of the leading French filmmakers working withinnovative new cinematic technologies. In addition to traditionalproductions, he has created films for such formats as IMAX, waterscreens and a giant wall consisting of 850 monitors. Whileco-directing Oceans, he is also developing new technologies for seaand underwater shooting.-- Charlie Hamilton James began his career as a wildlife filmmaker at age16, working on David Attenborough's Trails of Life. He went on toserve as a cameraman working on such prestigious BBC productions asLife of Mammals, Wildlife on One, Andes to Amazon, Big Cat Diary andPlanet Earth. At 26, James produced his first film with his wifePhilippa Forrester -- My Halcyon River -- which won numerousinternational awards and elicited more requests for repeats than anyother film in the BBC's history.-- Frederic Fougea is a nature documentarian and producer who hasreceived more than 100 awards, including an International Emmy Award,Best Film at the European Nature Film Festival and the Gold Medal atthe New York Film Festival. Among his provocative films are The Riseof Man, A Species Odyssey, The Fabulous Adventure of Man and Animaland Yeti, The Call of the Snowman.-- Keith Scholey was born in Tanzania and raised in East Africa until histeens. He has returned to Africa to make a wide range of films,including Leopard: A Darkness in the Grass, The Great Rift and Big CatDiary. He succeeded Alastair Fothergill as head of the BBC's NaturalHistory Unit from 1998 until 2003, being responsible for a wide rangeof award-winning films, including two David Attenborough productionsand The Blue Planet. He is currently the Controller of FactualProduction, responsible for all the BBC's factual productions.-- Louie Schwartzberg, as a director and cinematographer, has createdsome of the most iconic and memorable film moments of our time. Histime-lapse, nature and aerial photography has brought audiences imagesnever captured before. He has directed award-winning documentaries forNational Geographic, The Hallmark Channel, The Discovery Channel andPBS, and his work has been featured in theatrical films ranging fromWar of the Worlds and Crash to American Beauty and E.T. In 2004, heproduced and directed the award-winning Walt Disney Pictures release,America's Heart & Soul.For more updates on the newest production banner of The Walt DisneyStudios, go to http://www.disney.com/nature (domestic) andhttp://www.disneynature.com (international).Web site: http://www.disney.comhttp://www.disneynature.comThe Walt Disney Studios