``Sleepy Hollow'' Gallops Into New Millennium; Most Ambitious Online Launch of Motion Picture to Date

HOLLYWOOD--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Oct. 29, 1999--

On the eve of the year 2000, on the very last Halloween of the millennium, the Headless Horseman will ride again in the most ambitious and multifaceted online campaign to herald a new motion picture -- Paramount Pictures and Mandalay Pictures' "Sleepy Hollow," which opens nationwide on Nov. 19.

In concert with Paramount Pictures, some of the premier sites on the Internet will be offering a wide array of content -- from live chats with the filmmakers and stars to a special featurette on the making of "Sleepy Hollow" to an exciting immersive tour of the film's elaborate sets to the "Sleepy Hollow" trailer to animated greeting cards that Web browsers can custom create and send.

Partnering with Paramount Pictures for these initiatives are Yahoo! (www.yahoo.com), one of the most popular destinations on the World Wide Web; Entertainment Tonight Online (www.etonline.com) and E! Online (www.eonline.com), the online homes of television's premier entertainment news magazines; America Online (AOL Keyword: Entertainment), the world's leading interactive service; Apple Computer Inc. (www.apple.com), one of the pioneers of the computer age; science fiction Internet destination SciFi.com (www.scifi.com); the UBL channel of the music-related ARTISTdirect Web site (www.artistdirect.com); Egreetings (www.egreetings.com), one of the foremost digital greeting "card" sites; and one of the most popular interactive entertainment sites on the Web, shockwave.com (www.shockwave.com).

In addition, Paramount will continue to update and expand the official Web site for the film, www.sleepyhollowmovie.com, which has been entertaining and informing visitors since July.

"Sleepy Hollow," a suspenseful and sweeping tale, is a Paramount Pictures and Mandalay Pictures presentation. The film is directed by Tim Burton and stars Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson and Michael Gambon. Inspired by Washington Irving's classic story, "Sleepy Hollow" is produced by Scott Rudin and Adam Schroeder and executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola and Larry Franco.

The screenplay is by Andrew Kevin Walker and the screen story is by Kevin Yagher & Andrew Kevin Walker. The film also stars Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, Lisa Marie, Marc Pickering, Steve Waddington and Christopher Walken. Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc.

Events timed for Allhallows Eve include a live video chat with director Tim Burton through Yahoo!(R) Chat (http://chat.yahoo.com) and Yahoo! Broadcast (http://broadcast.yahoo.com) at 6:15 p.m. ET (3:15 p.m. PT). Those who participate in the Webcast will learn what inspired Burton to delve into Washington Irving's classic tale and the challenges he faced in creating the supernatural film. Visitors will also be able to participate in a text-only version of the Burton chat.

Chats on several other Web sites and at a variety of times have also been scheduled for stars Johnny Depp, who stars as a very nontraditional Ichabod Crane; Christina Ricci, who stars as Katrina Van Tassel, Ichabod's love interest; Casper Van Dien, Ichabod's rival in romance; and Miranda Richardson, who plays Ricci's stepmother.

Web site chats are also planned for Oscar(R)-nominated composer Danny Elfman, Burton's frequent collaborator; Academy Award(R)-nominated costume designer Colleen Atwood; production designer Rick Heinrichs; Kevin Yagher, co-producer, creature effects creator and co-screen story creator; and Joss Williams, special effects supervisor.

Another major Halloween event is Entertainment Tonight Online's presentation of "Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend," an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette, which will be available online as of 3 a.m. PST on Oct. 31. The online presentation follows Entertainment Tonight's broadcast airing of an edited version of the featurette during its Thursday, Oct. 28, program.

Beginning Nov. 1, Entertainment Tonight Online will also present IPIX(TM) -- innovative, "immersive" photographs -- created from the sets of the film. Developed by Interactive Pictures, IPIX offers views of individual scenes that completely surround the viewer -- from back to front, side to side, heaven to earth.

Sets for the entire town of Sleepy Hollow and the ominous "Western Woods" were built for the film at Leavesden Studios and Shepperton Studios in England, and IPIX users will be able to visit many of these environments, including various rooms in the elegant Van Tassel manor, the church, graveyard and covered bridge.

Entertainment Tonight Online will offer the IPIX exclusively during the week of Nov. 1, posting new IPIX each day. The entire series of IPIX will then be posted the following week on Paramount Pictures' official Sleepy Hollow Web site (www.sleepyhollowmovie.com).

Paramount Pictures is also working with Egreetings (www.egreetings.com), one of the premier digital greeting sites, to offer a variety of electronic postcards featuring imagery from the film. Users will be able to send their own digital greetings incorporating photos of the stars of "Sleepy Hollow," including Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci.

Paramount Pictures' official "Sleepy Hollow" Web site (www.sleepyhollowmovie.com), which launched in July, offers its own greetings option in the form of rich media postcards. This innovative process allows users to create customized animations that combine personal greetings with stills of "Sleepy Hollow" stars, rendered backgrounds from the film and a choice of musical selections from composer Danny Elfman's score.

Among the many other features of the official Web site, visitors are invited to submit their own true tales of supernatural experiences, which are then posted on the site. Visitors can view stills and exclusive drawings by Tim Burton, visit the Sleepy Hollow Online Store (www.sleepyhollowdirect.com) and sign up for "The Sleepy Hollow Messenger" newsletter.

This electronic publication sends information directly to "Sleepy Hollow" fans about upcoming chats, Web events, updates to the site, information about the Online Store and other breaking news about the fall's most-anticipated film.

In addition, visitors will have the chance to see the "Sleepy Hollow" theatrical trailer, which is hosted on the official "Sleepy Hollow" Web site by Apple Computer Inc., the creator of Quicktime technology, the most widely used video delivery system on the Internet. (Apple is also hosting the behind-the-scenes featurette on Entertainment Online.)

In addition, visitors will find exclusive Flash animated images created from "Sleepy Hollow" visuals on shockwave.com (http://www.shockwave.com).

Set in 1799, "Sleepy Hollow" stars Johnny Depp as Ichabod Crane, an earnest police constable committed to new, scientific methods of investigating crime. His rational approach to uncovering the truth, however, faces a bizarre test when he investigates a string of murders apparently committed by a headless horseman.

Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), the most beautiful young woman in Sleepy Hollow, may hold the key to this terrifying mystery, but Ichabod must tread cautiously in this isolated community, especially around the strapping young Brom Van Brunt (Casper Van Dien), who considers Katrina his own. Miranda Richardson and Michael Gambon star as Katrina's parents, well-to-do and influential members of the community.

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