Black STARZ! and Comcast Present the Denver Premiere of 'UNSTOPPABLE: A Conversation With Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks and Ossie Davis'

Black STARZ! and Comcast Present the Denver Premiere of 'UNSTOPPABLE: A Conversation With Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks and Ossie Davis'

Special Screening Held in Cooperation With Starz Denver Pan African Film Festival and NAMIC Denver, Inc.

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Black STARZ! will present the Denver premiere screening of its original documentary, "UNSTOPPABLE: A Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks and Ossie Davis" in cooperation with Comcast Cable, the Starz Denver Pan African Film Festival and NAMIC Denver, Inc. The screening will be held at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, February 8 at the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theater in Denver. "UNSTOPPABLE: A Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks and Ossie Davis" will premiere on Black STARZ! at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on Sunday, February 13.

"Today's sad news of the death of Ossie Davis makes us all so much more grateful for the chance we had to visit with him and record his thoughts and memories about his prolific career for our documentary 'UNSTOPPABLE: A Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks and Ossie Davis,'" said Stephan Shelanski, senior vice president, programming and acquisitions, with Starz Entertainment Group. "Our scheduled premieres in Denver and New York will go on with added poignancy as a tribute to his career and those of his colleagues in the African American film making community."

"We are excited to join with Black STARZ! to present this local premiere screening of 'UNSTOPPABLE: A Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks and Ossie Davis' to honor these legendary African American filmmakers," said Jill Stark, vice president and general manager of Comcast Denver. "This program is an example of the exemplary programming lineup of the Starz Entertainment Group channels that we are pleased to offer our customers."

"UNSTOPPABLE: A Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks and Ossie Davis" provides a candid and revealing look at the first African Americans to direct Hollywood features -- Melvin Van Peebles ("Sweet Sweetbacks' Baadasssss Song," "Classified X"), Gordon Parks ("The Learning Tree," "Shaft") and Ossie Davis ("Cotton Comes to Harlem"). Van Peebles, Parks and Davis came together for the first time on screen and discuss a myriad of issues surrounding their distinguished careers, including their struggles and triumphs. Also featured in the special are testimonials from actor/writer/director Reginald Hudlin, director Julie Dash, actress/director Ruby Dee, writer/filmmaker Nelson George, and actor/director Mario Van Peebles who comment on the trio's influence on their careers, our culture and society.

"UNSTOPPABLE: A Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks and Ossie Davis" is directed by John Lewis who serves as producer with Hudlin. Hudlin ("House Party," "Boomerang," "Bebe's Kids") moderates the conversation.

Van Peebles made his feature film debut in 1967 as the director, writer and composer of "The Story of a Three Day Pass." In 1971, he starred in, wrote, produced directed, financed and distributed the ground-breaking "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song," one of the highest-grossing independent films at the time. The film ushered in a new era of Black independent filmmaking and many proclaimed Van Peebles the godfather of African American cinema. His other directing credits include "The Watermelon Man" (1970) and "Don't Play Us Cheap" (1973). In addition, he wrote the Tony Award(R) nominated Broadway musical "Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death," and "Classified X," a Black STARZ! premiere.

Parks, an acclaimed photographer for Life magazine turned to directing films in 1969. When he directed, wrote and composed the score for "The Learning Tree," he became the first African American director to helm a major studio film. His next film "Shaft" (1971) starring Richard Roundtree was a huge box office success and would signal the beginning of the blaxploitation genre. Other film credits include the sequel "Shaft's Big Score" (1972), "The Super Cops" (1974) and "Leadbelly" (1976). Parks is the author of a number of books and was a founder of Essence magazine.

Davis, a highly regarded performer, distinguished himself as an actor, director, producer, writer and historian. He first appeared on screen in 1950 in "No Way Out" with Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, who later became his wife. He directed and co-wrote "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970). Other directing credits include "Black Girl" (1972), "Gordon's War" (1973) and "Countdown at Kusini" (1976). His career has spanned 65 years and 20 films including, "Grumpy Old Men," "Do the Right Thing," "Miss Evers' Boys" and "Malcolm X" to name a few.

About Starz Denver Pan African Film Festival

The Starz Denver Pan African Film Festival (DPAFF) is a bi-annual (as of 2004) award-winning showcase of independent and mainstream films from the international Black experience including guest presenters, independent filmmakers, workshops, panels, parties and an educational youth fest.

About NAMIC

Comprised of more than 1,000 industry professionals with membership in 16 regional chapters nationwide, NAMIC was founded in 1980 as the National Association of Minorities in Cable to raise awareness, expand opportunity and shape the future. A non-profit, 501(c)(6) trade association, NAMIC champions the cause of diversity in communications through strategically facilitating mainstream and grassroots outreach methods. NAMIC has initiated programs developed to achieve diversity in leadership, employment, procurement, programming and ownership such as the Annual NAMIC Conference, a cornerstone of Cable Diversity Week; the L. Patrick Mellon Mentorship Program; and its Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Business. For additional information about NAMIC, visit www.namic.com.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (www.comcast.com) is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable networks, and in the provision of programming content. The Company is the largest provider of cable and broadband services in the United States, serving more than 21 million cable television customers and more than 6 million high-speed Internet customers. The Company's content businesses include majority ownership of Comcast Spectacor, Comcast SportsNet, E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, G4techTV, The Golf Channel, International Channel and Outdoor Life Network. Comcast Class A common stock and Class A Special common stock trade on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbols CMCSA and CMCSK, respectively.

About Black STARZ!

Black STARZ! is still the only movie channel created exclusively to meet the unique entertainment choices of the African American community. Black STARZ! has produced several original film projects, most recently "The Last of the Mississippi Jukes," and the Peabody Award winning "A Huey P. Newton Story" starring Roger Guenveur Smith, directed by Spike Lee, also nominated for two NAACP Image Awards. Other productions include the critically acclaimed "Funny Valentines" (in association with Studio USA Pictures and STARZ! Pictures), starring Alfre Woodard, Loretta Devine and CCH Pounder, and original documentaries "Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist," hosted by actor Morgan Freeman and the highly regarded "Classified X" by the godfather of contemporary African American cinema, Melvin Van Peebles.

About Starz Entertainment Group

Starz Entertainment Group LLC (SEG) is the largest provider of premium movie services in the United States with approximately 167 million pay units. SEG offerings include the Starz Super Pak(R), with up to 13 digital movie channels and more than 750 movies per month, Starz On Demand(R), the only on-demand pay TV subscription service available on the cable and satellite platforms, and its broadband equivalent, STARZ! Ticket(SM). SEG also offers a suite of advanced video offerings, including STARZ! HD(SM), Encore HD(SM), and Starz On Demand HD(SM). Starz Entertainment Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE:L)(NYSE:LMCb), www.starz.com.

Photo available upon request.

Contacts:
Michelle Ellis
Starz Entertainment Group
720/852/6269
michelle.ellis@starz.com

Chelsye J. Burrows
Starz Entertainment Group
720/852-5838
chelsye.burrows@starz.com

Tom Chen
mPRm
323/933-3399
tchen@mprm.com


Source: Starz Entertainment Group LLC

CONTACT: Michelle Ellis, +1-720-852-6269, michelle.ellis@starz.com, or
Chelsye J. Burrows, +1-720-852-5838, chelsye.burrows@starz.com, both of Starz
Entertainment Group; or Tom Chen of mPRm, +1-323-933-3399, tchen@mprm.com, for
Starz Entertainment Group

Web site: http://www.namic.com/

Web site: http://www.comcast.com/

Web site: http://www.starz.com/


-------
Profile: intent