Critically Acclaimed Feature Documentary GRIZZLY MAN Makes World Television Debut on Discovery Channel This February

Critically Acclaimed Feature Documentary GRIZZLY MAN Makes World Television Debut on Discovery Channel This February

Exclusive Companion Film DIARY OF THE GRIZZLY MAN Explores Controversies, Psyche Further

SILVER SPRING, Md., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The critically acclaimed film GRIZZLY MAN, documenting Timothy Treadwell's obsession with the Grizzly Bear, will make its television debut on Friday, February 3 at 8 PM (ET/PT) on Discovery Channel. DIARY OF THE GRIZZLY MAN, which follows at 10:30 PM, is a never-before-seen 30-minute film commissioned by Discovery Channel that delves deeper into the mind and madness of Timothy Treadwell and addresses controversies such as claims of fictitious interviews in GRIZZLY MAN.

Named best movie of the year by TIME Magazine's Richard Schickel, and heralded by Roger Ebert as "brilliant," GRIZZLY MAN also received the Sundance Film Festival's prestigious Alfred P. Sloane Feature Film Award and the Best Feature Documentary award at the Telluride MountainFilm Festival. GRIZZLY MAN has also been selected Best Documentary of 2005 by both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, honored by all major critics associations, and nominated for numerous awards.

Respected director Werner Herzog's film GRIZZLY MAN paints a complex portrait of Treadwell, a tireless and passionate advocate for grizzly bears who died in Alaska's Katmai National Park and Reserve in 2003 after being mauled and devoured by a grizzly along with his girlfriend Amie Huguenard. At the heart of GRIZZLY MAN is spectacular footage of enormous grizzlies hunting, playing and fighting just feet from Treadwell and his camera. Treadwell shot these scenes during his last visits to the Alaskan wilderness, apparently with the intention of creating a wildlife documentary.

"We are incredibly proud that our second Discovery Doc has received such critical acclaim," said Jane Root, executive vice president and general manager, Discovery Channel U.S. "Only Discovery Channel can unite such feature film talent as Werner Herzog and in-depth accounts as daring and immersive as the life of Treadwell for television viewers to experience in their own homes. Treadwell's story goes beyond the boundary between human and nature and provides the ultimate in first-hand knowledge of grizzlies."

Discovery Docs, Discovery Channel's theatrical documentary unit, partnered with Lions Gate Entertainment's (NYSE:LGF) Toronto feature-length documentary unit to co-produce GRIZZLY MAN.

For GRIZZLY MAN, Herzog interviews Treadwell's friends, family and colleagues as well as environmentalists and other wildlife experts, whose opinions about Treadwell vary as widely as Alaska's extreme landscape. Some filmgoers have charged that Herzog actually hired actors to play Treadwell's friends and colleagues. Those interviewees now reunite to directly dispute such claims and add new insights regarding Treadwell's life in DIARY OF A GRIZZLY MAN.

Outtakes from Treadwell's original video footage will also be screened for the first time as part of the exclusive companion film. In order to put Treadwell's experience into context, Zoologist Dave Salmoni recreates Treadwell's experience by getting within clawing distance of a huge grizzly in Yellowstone National Forest. Also addressed are provocative questions prompted by the film such as: Were the bears really under siege from poachers? How did Treadwell really feel about the National Park Service, which was officially responsible for the bears' safety, and how did he manage to survive for months on end in the primeval forest?

Erik Nelson is the producer for GRIZZLY MAN and director for DIARY OF THE GRIZZLY MAN. For Discovery Channel, Andrea Meditch is executive producer.

Discovery Communications is the leading global real-world media and entertainment company. Discovery has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in more than 160 countries and territories with 1.3 billion cumulative subscribers. DCI's over 90 networks of distinctive programming represent 25 network entertainment brands. DCI's other properties consist of Discovery Education and Discovery Commerce, which operates 120 Discovery Channel Stores. DCI also distributes BBC America in the United States. DCI's ownership consists of four shareholders: Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ:DISCA)(NASDAQ:DISCB), Cox Communications, Inc., Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company's Founder and Chairman.

Source: Discovery Channel

CONTACT: Elizabeth Hillman, +1-240-662-2664,
Elizabeth_Hillman@discovery.com, or Kate Hawken, +1-240-662-2947,
Kate_Hawken@discovery.com, both of Discovery Channel

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

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