Columbia Pictures' 'All the King's Men' to Be Released September 22, 2006

Columbia Pictures' 'All the King's Men' to Be Released September 22, 2006

Academy Award(R)-Winning Screenwriter Steven Zaillian Directs and Produces an All-Star Cast Led by Academy Award(R) Winner Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and Academy Award(R) Winner Anthony Hopkins

CULVER CITY, Calif., April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbia Pictures' "All the King's Men" will be released nationally on September 22, 2006, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, Vice Chairman Sony Pictures Entertainment and Chairman, Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group.

Based on Robert Penn Warren's 1946 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, All the King's Men is a classic of American literature that tells the story of an idealistic man of the people who soon becomes corrupted by success and caught between dreams of service and an insatiable lust for power.

With a screenplay written and directed by Zaillian, who received an Academy Award(R) for his adaptation of "Schindler's List," "All The King's Men" features an all-star cast including Oscar(R) winner Sean Penn ("Mystic River"), Jude Law ("Closer"), Kate Winslet ("Finding Neverland"), James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos"), Mark Ruffalo ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), Patricia Clarkson ("Pieces of April") and Academy Award(R) winner Anthony Hopkins ("Silence of the Lambs").

A Columbia Pictures and Phoenix Pictures/VIP3A/VIP 4A Production in Association with Rising Star, "All The King's Men" was produced by Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Ken Lemberger and Steve Zaillian. The executive producers are Michael Hausman, David Thwaites, James Carville, Todd Phillips, Andreas Schmid, Andreas Grosch and Ryan Kavanaugh.

"Steve Zaillian has delivered a wonderful and provocative motion picture with a timeless story and fantastic performances. We couldn't be more proud of the way All the King's Men turned out. Early fall will be a great time to release this film."

While a uniquely American story, the message of "All the King's Men" is universal and very relevant today. It uses politics as a framework to delve into the more profound conflicts of human nature -- sin, guilt and redemption. Warren's novel was inspired by the career of Louisiana governor Huey P. Long and had a profound effect on contemporary literature, serving as a model for some of the best-selling political novels of the past half-century.

Zaillian received an Oscar(R) for his screenplay "Schindler's List," directed by Steven Spielberg. He was also nominated for "Awakenings" and "Gangs of New York." He has directed the films Searching for "Bobby Fischer" and "A Civil Action." Medavoy and Zaillian were teamed together for the writer's first produced screenplay, "The Falcon and the Snowman," which starred Penn.

Academy Award(R) winner Penn ("Mystic River") recently starred opposite Nicole Kidman in Sydney Pollack's "The Interpreter." Other Oscar(R) nominations include "I Am Sam," "Sweet and Lowdown" and "Dead Man Walking." Penn starred in Zaillian's first produced screenplay "The Falcon and the Snowman."

Two-time Academy Award(R) nominee Law ("The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Cold Mountain") recently starred in Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator," "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," "I Heart Huckabees," "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," "Alfie" and Mike Nichols' "Closer." Other recent films include "Road to Perdition" and "AI:Artificial Intelligence." He will soon be seen in Columbia Pictures' "The Holiday" opposite Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jack Black.

Winslet's recent screen appearances include starring roles in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Finding Neverland." Winslet has been nominated for four Academy Awards(R) for her performances in "Sense and Sensibility," "Titanic," "Iris" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." Her other films include "Enigma," "Quills" and "The Life of David Gale." She will soon be seen in Nancy Meyer's romantic comedy "The Holiday" also starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black, a Columbia Pictures release.

Clarkson was nominated for an Academy Award(R) and a Golden Globe for her performance in "Pieces of April." She was named Best Supporting Actress by the New York Film Critics for her role in "Far From Heaven." Ms. Clarkson recently starred in "The Station Agent" and "Dogville." Her other film credits include "The Green Mile" and "The Pledge."

Gandolfini is a three-time Emmy Award winner and a Golden Globe recipient for his role as Tony Soprano in the prize-winning HBO series "The Sopranos." Gandolfini had a major role in Zaillian's "A Civil Action."

Ruffalo recently opposite Jennifer Aniston in Rob Reiner's "Rumor Has It" and opposite Reese Witherspoon in "Just Like Heaven," as well as such films as "Collateral," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "We Don't Live Here Anymore." Ruffalo was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his role in Kenneth Lonergan's "You Can Count on Me."

Academy Award(R) winner Hopkins ("The Silence of the Lambs") was also nominated for Oscars(R) for "Amistad," "Nixon" and "The Remains of the Day." He was recently featured in "Proof," "The World's Fastest Indian," Oliver Stone's "Alexander" and a reprise of his award-winning role of Hannibal Lector in two films, "Red Dragon" and "Hannibal."

ACADEMY AWARD(R) and OSCAR(R) are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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

Source: Columbia Pictures

CONTACT: Steve Elzer, Senior Vice President, Media Relations of Columbia
TriStar Motion Picture Group, +1-310-244-7142, steve_elzer@spe.sony.com

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

-------
Profile: intent