Nominated for Eight Academy Awards(R) Including Best Picture; Triple Oscar(R) Winner 'Brokeback Mountain' Soars on DVD

Nominated for Eight Academy Awards(R) Including Best Picture; Triple Oscar(R) Winner 'Brokeback Mountain' Soars on DVD

Year's Most Talked-About Film Spurs Sales of 1.4 Million Units on First Day

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- "Brokeback Mountain," the most powerful and poignant drama of 2005, continued its phenomenal critical box-office success by selling approximately 1.4 million units on its April 4, 2006 street date. Stunningly crafted with incomparable dexterity by Oscar(R)- winning director Ang Lee ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Sense and Sensibility"), "Brokeback Mountain" broke through cinematic and social barriers with its heart-wrenching depiction of two young cowboys who unexpectedly forge an intense, lifelong connection.

"Since it was first released, audiences, critics and awards groups have responded with unrivaled passion to 'Brokeback Mountain's' stellar direction, writing and acting and to a moving storyline that challenged Hollywood conventions," said Craig Kornblau, President, Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "The remarkable first-day home entertainment sales are a testament to the film's magnetic appeal and consumers' avid desire to own a piece of cinematic history."

Winner of three Academy Awards(R) for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score, "Brokeback Mountain" is based on the powerful short story by Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Proulx ("The Shipping News"). The universally acclaimed script was adapted by another Pulitzer recipient, Larry McMurtry ("Lonesome Dove," "Terms of Endearment") and his collaborator Diana Ossana ("Johnson County War"), who also earned a Golden Globe(R) Award for their work.

Actors Heath Ledger ("The Patriot," "Lords of Dogtown") and Jake Gyllenhaal ("Jarhead," "Donnie Darko") earned Academy Award(R) nominations for their emotionally charged, unflinching portrayals of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, the two young men at the heart of this wrenching saga. Supporting actress Michelle Williams ("The Station Agent") was nominated for the Supporting Actress Oscar(R) for her role as a young wife wounded by a bond she is unable to comprehend.

"Brokeback Mountain" tells the story of Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal), two young men dispatched to work as sheepherders up on the majestic Brokeback Mountain in the summer of 1963. During their experience, Ennis and Jack are drawn into an unexpected lifelong relationship, filled with love and loss. The DVD is priced at $29.98 SRP.

For more information please visit: www.brokebackmountain.com.

For artwork or screeners, please log on to our Web site at www.ushepublicity.com or fax your request to Universal Studios Home Entertainment Publicity at (818) 866-0226.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and Entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi Universal.

CONTACTS

Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Vivian Mayer
Senior Vice President, Publicity
(818) 777-3594

Lea Porteneuve
Vice President, Publicity
(818) 777-1391

Craig Radow
Senior Manager, Publicity
(818) 777-4572

Meghan Gamber
Manager, Print Publicity
(818) 777-0546

www.brokebackmountain.com

Web site: http://www.universalstudios.com
http://www.ushepublicity.com
http://www.brokebackmountain.com

Source: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

CONTACT: Vivian Mayer, Senior Vice President, Publicity,
+1-818-777-3594, or Lea Porteneuve, Vice President, Publicity,
+1-818-777-1391, or Craig Radow, Senior Manager, Publicity, +1-818-777-4572,
or Meghan Gamber, Manager, Print Publicity, +1-818-777-0546, all of Universal
Studios Home Entertainment

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