Forget 'The Hills' and Check Out 'The 'Wood' on Starz

Forget 'The Hills' and Check Out 'The 'Wood' on Starz

Starz Introduces Six Cele-bear-ties From Hollywood in Original Animated Shorts

Second Set of Shorts in Production

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz has added a new cast of characters to the family from Hollywood -- "The 'Wood" that is. "The 'Wood" is a series of original animated shorts, produced by 23D Films, that pay homage to the unique characters that make up Hollywood. The first shorts introducing you to our six cele-bear-ties are currently being rolled out on Starz. The next round of storylines featuring the bears are in production and will debut on Starz in September.

"Starz loves the fascinating, creative and crazy world of Hollywood and those who inhabit it," said David Charmatz, senior vice president of channel management for Starz Entertainment. "'The 'Wood' is our tongue-in-cheek homage to the characters and spectacles that make the movies."

Each character in "The 'Wood" embodies a different celebrity persona from the young ingenue soaking up the limelight to the aging legend who wants to get out of the spotlight. "Starz is the perfect outlet to celebrate and razz the entertainment industry, which provides me with a great deal of satisfaction," said John Mathot, designer and animator of "The 'Wood." "It's a ton of fun to bring these characters to life, and I hope people will get a kick out of them."

The six cele-bear-ties who make up "The 'Wood" are:

* Arctic Circle -- a rapper turned actor who skated right from the
recording studio to the big screen without having to struggle to find
his fame. He's a nice guy who occasionally uses his status to
espouse his political views.

* Bruin McTeague -- an action hero with a tough-as-nails image. The
problem? He is phobic -- afraid of guns, heights, violence and more.
His management's biggest fear is that his fans will find out he is less
than he portrays onscreen.

* Epiffany -- She is the ingenue -- the toast of young Hollywood -- a
very charming girl who delights in shopping, parties, gossip, and fabu
restaurants. None of her fellow celebs seem to recall what her last
movie was -- did she even do one? -- and the rest of the world doesn't
care.

* Maximillian Rugg -- He is the aging legend who would prefer to retire
and get out of the spotlight, but his legion of new young fans made him
one of the hottest tickets in town. He doesn't have much of a sense of
humor about his again-found fame, so it's kind of fun to watch him
squirm.

* Roman Fjords -- He is the comic maniac -- you know, the guy who has
everyone he knows in stitches and delights people on his movie sets.
The only thing is that he will often take the jokes too far and turn
silly fun into an uncomfortable situation.

* Ursula Majors -- She is the female lead who lives in her own little
bubble. She certainly means well, what with her charity work and
general philanthropic giving, she's just an extremely confident woman
who is positive that her way is the right way -- and no one can tell
her differently.

"The 'Wood" is created exclusively for Starz by 23D Films. 23D Films combined the traditional hand-drawn animation with digital techniques that create the illusion of both 2D and 3D animation together.

About 23D Films

23D Films is a full service design, motion graphics and animation production studio. Founded in 1996, 23D Films provides classically trained character animators and veterans of primetime hit shows such as South Park, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Futurama, and Ren & Stimpy among others. 23D Films showcases the most innovative and cutting-edge work using 2-D and 3-D animation and design for DVD Menus, packaging and print graphics along with character and program development. 23D Films is experienced in the full spectrum entertainment graphics including Film, Television, Music Videos, Commercials, Studio and Network, On-Air Broadcast Promos along with broadband networks and wireless content development to name a few. Recent clients include: Disney Internet Group, Disney Online, Sony Home Entertainment, Starz Entertainment Group, Comedy Central, Weller/Grossman Productions, Vidiator Mobile Entertainment, Rainbow Media, Voom, WE, AMC, IFC, MagRack, Taurus Entertainment and Daft Punk. For more information, please visit www.23Dfilms.com.

About Starz Entertainment

Starz Entertainment is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz(R) and Encore(R) brands with approximately 15.1 million and 27.1 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HDTV, Starz On Demand and Vongo(SM). Starz Entertainment is an operating unit of Starz LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital Group, www.starz.com.

Contacts: Michelle Ellis Jonathan Taylor
Starz Entertainment The Lippin Group
(720) 852-6269 (323) 965-1990
michelle.ellis@starz.comjtaylor@lippingroup.com

Source: Starz Entertainment

CONTACT: Michelle Ellis of Starz Entertainment, +1-720-852-6269,
michelle.ellis@starz.com; or Jonathan Taylor of The Lippin Group,
+1-323-965-1990, jtaylor@lippingroup.com, for Starz Entertainment

Web site: http://www.starz.com/
http://www.23dfilms.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Download high-resolution versions of related images at starz.mediaroom.com.

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