Famed Rocker and Creative Director Dave Stewart and Los Angeles 2016 Bid Take it to the Streets in Cutting-Edge Video

Famed Rocker and Creative Director Dave Stewart and Los Angeles 2016 Bid Take it to the Streets in Cutting-Edge Video

Short Film Addresses Pressing Need for Games to Engage 18-34 Demographic; Los Angeles Landmarks and City Streets are Setting for Film Which can be Distributed on Multiple Platforms

LOS ANGELES, March 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG) reinforced the commitment of the entertainment community to its 2016 Olympic bid by unveiling Battle Olympia, a seven-minute short film produced by renowned musician and creative producer Dave Stewart. The premiere, at a star-studded event in Beverly Hills, follows last week's unveiling of a three-and-one-half-minute film produced by Walt Disney Studios featuring Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and several prominent Southern California Olympians.

The film features original music by Stewart (The Eurythmics) and a production style in keeping with the desires of the elusive 18-34 year-old demographic, which in recent years has been losing interest in the Olympic movement. Directed by Jesse Davey, an award-winning jazz musician and up-and- coming filmmaker, it was produced for $75,000. Featuring (unpaid) appearances by multiple Olympians and celebrities such as Gavin Rossdale (Bush) and Peter Facinelli (Can't Hardly Wait, Six Feet Under), Battle Olympia brings the Games to the streets of Los Angeles, as Olympic fencers duel on the steps of downtown Walt Disney Concert Hall, divers twist and turn after a leap from a Westside office building and Olympic rowers paddle their way across a fountain in Santa Monica.

"This is a very hip, cool film created and produced in a sophisticated city," said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "The Dave Stewart short is another great demonstration of the entertainment community's broad support for Los Angeles 2016 and the type of creative content we are able to generate that can benefit the entire Olympic movement and, most importantly, the athletes."

The quick cuts, music and non-stop action lend itself to multiple uses, including potential delivery through mobile devices, on community/user- generated websites, through television advertising and as the premise of video games.

"The Olympics are inspirational," said Stewart. "But the way they are promoted now does not necessarily reflect how a younger audience absorbs media. The film we have developed speaks to the target audience in a language and format that is relevant to them. If we are careful and clever, the Olympics can easily become an event enshrined in the relevant and motivational language of today's 20-year-olds."

The film is one of several vehicles created as part of the Los Angeles 2016's bid that showcase Los Angeles' ability to utilize its resources, both creative and physical, to focus on a Games that is about the athletes, not about the "structure." With all but one of the permanent venues required for the Games in place today, Los Angeles will focus its energy on hosting a Games that are true to the spirit of the original Olympic ideals while integrating state-of-the-art entertainment technology to appeal to the broadest possible demographic.

"We have always said we will re-imagine the Games," said SCCOG Chairman Barry Sanders. "Los Angeles is the creative capital of the world, and Dave has harnessed that creativity in this film. Together with the other elements we've produced, we are using our resources to the fullest to elevate the Olympic stage in order to re-energize the movement. The athletes are the stars, and we have the vehicles to bring them to the forefront."

Los Angeles is one of just two U.S. cities remaining in competition to be the United States Olympic Committee's (USOC) candidate to the International Olympic Committee to host the 2016 Games. The SCCOG's bid plans were submitted to the USOC on January 22. The USOC has said that it will make a final decision on April 14, 2007.

About Dave Stewart

Dave Stewart is one of the most respected and prolific artists in the music industry today. A prodigious producer of music, film, photography, and new media, Stewart is the "musician's musician," a multi-media entrepreneur who in Bob Dylan's words is, "a fearless innovator." Stewart established Weapons of Mass Entertainment, a forward-thinking media company that currently produces and partners with companies such as My Space, HBO, 19 Entertainment, Virgin Comics, Interscope Records and Sirius Radio. He is also the Chairman and Executive Creative Director of The Law Firm USA, a unique creative marketing company operating in 92 countries worldwide that is bringing highly individual talent together in a way that befits the Internet age.

About the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games (SCCOG)

Formed in 1939, the SCCOG is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the Olympic movement in Southern California. Since its inception, the SCCOG has bid for the Olympic Games on behalf of and in conjunction with the City of Los Angeles, garnering the award of the Games for 1984. Hailed world- wide for their near-flawless organization, the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles generated an operating surplus of $235 million (in 1984 dollars). Further information about the SCCOG can be found on their website at www.sccog.org.

Contacts:
Kevin Mortesen/Burson-Marsteller
Emily Hallford/Burson-Marsteller
Phone: (310) 309-6600

David Simon/President SCCOG
Phone: (213) 482-6333

Source: Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games

CONTACT: Kevin Mortesen or Emily Hallford, both of Burson-Marsteller for
the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, +1-310-309-6600;
David Simon, President SCCOG, +1-213-482-6333

Web site: http://www.sccog.org/

NOTE TO EDITORS: If you'd like to view or download the Dave Stewart film, please click on ftp.bm.com (username: olympicpsas / password: olympics)

-------
Profile: intent