Universal Studios Home Entertainment: A Brand-New Hilarious Family Adventure Featuring an All-Star Cast and the World's Best Loved St. Bernard as He's Never Been Seen Before!

Universal Studios Home Entertainment: A Brand-New Hilarious Family Adventure Featuring an All-Star Cast and the World's Best Loved St. Bernard as He's Never Been Seen Before!

Beethoven's Big Break

UNIVERSAL'S LATEST DVD ORIGINAL(TM) DEBUTS ON DVD DECEMBER 26, 2008

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Bring together one mega-popular pooch, an all-star cast, some of today's hottest music and a barrel of bouncing baby St. Bernards, and it all adds up to Beethoven's Big Break! The all-new adventure comes exclusively to DVD on December 26, 2008 from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. This full-length comedy stars Moises Arias (Rico on "Hannah Montana"), Jonathan Silverman ("The Single Guy"), Daytime Emmy (R) winner Jennifer Finnigan ("The Bold and the Beautiful"), Rhea Perlman ("Cheers"), Joey Fatone ("Dancing with the Stars," 'N Sync), Stephen Tobolowsky ("Heroes"), Oscar Nunez ("The Office"), Eddie Griffin (Undercover Brother) and Cesar Millan ("The Dog Whisperer") in his feature film debut--and introduces Pete The Lizard! A fresh and funny re-imagination of the hugely popular franchise, Beethoven's Big Break is jam-packed with more action and laughs than ever before. Featuring an exciting array of bonus materials, the DVD is priced at $29.98 SRP.

"With movies, bestselling books and even reality television showcasing the public's fascination with all things dog-related, we believe that there's no better time than now to re-invent the Beethoven franchise." said Glenn Ross, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Universal Studios Family Productions. "Beethoven has delighted families around the world and we saw this as the perfect opportunity to give this beloved character a makeover for his introduction to a new generation."

Beethoven's Big Break is Universal Studios Home Entertainment Family Productions' newest DVD OriginalTM. Since its introduction in 2005, the DVD OriginalTM line has made the studio the industry leader in the growing made-for-DVD market. Universal's strategy combines top-notch casts with high-caliber production values to create new installments of its popular franchises. By launching these films with aggressive marketing campaigns, Universal has released some of the most successful made-for-DVD movies of all-time, including an unbroken string of hits extending the blockbuster franchises Bring It On, American Pie and The Scorpion King.

MEGA MARKETING CAMPAIGN INCLUDING A BALLOON IN THE
MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE(R) TAKES BEETHOVEN TO NEW HEIGHTS

Universal Studios Home Entertainment (USHE) will be launching Beethoven's Big Break with theatrical-level marketing and publicity support. In addition to a multi-million dollar media campaign featuring top network placements, USHE has partnered with Yahoo! Kids to be the official online destination for Beethoven's Big Break. The major collaboration with the Internet juggernaut will involve the unveiling of 14 weeks of entertaining content featuring film talent, created exclusively for Yahoo! Kids. Outreach for the title also extends to the malls with a far-reaching alliance with Simon Property Group - the country's largest owner, developer and manager of high quality retail real estate - to promote Beethoven's Big Break to families at 139 malls nationwide throughout the holiday season in conjunction with their Santa Pet Photo events. In addition to playing the trailer and posting signage promoting the film, the program will also feature regional print and radio advertisements, as well as promotional item distribution, while supplies last. The Beethoven's Big Break DVD was also featured in the 82nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade(R). On November 27, 2008, the "Beethoven" balloon made its way down New York City's famed Broadway with millions of spectators and more than 50 million television viewers watching nationwide.

BARKIN' HOT BONUS FEATURES

The Beethoven's Big Break DVD contains a kennel full of exciting, exclusive bonus features, including:

-- DELETED SCENES

-- GAG REEL: Over 10 minutes of fun moments from the set.

-- MOISES STEALS THE SHOW: Filled with direct-to-camera hijinks, this
piece features Moises Arias acting, joking, and playing.

-- HOW DID THEY DO THAT?!: Animal trainers Mark Eschevarria and Dave
Sousa tell us how they trained three dogs for the role of Beethoven
while Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan explains the keys to working with
animals.

-- FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR MIKE ELLIOTT AND STARS JONATHAN
SILVERMAN AND MOISES ARIAS!

OWN ALL YOUR FAVORITE BEETHOVEN FILMS IN BEETHOVEN'S DOG-GONE BEST MOVIE PACK

For viewers in need of even more puppy love, Beethoven's Big Break will also be included in the new Beethoven's Dog-gone Best Movie Pack, available on December 26. Six hilarious full-length movies for one great price, Beethoven's Dog-gone Best Movie Pack includes every chapter of the hugely successful dog franchise. With over 8 hours of action, laughs and surprises, Beethoven's Dog-gone Best Movie Pack will satisfy the most devoted fans of the big-hearted, wet-nosed Beethoven and his adorable puppies.

Synopsis

Although animal handler Eddie (Silverman) works with lots of creatures, he has a strict NO PETS ALLOWED policy and won't let his son Billy keep adorable stray dog Beethoven and his family of puppies. But when dog-nappers steal the canine star of the movie Eddie's working on, the studio big shots must quickly find a replacement and unexpectedly cast the lumbering canine as their next big star. Through his rambunctious antics and larger-than-life personality, Beethoven not only crashes into Hollywood but into Eddie's heart as well.

www.kids.yahoo.com/Beethoven

CAST AND FILMMAKERS

Directed By: Mike Elliott
Screenplay By: Derek Rydall
Story By: Derek Rydall and Brian Levant
Produced By: Wayne Morris
Director of Photography: Stephen F. Campbell
Production Designer: Mark Garner
Edited By: Roderick Davis
Music By: Robert Folk
Music Supervisor: Paul DiFranco
Costume Designer: Beverly Safier
Casting: Jan Glaser, CSA

Cast: Jonathan Silverman, Jennifer Finnigan, Rhea Perlman, Stephen Tobolowsky, Oscar Nunez, Joey Fatone, Cesar Millan, with Moises Arias and Eddie Griffin.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

DVD
Street Date: December 26, 2008
Copyright: 2008 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Price: $29.98 S.R.P.
Selection Number: 63104274
Running Time: TBD
Layers: Dual
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 1.78:1; Full Frame 1:33.1
Technical Info: English Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Subititles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Rating: PG for some mild rude humor.

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.

CONTACTS

Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Michelle Slavich
Vice President, Publicity
(818) 777-5344
Michelle.slavich@nbcuni.com

Kelly Castell
Manager, Broadcast Publicity
(818) 777-0549
Kelly.castell@nbcuni.com

Nicole Canizales
Manager, Online Publicity
(818) 777-0115
Nicole.canizales@nbcuni.com

Scott Lyons
Manager, Print Publicity
(818) 777-0523
Scott.Lyons.@nbcuni.com

Source: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

CONTACT: Michelle Slavich, Vice President, Publicity, +1-818-777-5344,
Michelle.slavich@nbcuni.com, or Kelly Castell, Manager, Broadcast Publicity,
+1-818-777-0549, Kelly.castell@nbcuni.com, or Nicole Canizales, Manager,
Online Publicity, +1-818-777-0115, Nicole.canizales@nbcuni.com, or Scott
Lyons, Manager, Print Publicity, +1-818-777-0523, Scott.Lyons.@nbcuni.com, all
of Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Web Site: http://www.kids.yahoo.com/Beethoven
http://www.universalstudios.com/
http://www.ushepublicity.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For artwork, please log on to our website at www.ushepublicity.com

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