HBO and Time Warner Cable Hosted the World Premiere of the HBO Sports Documentary 'THE BATTLE FOR TOBACCO ROAD: DUKE VS. CAROLINA' on Sunday, February 8 at The Carolina Theatre

HBO and Time Warner Cable Hosted the World Premiere of the HBO Sports Documentary 'THE BATTLE FOR TOBACCO ROAD: DUKE VS. CAROLINA' on Sunday, February 8 at The Carolina Theatre

Special guests included several subjects from film, HBO Sports President, Ross Greenburg, and the film's Producer, George Roy

ATLANTA, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- According to 2007-08 UNC General Alumni Association and Duke Alumni Association data respectively, there are nearly 7,000 UNC and 3,000 Duke alumni residing in South Carolina who will likely be riveted by this documentary. It wasn't the ACC Tournament nor the NCAA Final Four, yet The Carolina Theatre was no less electric as Duke and UNC alumni, students and fans gathered to view an HBO Sports Documentary about the history of their rivalry-arguably one of the fiercest and most widely followed in college basketball history. HBO and Time Warner Cable hosted the invitation-only, world premiere of THE BATTLE FOR TOBACCO ROAD: DUKE VS. CAROLINA on Sunday, February 8 at 4:30 p.m. at The Carolina Theatre. Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports, along with producer George Roy and several subjects interviewed in the film were present-along with more than 1,500 Duke and Carolina cohorts.

Tracing the history of the rivalry, as well as examining the different cultures and characteristics of the programs in Durham and Chapel Hill, the special debuts MONDAY, FEB. 23 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

The 60-minute documentary examines the storied 88-year basketball rivalry between Duke and North Carolina, two intensely competitive universities located a mere eight miles apart in North Carolina. Both are among the four winningest programs in the sport's history, with seven NCAA titles and 31 Final Four appearances between them.

"This film explores how a cross-town rivalry between two prestigious academic universities in North Carolina has escalated into one of the most scrutinized and intense rivalries in college sports," said Greenburg. "The regular season showdowns and the ACC Tournament meetings between these two schools have become national events, and we'll explore how it all started and what it means to have played in one of these contests."

Remarkably, since the NCAA Tournament expanded to its current configuration in 1985, these two schools alone have combined for more national titles (five) and made more Final Four appearances (18), than any other entire conference.

Many of the most memorable Duke-UNC games and personalities are recounted in the film, both in images and words. As is revealed, basketball was something of an afterthought in North Carolina until the 1950s, when both Duke and North Carolina had to play catch-up with North Carolina State, which had de-emphasized its football program to concentrate on basketball. Over two dozen players, coaches and fans provide insights and commentary for the film. The high-profile list of interviewees from the Blue Devils and Tar Heels weighing in on the intense rivalry includes Hall of Fame coaches Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski, and all-time great players Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Charlie Scott, Grant Hill, Johnny Dawkins and Christian Laettner.

The executive producers of THE BATTLE FOR TOBACCO ROAD: DUKE VS. CAROLINA are Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein. HBO Sports President Greenburg has won more than 75 TV sports awards including 7 Peabody(R) Awards and 37 sports Emmy(R) Awards. The film's producer George Roy, six-time Emmy Award winner and three-time Peabody winner, completed his 18th film for HBO, "Michigan vs. Ohio State: THE RIVALRY" chronicles college football's greatest rivalry, and served as the impetus for THE BATTLE FOR TOBACCO ROAD: DUKE VS. CAROLINA.

Source: HBO

CONTACT: Valerie Harris for HBO, +1-770.864.1059, +1-404-966-2445
(cell), valerie@kinseygrouppr.com

Web Site: http://www.hbo.com/

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