..Gary Dretzka
..Noah Forrest
..Leonard Klady
..R.J. Matson
..David Poland
..Douglas Pratt
..Ray Pride
..Michael Wilmington

May 23, 2006

For Immediate Release:

ANG LEE TO DIRECT LUST, CAUTION
FOR FOCUS FEATURES;
ESPIONAGE THRILLER IS SET IN WWII-ERA SHANGHAI

CANNES, May 23, 2006 - Ang Lee has pacted to make his second consecutive film, following his Academy Award win for directing Brokeback Mountain, with Focus Features. Mr. Lee will next direct Lust, Caution, an espionage thriller set in WWII-era Shanghai. Bill Kong, who previously produced Mr. Lee's hit Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, will produce the new film with the director. Focus Features CEO James Schamus, who will executive-produce Lust, Caution, made the announcement today.

The Chinese-language feature is being scripted by Wang Hui-Ling, who previously co-wrote Mr. Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Lust, Caution is being adapted from a short story by the late Chinese author Eileen Chang. Focus will hold worldwide rights to the film, excluding Asia. Overseas sales and distribution will be handled by Focus Features International. Production is anticipated to begin in the fall.

As writer and producer, Mr. Schamus has collaborated with Mr. Lee on nine feature films. Brokeback Mountain, on which Mr. Schamus served as a producer, won, among other honors, 3 Academy Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards, and 4 BAFTA Awards. The film is Focus' all-time top-grosser, with global ticket sales of over $178 million.

Mr. Kong has produced several films that Focus and/or Focus Features International have released, including Jet Li's Fearless, starring Jet Li and directed by Ronny Yu (which Focus' sibling company Rogue Pictures releases domestically nationwide on August 4th); and Zhang Yimou's Hero and House of Flying Daggers.

Mr. Schamus said, "I'm delighted that Ang is back with all of us here at Focus, and he's going to be making a very exciting film that's unlike anything he's done before. He and I glad to reteam with Bill and Wang again after our great success together on Crouching Tiger. Like that picture, Lust, Caution is a uniquely Asian story which, in Ang's hands, will surprise and attract audiences around the world."

Focus Features (www.focusfeatures.com <http://www.focusfeatures.com>) is a motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company committed to bringing moviegoers the most original stories from the world's most innovative filmmakers.

In addition to Lust, Caution, upcoming Focus Features releases include Woody Allen's Scoop, starring Allen, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Ian McShane; Allen Coulter's Hollywoodland, starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, and Ben Affleck; the untitled film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Tim Robbins and Derek Luke; Shane Acker's animated fantasy epic 9, produced by Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov and Jim Lemley & Dana Ginsburg; Kasi Lemmons' Talk to Me, starring Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor; Henry Selick's stop-motion animated feature Coraline, starring Dakota Fanning; and David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, starring Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts.

Focus Features is 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 and 20%-owned by Vivendi.

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