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

May 23, 2003

VEGAS.com's CineVegas International Film Festival Line-Up Announced
* First Look Pictures' Horror Film "OCTANE" Opens Festival
* World Premiere of Blockbuster's Crime Drama "SHADE" and Wayne Ewing's "BREAKFAST WITH HUNTER" to Screen on Closing Weekend

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Las Vegas, NV (May 22nd, 2003) - Trevor Groth, Director of Programming, announced the line-up for the 5th Annual VEGAS.com's CineVegas International Film Festival, the Opening Night film, Closing Night film and 8 new films for the Jackpot World Premieres selection. The festival kicks off on June 13th and continues through June 21st at the Brenden Theatres located inside The Palms Casino Resort. Premiere sponsors VEGAS.com, Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas Events, Greenspun Media Group and Brenden Theatres will sponsor the entire festival.

CineVegas' Opening Night screening will feature the world premiere of First Look Pictures' "Octane." The film is directed by Marcus Adams and stars Madeline Stowe, Mischa Barton, Norman Reedus, Bijou Phillips and Johnathan Rhys-Meyers." Octane" stars Stowe as a mother who must save her daughter from a bloodthirsty cult.

The World Premieres of crime drama "Shade" and the highly anticipated documentary "Breakfast With Hunter" will be the Closing Weekend Films at the festival on June 21st.

Blockbuster's "Shade" stars Sylvester Stallone, Melanie Griffith, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Stuart Townsend and Jamie Fox. Written and directed by Damian Nieman, the film is set in the world of underground poker games and martini bars in Los Angeles.

Infamous outlaw journalist Dr. Hunter S. Thompson will make a return to Vegas with the World Premiere of the documentary "Breakfast With Hunter". Directed by Emmy-nominated Wayne Ewing, the film chronicles Thompson's political career interwoven with his struggle to bring his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to life as a feature film. Spanning 20 years, footage includes Johnny Depp, Benicio De Toro, John Cusack, Warren Zevon, artist Ralph Steadman and fellow journalists George Plimpton and P.J. O'Rourke. This will mark Thompson's first overnight return to Las Vegas since he wrote Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the 1970's.

VEGAS.com's CineVegas presents an incredible selection of Independent Films, World Premieres, and morning conferences with New York Times' Film Critic, Elvis Mitchell and other celebrated screenwriters and directors. Festival will also host evening cocktail parties, nine nights of sponsor events at some of the hottest Las Vegas venues and a one-of-a-kind poolside Opening Night at The Palms Casino Resort. The festival's panels and jurors will be announced shortly.

A total of 85 films including 12 World Premieres representing 8 countries will screen at the festival.

"Now in my second year at CineVegas, I am hoping to build on the success of last year with a terrific slate of incredibly diverse and fascinating films. I am excited to be able to present so many world premieres of such terrific films," said Trevor Groth. "And I am equally thrilled to be back at The Palms for round two in what should prove to be a monumental year for CineVegas. I think after this festival, people will have a good idea of what we're all about - cool films and unforgettable parties."

The 2003 CineVegas International Film Festival will be comprised of the following sections:

JACKPOT WORLD PREMIERES
World premiere films without U.S. distribution. Screenings occur throughout the festival.

· "Break a Leg"
Director: Monika Mitchell
Cast: John Cassini, Jennifer Beals, Molly Parker, Kevin Corrigan, Sandra Oh
An actor, perennially on the verge of making it, takes matters into his own hands. A tragic portrayal of the classic anti-hero who will sink as low as he must to get to the top

· "Breakfast With Hunter" (Documentary)
Director: Wayne Ewing
Featuring appearances by: Johnny Depp, John Cusack, Benicio Del Toro, Ralph Steadman, P.J. O'Rourke and George Plimpton.
A documentary on the infamous outlaw journalist, Dr.Hunter S. Thompson. An intimate look at the real-life trials and triumphs of the self-described "most elderly dope fiend in America" who created his own genre of writing- gonzo journalism- and changed the nature of American journalism forever.

· "Dallas 362"
Director: Scott Caan
Cast: Scott Caan, Shawn Hatosy, Jeff Goldblum, Kelly Lynch, Selma Blair, Heavy D
The story of two inseparable friends living their days and nights in the fast lane of Los Angeles, going from one day to the next, and one bar brawl after another, they happily find themselves in the middle of trouble… until they get in over their heads.

· "The Fittest"
Directors: Jeff and Josh Crook
An unflinching look at the fragility and insecurity of the human animal. Presenting the dynamics between couples, friends and co-workers as a case study in evolution, a man seeks self-worth by having an affair with his boss' girlfriend, but his plan backfires.

· "Games People Play"
Director: James Ronald Whitney
Just when you thought the whole reality craze could go no further, comes GAMES PEOPLE PLAY, an extremely explicit and graphic reality game show where the contestants bare their skin and their souls.

· "Lady Killers"
Director: Gary Preisler
Cast: Will Friedle, Chris Owen, Louise Lasser, Renee Taylor
A comedy about two twenty-something gold-digging men who scheme to marry elderly sisters in order to inherit their estate, but they soon find out they've messed with the wrong broads.

· "Private Property"
Director: Elizabeth Dimon
Cast: Mirjana Jokovic, David Thornton, Tomas Arana
Music: Cindy Lauper
A psychological thriller about the relationship between predators and prey in the human struggle to survive. Isolated on a remote lighthouse island, four people find themselves in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

· "This Girls Life"
Director: Ash
Cast: Juliette Marquis, James Woods, Rosario Dawson, Kip Pardue
A captivating and intimate portrait of an international porn star as she muses on life, love and loss.

SURE BETS
Advanced screenings of high profile films, both narratives and documentaries, with U.S. distribution in place.

· "Garage Days" (Australia) Fox Searchlight
Director: Alex Proyas
Cast: Kick Gurry, Maya Stange, Pia Miranda, Russel Dykstra, Brett Stiller
The story of a garage band in Sydney, Australia trying to make it big.

· "Keep Your Eyes Open" (Documentary) Artisan
Director: Tamra Davis
Cast: Sunny Garcia. Matt Hoffman, Mike D., Spike Jonze
A documentary about the best extreme sports athletes in the world.

· "The Magdalene Sisters" (UK) Miramax
Director: Peter Mullan
Cast: Geraldine McEwan, Anne-Marie Duff, Nora-Jane Noone, Dorothy Duffy
A true story about women in Ireland unjustly committed to a sisterhood asylum to atone for their perceived sins.

· "Octane" - (World Premiere) First Look Pictures
Director: Marcus Adams
Cast: Madeline Stowe, Mischa Barton, Norman Reedus, Bijou Phillips, Johnathan Rhys-Meyers.
A mother must save her daughter from a bloodthirsty cult.

· "Once Upon a Time in the Midlands" (UK) Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Shane Meadows
Cast: Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Kathy Burke, Shirley Henderson
A spaghetti Western set in working class England.

· "Owning Mahowny" Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Richard Kwietniowski
Cast: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, John Hurt
A true story about a mild mannered banker who is addicted to gambling and scams the bank out of millions to enable his addiction.

· "Shade" (World Premiere) Blockbuster
Director: Damian Nieman
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Melanie Griffith, Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Stuart Townsend, Jamie Foxx
Set in the world of underground poker games and martini bars in Los Angeles, it follows a group of savvy grifters and card sharks.

· "Sweet Sixteen" (UK) Lion's Gate
Director: Ken Loach
Cast: Martin Compston, Annmarie Fulton
Determined to have a normal life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise money for a home.

· "Together" (China) UA
Director: Chen Kaige
Cast: Yun Tang, Peiqi Liu
A loving father pushed his son to become a master violinist.

· "Whale Rider" (New Zealand) Newmarket
Director: Niki Caro
Cast: Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rawiri Paratene
A young girl goes against tradition in search of her destiny.

DIAMOND DISCOVERIES
Highlights of the best new Independent films seeking distribution, both narratives and documentaries from some of the country's most promising independent filmmakers.

· "Assisted Living"
Director: Elliot Greenebaum
Cast: Michael Bonsignore, Maggie Rily
A day in the life of a janitor in an assisted living facility.

· "The Beat"
Director: Brandon Sonnier
Cast: Rahman Jamaal, Kazz Wingate IV
In a split narrative a young man follows two paths: his fathers dream of him becoming a cop, and his own dream of becoming a rapper.

· "The Day My God Died" (Documentary)
Director: Andrew Levine
Narration: Tim Robbins, Winona Ryder
On the illegal sex slave business in Nepal.

· "Jon E. Edwards Is In Love" (Documentary)
Directors: Chris Bradley & Kyle La Brache
On a singer struggling to make it in the business and life as he cares for his sick mother.

· "Klepto"
Director: Thomas Trail
Cast: Meredith Bishop, Jsu Garcia, Henry Czerny
About a young woman driven by a desire to steal and a security guard who becomes obsessed with her.

· "Last Man Running"
Director: Damon Santostefano
Cast: Rick Gomez, Joshua Gomez
An actor drops everything to pursue his dream of becoming a demolition derby driver.

· "Put the Camera on Me" (Documentary)
Directors: Darren Stein, Adam Shell
A filmmaker's home movies are compiled into a fascinating portrait of - childhood, family and artistic passion.

· "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (Documentary)
Directors: Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Brian
On the coup and reinstatement of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez

· "The Road Home"
Director: Drew Johnson
Cast: Drew Johnson, Corinna Harney-Jones, Wilford Brimley
A baseball player longs to be with his childhood sweetheart.

· "Sam and Joe"
Director: Jason Ruscio
Cast: Petra Wright, Michael T. Ringer
A tragedy about a woman who must choose between the father of her child or a new love.

REEL SPORTS
This new added section is a collection of films fusing America's two favorite pastimes - movies and sports. These documentaries humanize athletes and demonstrate the extreme impact sports have on our society.

· "4th and Life"
Director: Simeon Soffer
Narration: Burt Reynolds
About a prison football program in Louisiana's Angola State Penitentiary

· "The Dance"
Director: John Darling Haynes
About a volunteer boxing coach in a state prison for 44 years, whose successful protégé is a contender for the heavyweight boxing championship.

· "Something to Cheer About"
Director: Betsy Blankenbaker
About the first all black high school basketball team to win a state championship and that produced some of the greatest basketball players of all time including Oscar Robertson.

· "Year of the Bull"
Director: Todd Lubin
Follows the highs and lows of a high school football program in Miami over the course of a year.

AREA 52
A bizarre and freakish collection of cult and midnight movies for the most hardcore movie fans.

· "Animal Charm: Wet and Reckless"
Creators: Rich Bott and Jim Fetterly
Culling from a huge library of found educational and institutional videos from thrift stores and dumpsters of production companies, DJ video pirates Animal Charm, re-edit and destroy the images to show their true meaning below the warped surface.

· "Daddy Cool"
Director: Brady Lewis
Cast: Streeter Nelson, Larry John Meyeres, John Amplas
An homage to 50's horror films about a woman who sees visions in her television and her therapist who happens to be a werewolf.

· "Nightstalker"
Director: Chris Fisher
Cast: Roselyn Sanchez, Bret Roberts, Danny Trejo
A fictional account of the real-life serial killer Richard Ramirez a.k.a. The Nightstalker who terrorized Los Angeles in the 80's.

NEVADA FILMMAKING SHOWCASE
A varied collection of films displaying the immense talent working in the state of Nevada.

· "Holi-Days" (Documentary)
Director: Randi Steinberger
About the contemporary traveler, documenting three major destinations: Jerusalem, Florence and Las Vegas.

· "Stuey"
Director: A.W. Vidmer
Cast: Michael Imperioli, Renee Faia, Michael Nouri
Based on the true story of the rise and fall of poker legend Stu "The Kid" Ungar.

· Nevada Shorts Program
A collection of shorts made in Nevada.

· UNLV Shorts Program
A collection of shorts made by UNLV film students.

SHORTS PROGRAMS
These short films, combined to make a feature-length programs, embody the truly creative nature of independent filmmaking. Fueled by artistic expression, they transcend boundaries and challenge the conventions of traditional storytelling.

· Badger Director: Rajshree Ojha

· Bobbycrush Director: Cam Archer

· Branson: Musicland USA Director: Peter Sillen

· Cheap Ludes (The Netherlands) Directors: Jeroen Mol, John Doornik

· El Elegante Director: Vince Di Meglio

· Firepussy Director: Laurel Almerinda

· Float Director: Heide Solbrig

· Gas Up and Save Director: Anne Paas

· Jeff Farnsworth Director: Paul Cotter

· Jer-Z Knights Director: Dale May

· Kid Bang Director: Kiran Ramchandran

· N Judah 5:30 Director: Sam Green

· Nosferatu L.A. '02 Director: Greg Booker

· Out of Our Hands Director: Cheryl Slean

· Promise Land (UK) Director: Gili Dolev

· Strange and Charmed Director: Shari Frilot

· Terminal Bar Director: Stefan Nadelman

· The King and Dick Director: Scott Calonico

· Trick Pony Trilogy Director: Ben Coonley

A TRIP DOWN THE STRIP
A side bar of films that collectively offer a bizarre journey through the last four decades of Las Vegas.

· "Bunny Yeager's Nude Las Vegas" (1964)
Director: Barry Mahon
A fictional account of Bunny Yeager's, famous for her photographs of Bettie Paige, trip to Vegas with her husband to take nude photos of showgirls.

· "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998)
Director: Terry Gilliam
Cast: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro
Adapted from the novel by Hunter S. Thompson, it recounts a journalist's drug induced trip to Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race.

· "Queen of Diamonds" (1991)
Director: Nina Menkes
Cast: Tinka Menkes
About the desolation of daytime Las Vegas through an intense, deeply damaged blackjack dealer.

Since it's inception in 1998, VEGAS.com's CineVegas has celebrated many milestones including the world premieres of such films as Paramount Pictures' "Star Trek: Insurrection," "Spun," "Poolhall Junkies," and "Bubba Hotep" and screenings of other great films such as "Shadow of the Vampire," "Gods and Monsters," "Little Voice," "Cider House Rules," "Sunshine State," "Tadpole," "Face" and "No News From God." Dustin Hoffman, Quentin Tarantino, Tony Curtis, Mark Rydell, Lynn Redgrave, Rod Steiger, Mary Stuart Masterson, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Rosenbaum, Anson Mount, Sydney Pollack, Danny Glover, Elliot Gould, Bai Ling, Michael Caine, Brett Ratner, Robert Forster, Jerry Molen, John Ritter, Bruce Campbell and Alexis Arquette are just a few of the celebrities and executives to grace our events.

The Entertainment Development Corporation (EDC) of Las Vegas, producers of CineVegas, is a private, membership-based non-profit organization, which works to promote film and television production through education and events like VEGAS.com's CineVegas International Film Festival.

For more information about CineVegas or to purchase tickets visit www.cinevegas.com or call
702-368-2890 or 1-888-8VEGAS8.

For press info please contact: dominion3 public relations (323) 466-3393