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Renowned Film Director Paul W.S. Anderson to Keynote Inaugural Hollywood and Games Summit

Director, Producer and Writer of Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Alien vs. Predator and Castlevania to Share Secrets of Success for Creating Films From Videogames

Director, Producer and Writer of Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Alien vs. Predator and Castlevania to Share Secrets of Success for Creating Films From Videogames

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SAN FRANCISCO, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hollywood and Games Summit, a collaboration between the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and The Hollywood Reporter, is pleased to announce Paul W.S. Anderson as the event's keynote. With a track record of several No. 1 box-office films adapted from games, Anderson's experiences as a director, producer and writer make him a uniquely credible creative authority on the collaboration of film and games. The keynote will take place on June 27, 2006, at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Titled "Pressing the Right Buttons: How to Successfully Blend Game and Film," Anderson's address will profile his experience directing such hits as Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil and Alien vs. Predator, all of which debuted No. 1 at the box office. He will also discuss his vision for each of these films and explain his uncanny ability to create critically and financially successful films while drawing from and preserving the integrity of the original videogame inspiration.

"Anderson's uncanny ability to translate the fun factor of a game into the x-factor of a film underscores the fact that modern games can be deeply entertaining and involving source material for film, as novels and comics were in the previous century," said Jamil Moledina, executive director, Game Developers Conference. "Anderson's repeated success at game adaptations illustrates how a creative vision can make the difference between a hit and a flop -- making him the perfect guru for the creative and business leaders of both entertainment industries."

"As the first filmmaker to successfully translate a videogame to the cinema, Paul Anderson is a visionary in the most literal sense of the term," said Chris Marlowe, The Hollywood Reporter's editorial director for digital media. "His subsequent achievements prove that filmmakers are inspired by great stories and great characters wherever they happen to find them."

Anderson has been working on projects based on videogame intellectual property since 1995 when he directed Mortal Kombat, an adaptation of the hit Midway arcade game created by John Tobias and Ed Boon, taking the 3D fighting format to a mysterious island tournament setting. Anderson directed another videogame adaptation in 2002, Resident Evil. The Capcom game originally was directed by Shinji Mikami and was itself inspired by a film, George Romero's 1978 classic Night of the Living Dead. Anderson next helmed the long-awaited film adaptation of a property that came together when writer Chris Warner intertwined films by Ridley Scott and John McTiernan into the breakout hit Dark Horse comic book series Alien vs. Predator. The comic book then became several arcade, handheld, console and PC games.

Anderson's next projects include adapting the wildly successful DOA: Dead or Alive and Castlevania games, two of the most revered franchises in videogames.

The inaugural Hollywood and Games Summit, presented by the CMP Game Group, host of the industry-leading Game Developers Conference, and entertainment trade publication The Hollywood Reporter, will allow top executives to address the increasing collaboration between film and interactive entertainment and the resulting opportunity to improve production methods and business models. The event will take place on June 27, 2006, at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

More information about this keynote and other sessions featured at the Hollywood and Games Summit is available online at www.hollywoodandgames.com. Registration discounts expire May 25, 2006.

About the CMP Game Group (www.cmpgame.com)

A core provider of essential information to the professional game industry, the CMP Game Group offers market-defining content, and drives community through the Game Developers Conference, GDC London, the Serious Games Summit D.C., GDC Mobile, GDC Europe, Game Developer magazine, Gamasutra.com, the Independent Games Festival, the Game Developers Choice Awards, and GDCTV. For more information, please visit www.cmpgame.com.

About CMP Media (www.cmp.com)

Through its market-leading portfolio of trusted information brands in the technology, healthcare and lifestyles industries, CMP Media has earned the confidence of more professionals and enthusiasts in these fields than any other media company. As a result, CMP is the premier provider of access, insight and actionable programs designed to connect sellers and buyers in each of these industries in ways that yield superior return on investment.

About The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter is a must-read for entertainment's most powerful, influential professionals. More than 144,000 key decision makers worldwide rely on the publication for fuel for thought that enables success in a continually evolving business and creative environment. The Hollywood Reporter provides comprehensive coverage of the global entertainment industry with six editions: Daily; Weekly International; Special Issues; E-Mail; THR-East; and its Neal Award-winning Web site -- www.HollywoodReporter.com. The Hollywood Reporter is published by Netherlands-based VNU, the world's largest organization of entertainment-related publications and services.

Source: CMP Game Group