HOLIDAY MALL TRANSFORMATION
Released: 09/22/05
CONTACT: Nina Mahoney
Marketing Director
International Plaza
813-342-3780
nmahoney@taubman.com
Karen MacDonald
Director,Communications
Taubman Centers, Inc.
248-258-7469
kmacdonald@taubman.com
Dennis Rice
Senior Vice President, Publicity
Buena Vista Pictures Marketing
818-560-5610
dennis.rice@disney.com
Judith Doherty
Director, Communications
Eastman Kodak Entertainment Imaging
323-468-2131
judith.doherty@kodak.com
Joe Cohen
Becker Group
c/o MWW Group
201-964-2443
jcohen@mww.com
TAUBMAN SHOPPING CENTERS ANNOUNCES HOLIDAY MALL TRANSFORMATION BASED UPON CHARACTERS AND SCENES FROM WALT DISNEY PICTURES AND WALDEN MEDIA'S UPCOMING FILM THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE
International Plaza is one of 11 Taubman shopping centers to feature the holiday experience
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich., Sept. 22, 2005 - Taubman Centers Inc., (NYSE: TCO) announced today plans for an innovative promotion surrounding the highly-anticipated theatrical release of Walt Disney Pictures'/Walden Media's The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe this holiday season.
For the first time ever, Taubman shopping centers will bring to life the spectacular classic fantasy adventure through a groundbreaking, interactive experience in 11 Taubman malls across the country. Beginning November 15, families who visit select Taubman shopping centers will have the opportunity to enter an environment showcasing elements of the world created by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media in the film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, leading up to the December 9th release.
Decor will adorn the mall and the unique experience will bring to life key moments from the film through larger than life snow globes. The spectacular holiday set will include a walk-through magic wardrobe that simulates snowfall in Narnia; life-like figures that help tell the story from the film; and a green screen digital photography opportunity. Children will also have the opportunity to have their picture taken with Santa Claus and receive a special Narnia themed photo snow globe gift from Kodak.
"We are so excited to be working with Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media to bring this classic story to life for families across the country this holiday season," said David Goldberg, Taubman vice president sponsorship and marketing. "This experience will be different than any other and will create holiday memories that will last a lifetime."
The experience was designed and produced by the Becker Group. "We are thrilled to be working with the Taubman Centers and Buena Vista Pictures Marketing to create an immersive experience that both transforms the centers into a magical holiday destination and brings the film to life in such a unique way," stated Glenn Tilley, President of the Becker Group.
Oren Aviv, President of Buena Vista Pictures Marketing, added, "'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' is shaping up to be the family film event of the holiday season, and the mall displays at Taubman shopping centers in 11 cities are the perfect way to share the fun, fantasy and excitement with moviegoers and mallgoers across the country. This unprecedented and colorful mall experience captures the spirit and imagination of the C. S. Lewis books as well as our ambitious big screen adaptation, and it's also a great way for millions of visitors to get into the joy of the season. Disney is thrilled to be working with Walden Media, director Andrew Adamson, and Academy Award winning producer Mark Johnson in bringing the rich characters and storytelling legacy of 'Narnia' to theaters this December, and we know that mallgoers will enjoy this very special event."
Admission is free to The Narnia holiday experience. Participating centers include:
*Beverly Center- Los Angeles, CA
*The Mall at Short Hills- Short Hills, NJ
*Dolphin Mall- Miami, FL
*Fair Oaks- Fairfax, VA
*The Shops at Willow Bend- Plano, TX
*Cherry Creek- Denver, CO
*International Plaza- Tampa, FL
*Northlake Mall- Charlotte, NC
*Westfarms- Hartford, CT
*MacArthur Center- Norfolk, VA
*The Mall at Wellington Green- Wellington, FL
Attendees to the experience will also have a chance to enter a Kodak sponsored multi-faceted sweepstakes promotion for each of the 11 Taubman malls including:
*(2) Round trip all expense paid trips to the film's World Premiere in London
*Kodak EasyShare digital cameras, printer docks, memory cards, photo books and coupons
*Free movie tickets to the Chronicles of Narnia
"Kodak is about story telling and sharing memories, and we are thrilled to partner with Disney and Taubman to raise awareness for the nationwide release of such an exciting motion picture as The Chronicles of Narnia," said Liz Crisafi, Kodak's Director of Studio Initiatives. "In fact, The Chronicles of Narnia was shot and printed on Kodak film, so this promotion is a great fit that covers many parts of our business."
About Taubman Centers
Taubman Centers Inc., a real estate investment trust, currently owns and/or manages 23 shopping centers nationwide. Taubman Centers is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. For more information visit www.taubman.com.
International Plaza & Bay Street at the Plaza, an enclosed, two-story regional shopping center with an adjacent outdoor lifestyle center, is located on the southeast edge of the Tampa International Airport. It features nearly 200 specialty stores and 15 restaurants, plus Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Dillard's, Robb & Stucky Interiors and Renaissance Tampa Hotel International Plaza. Shopping hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Restaurant hours vary. For additional information and photos, log on to www.shopinternationalplaza.com.
About Becker Group
The Becker Group has over fifty years of experience creating immersive, entertaining attractions and brand based experiences for a wide variety of clients and venues including shopping malls, consumer brands, movie studios, television networks, theme parks, museums and casinos around the globe. The award-winning experiential marketing company is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland and has offices in Los Angeles, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Miami, Barcelona, Spain and San Paulo, Brazil. For more information visit www.BeckerGroup.com.
About Walt Disney Company
About The Walt Disney Studios
The Walt Disney Studios is a unit of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) and distributes motion pictures under Walt Disney Pictures - which includes Walt Disney Feature Animation and DisneyToon Studios - Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax Films. Buena Vista International serves as the studio's international distribution arm. Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Home Entertainment International together distribute Disney and other film titles to the rental and sell-through home entertainment markets worldwide. Buena Vista Theatrical Productions is one of the largest producers of Broadway musicals, and the Buena Vista Music Group distributes original music and motion picture soundtracks under its four record labels: Walt Disney Records, Buena Vista Records, Hollywood Records and Lyric Street Records.
About Walden Media LLC
Founded by Cary Granat, former president of Miramax Films' Dimension label, and education reformer Micheal Flaherty, Walden Media, a subsidiary of AFG, specializes in entertainment that sparks the imagination and curiosity of kids and provides parents and teachers with materials to continue the learning process. In association with The Walt Disney Company, Walden Media is producing the first live-action feature film adaptations of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, beginning with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Directed by Academy Award winner Andrew Adamson (Shrek 2), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will open in theatres December 9, 2005. Walden Media has also partnered with Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies to produce the live action / photo real CG animation adaptation of E.B. White's beloved classic Charlotte's Web. In partnership with New Line Cinema, Walden Media is adapting two popular children's books for the big screen: Hoot, based on Carl Hiaasen's perennial New York Times bestseller, and How to Eat Fried Worm, a feature film adaptation of Thomas Rockwell's hugely popular young adult book.
About Eastman Kodak Company
Kodak is the leader in helping people take, share, print and view images - for memories, for information, for business, and for entertainment. With sales of $13.5 billion in 2004, the company is committed to a digitally oriented growth strategy focused on four businesses: Digital & Film Imaging Systems - providing consumers, professionals and cinematographers with digital and traditional products and services; Health - supplying the medical and dental professions with traditional and digital imaging and information systems, IT solutions and services; Graphic Communications - providing customers with a range of solutions for prepress, traditional and digital printing, and document scanning and multi-vendor IT services; and Display & Components - supplying original equipment manufacturers with imaging sensors as well as intellectual property and materials for the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and LCD display industries. More information about Kodak (NYSE: EK) is available at www.kodak.com.
About The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis' timeless adventure THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE follows the exploits of the four Pevensie siblings -- Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter -- in World War II England who enter the world of Narnia through a magical wardrobe while playing a game of 'hide-and-seek' in the rural country home of an elderly professor. Once there, the children discover a charming, peaceful land inhabited by talking beasts, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs and giants that has become a world cursed to eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Under the guidance of a noble and mystical ruler, the lion Aslan, the children fight to overcome the White Witch's powerful hold over Narnia in a spectacular, climactic battle that will free Narnia from Jadis' icy spell forever.
The film marks the first live-action directorial effort for New Zealander Andrew Adamson (the Oscar-winning "Shrek," "Shrek 2"), who also co-wrote the screenplay adaptation with Emmy Award-winner Ann Peacock (HBO's "A Lesson Before Dying") and scribes Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. The film is produced by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Mark Johnson and Philip Steuer.
To bring his dazzling vision to the screen, Adamson has secured the talents of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Donald M. McAlpine, ASC, ACS, Oscar-nominated production designer Roger Ford, seasoned costume designer Isis Mussenden, film editors Sim Evan-Jones and Jim May and composer Harry Gregson-Williams.