$90 million slam dunk event of the year ready to score in the video market.

BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 7, 1997--

"Space Jam" launches into orbit March 11

"Wild! Wacky! Jubilant! Adults, teenagers, boys, girls will

enjoy `Space Jam'" (a)

Megastar Michael Jordan, teamed with Bugs Bunny and friends, shoots to please kids of all ages when "Space Jam" rockets to video March 11 from Warner Home Video (WHV), a Time Warner Entertainment Co.

"Space Jam," produced by Ivan Reitman ("Ghostbusters," "Twins"), is "an ingenious blend of live-action comedy and cutting edge animation." (b) The story begins with Bugs Bunny, the world's favorite cartoon character, and his Looney Tunes cohorts in a real jam.

The Nerdlucks, a grouchy gang of tiny space creatures, have been dispatched to Earth by their ruthless boss, Swackhammer (voice by Danny DeVito) to kidnap and export the Looney Tunes to the Nerdlucks' boring planet to save Moron Mountain, Swackhammer's failing theme park. Bugs suggests a winner-take-all basketball game, unaware that the aliens are secretly armed with the ability to "absorb" talent (and height) from Earth's top basketball players.

The Looney Tunes capture their own secret weapon, Jordan, and transport him to Looney Tunes Land to play in the big game. Can the motley crew of Jordan and the Tune Squad fight off the Monstars on the court and ensure their futures on Earth? Anything is possible in "Space Jam"'s comic land of imagination.

Jordan, widely considered to be the greatest basketball player in history, plays himself in "Space Jam." Bugs Bunny has been featured in more than 175 animated shorts, starred in numerous full-length television specials and received an Academy Award (c) and three Oscar (c) nominations.

Joined in the cast are Bill Murray ("Groundhog Day," "Ghostbusters"), Wayne Knight ("Seinfeld") and NBA stars Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Muggsey Bogues, Larry Johnson and Shawn Bradley.

In addition to box-office success, the "Space Jam" soundtrack soared to the top of the music charts and has remained high on Billboard's charts for the past seven weeks. R. Kelly's hit single, "I Believe I Can Fly," has been on the Billboard's Hot 100 list for the past five weeks as well.

"Space Jam" is packaged with a special commemorative collector's coin inside each specially marked video cassette, while supplies last.

Warner Bros. Presents an Ivan Reitman/David Falk/Ken Ross Production, distributed by Warner Bros. Family entertainment. The film has a running time of 88 minutes, an MPAA rating of "PG" and is close-captioned for the hearing impaired (Catalogue No. 16400 and Catalogue No. 6531, Spanish subtitled). A widescreen laserdisc version will be available this spring in AC-3 Digital Surround, Catalogue No. 16400. -0- (a) Gene Shalit, "The Today Show," NBC-TV (b) Amy Dawes, The Los Angeles Times (c) "Oscar" and "Academy Award" are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS)