``Stage Beauty,'' Starring Billy Crudup, Claire Danes and Rupert Everett Chosen as Closing Night Premiere at 2004 Tribeca Film Festival.

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2004

Tribeca Film Festival co-founders Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff announced today that Lions Gate Films' STAGE BEAUTY, starring Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, and Rupert Everett will be the closing night world premiere for the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express.

The star-studded gala premiere will take place on May 8, 2004, at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center with cast and filmmakers in attendance.

"Stage Beauty" takes place in 1660s London where Edward "Ned" Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is England's most celebrated leading lady. Women are forbidden to appear on stage and Ned profits, using his beauty and skill to make the great female roles his own. But King Charles II (Rupert Everett), prodded by his saucy, stage-struck mistress Nell Gwynn (Zoe Tapper), overturns the ban on actresses and prohibits men from playing female roles. This is good news for Maria (Claire Danes), Kynaston's lovelorn young dresser who has been secretly performing at a seedy tavern; but it is bad news for Ned who practically overnight plummets from his exalted position as one of London's most desirable females to become a virtual nobody. Cast out of the spotlight, Ned seems headed for burlesque obscurity until Maria, now a rising star, takes it upon herself to make a man of him again.

Scheduled for release in October, "Stage Beauty" is directed by Richard Eyre and written by Jeffrey Hatcher, based on his stage play. Also starring in the film are Ben Chaplin, Tom Wilkinson, Richard Griffiths, and Zoe Tapper. The film was produced by Robert De Niro, Hardy Justice, and Jane Rosenthal with executive producers Richard Eyre, Michael Kuhn, James D. Stern, Rachel Cohen, and Amir Malin.

"I loved Jeffrey Hatcher's play and found it to be very poignant. Richard Eyre has taken the original play and really enhanced it for the screen, and together Richard and Jeffrey have created a very powerful and moving film that I think audiences are going to love," said Jane Rosenthal. "I am very proud to be part of the team bringing it onto the screen and so happy that it can be premiered at Tribeca."

"We are proud to premiere Stage Beauty at Tribeca, which provides the perfect forum for our Company and our film," said Tom Ortenberg, President of Lions Gate Films Releasing. "We are honored that Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and the rest of the Tribeca team have chosen STAGE BEAUTY as their closing film, and we believe that audiences will soon share their enthusiasm and excitement for this poignant, powerful, star-studded beauty of a movie."

The 2004 Festival is scheduled to take place in various locations throughout lower Manhattan from May 1 through May 9, 2004. This year's Festival will include over 150 screenings as well as panel discussions and filmmaker events. The Family Festival will cover two weekends (May 1-2 and May 8-9), and the popular street fair will be on May 8.

Beginning April 18, American Express Cardmembers can purchase advance tickets to individual film screenings and panel discussions. Individual screening and panel discussion tickets will be available to the public on April 24. American Express Cardmembers can also redeem Membership Rewards(R) points for tickets. For more information on the Tribeca Film Festival and to purchase tickets, the public should visit the Tribeca Film Festival Website at www.tribecafilmfestival.org or call 1-866-941-FEST (3378).

Lions Gate Films, which recently concluded its merger with Artisan Entertainment, has and A-list star-driven slate including, in addition to THE PUNISHER, the contemporary cloning thriller GODSEND, starring two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro, Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos; the futuristic FINAL CUT, starring Academy Award winner Robin Williams, Mira Sorvino and Jim Caviezel; Lars von Trier's DOGVILLE, starring Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman; the urban comedy THE COOKOUT, with Queen Latifah and a strong ensemble cast; the recent Sundance sensation OPEN WATER; and BEYOND THE SEA, a film about the life of legendary singer Bobby Darin, played by Kevin Spacey who also directs. The film also stars Kate Bosworth as Sandra Dee, John Goodman and Bob Hoskins.

Lions Gate recently went into production with FIERCE PEOPLE starring Diane Lane and Donald Sutherland; and HAPPY ENDINGS, which will be directed by Don Roos and will star Lisa Kudrow and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff to celebrate New York City as a major filmmaking capital and to contribute to the long-term recovery of lower Manhattan after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

American Express is the Founding Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival. Part of a multi-year relationship, the sponsorship demonstrates American Express' dedication to the goals of the Festival and the revitalization of lower Manhattan.

The Tribeca Film Festival is excited to announce the return of their signature sponsors: General Motors, who will once again host the Drive-in at Hudson River Park Pier 25, Anheuser Busch, Prada, NBC, Delta Air Lines, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, The New York Times, Bloomberg LLP, Vanity Fair, & Regal Entertainment Cinemas. We are also thrilled to welcome the following new sponsors into the Tribeca Film Festival family: South Africa, Sony Electronics, & Turning Leaf Vineyards.

For press inquiries regarding the Tribeca Film Festival, please contact Ashley Schiff at 212-843-8069 or Jeff Easlick at 212-843-9376. For information about media credentials, please contact Richard Pendrick at 212-843-9390 or email your request to [e-mail]