Artisan Home Entertainment Presents ''PICKING UP THE PIECES''.

Entertainment Editors

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2000

Starring Woody Allen, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Cheech Marin 

David Schwimmer and Keifer Sutherland

In a Comedy that's a Cut above the Rest

Featuring The Craziest Collection of Cameos Seen in Any Film This

Year with Sharon Stone, Fran Drescher, Andy Dick,

Elliott Gould, Eddie Griffin, Kathy Kinney, Lou Diamond Phillips,

Lily Tomlin and Hector Elizondo

AVAILABLE ON VHS RENTAL AND DVD SELL-THROUGH

ON OCTOBER 17, 2000

Artisan Home Entertainment presents "PICKING UP THE PIECES," an outrageous comedy directed by Alfonso Arau ("A Walk in the Clouds"), available on VHS Rental and for purchase on DVD (SRP $24.98) on October 17, 2000 (Rated R, 95 mins.).

Starring Woody Allen ("Mighty Aphrodite"), Maria Grazia Cucinotta ("Il Postino"), Cheech Marin ("Tin Cup"), David Schwimmer ("Friends") and Kiefer Sutherland ("A Few Good Men"), the film provides an irreverent, comic perspective of how a sleepy Mexican town is turned upside down by a mysterious severed hand that begins granting miracles. "PICKING UP THE PIECES" also features the wildest collection of cameo appearances that audiences will see this year including Sharon Stone, Fran Drescher, Andy Dick, Elliott Gould, Eddie Griffin, Kathy Kinney, Lou Diamond Phillips, Lily Tomlin and Hector Elizondo.

The DVD edition is packed with special features that include a ten-question trivia game that reveals otherwise hidden bonus footage when the player scores a correct score of 10. The DVD also includes a director's commentary with Alfonso Arau, a behind-the-scenes featurette, interviews with the cast and director, the theatrical trailer, a photo gallery and interactive motion menus, as well as 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround and a 16 x 9 anamorphic widescreen viewing option.

When a mild-mannered kosher butcher (Allen) discovers his wife (Stone) cheating on him with a number of the men in their small Southwest town, he hacks her to bits and sets out to bury the pieces in the New Mexican countryside. En route, however, one of her hands bounces out of his truck and falls to the roadside, its middle finger extended. When a blind woman later stumbles across it and picks it up, she is amazed to find that her sight is restored. Believing the hand can bring about miracles, another woman prays for a better physique and is suddenly endowed with huge breasts that rip apart the seams of her blouse, making true believers of all who witness the incident.

The women bring the hand to the local priest (Schwimmer) who unlocks himself from the arms of a local prostitute (Cucinotta) long enough to adopt the "Hand of the Virgin" as the church's own miraculous religious icon. Word of the guaranteed miracles travels fast, and soon the town is turned into a bizarre carnival of comically desperate "believers" seeking their own miracles and fortune seekers eager to capitalize on the town's new tourist attraction.

Artisan Entertainment Inc. is a leading independent entertainment company that distributes motion pictures in the home entertainment, theatrical and broadcast and pay television markets. Artisan has an extensive library of over 6,700 titles for which it predominately has U.S. and Canadian home entertainment distribution rights. Artisan's library includes home entertainment rights for event movies such as "Terminator," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," "Dirty Dancing" and the "Rambo" series, as well as classic movies such as "It's a Wonderful Life" and Academy Award winners such as "On Golden Pond," "The Last Emperor" and "The Piano."

Artisan Pictures is an independent producer and distributor of theatrical product. Artisan's recent releases include "The Blair Witch Project," "Stir of Echoes" and "Buena Vista Social Club." Artisan has output agreements with Showtime Networks for domestic pay television as well as output deals with Alliance Atlantis in Canada and UK, Highlight Communications in Germany and Laurenfilms in Spain. Artisan's product is sold in international territories through Summit Entertainment.

Artisan Home Entertainment distributes video product directly to over 12,000 retail stores in the United States from popular brands such as Discovery, Hallmark and its own Family Home Entertainment brand which has released such titles as "Merlin," "Alice in Wonderland," and "The Tales of Beatrix Potter," as well as the award-winning product from The Baby Einstein Company.