Disney Channel Unveils Original Movie Slate for Holiday Season.

Entertainment Editors

BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 12, 2000

Holiday Lineup to Include "Phantom of the Megaplex,"

"The Ultimate Christmas Present" and "Zenon: The Zequel"

Disney Channel, the leader in television for kids and families, has green-lit three new original movies, "Phantom of the Megaplex," "The Ultimate Christmas Present" and "Zenon: The Zequel," a sequel to "Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century," one of Disney Channel's most popular original movies to date.

"Phantom of the Megaplex" will begin production in July and premiere in November; "The Ultimate Christmas Present" will begin production in July and premiere in December; and "Zenon: The Zequel" will begin production in September and premiere in January 2001.

"`Phantom of the Megaplex,' `The Ultimate Christmas Present' and `Zenon: The Zequel' will make wonderful additions to our Disney Channel original-movie franchise. We are excited to finish 2000 with two movies full of action and adventure and kick off 2001 with our first movie sequel," said Gary Marsh, executive vice president, original programming.

The new movies join the monthly original-movie showcase for 2000, which currently includes "Ready to Run," premiering July 14, starring Krissy Perez, Nestor Serrano and Theresa Saldana with the voices of Paul Rodriguez and Sinbad, and directed by Duwayne Dunham; "Quints," premiering Aug. 18, starring Kimberly J. Brown ("Halloweentown," "Tumbleweeds") and directed by Bill Corcoran; "The Other Me," a live- action comedy for back-to-school premiere on Sept. 8, starring Andy Lawrence ("Horse Sense," "Brotherly Love") and directed by Manny Coto; and, in honor of Halloween, "Mom's Got a Date With a Vampire," premiering in October, starring Caroline Rhea ("Sabrina the Teenage Witch"), Charles Shaughnessy ("The Nanny") and Robert Carradine ("Revenge of the Nerds") and directed by Steve Boyum.

"Phantom of the Megaplex" follows one night in the life of 16-year-old Peter Riley, a teen-ager proud of his job at the local 26-screen megaplex. Tonight, the monstrous theater will play host to its first premiere gala, and everything is perfect until a string of peculiar occurrences awakens the myth of the Phantom. Peter finds himself in the middle of the melee, eventually unmasking the marauder and returning the theater to normal.

"Phantom of the Megaplex," written by Stu Krieger, is being executive-produced by Jack Grossbart and Joan Barnett, and will be directed by Blair Treu. The film is produced by Grossbart/Barnett Productions Inc. in association with Disney Channel.

In "The Ultimate Christmas Present," Allie Thompson, an adventurous, fun-loving 12-year-old, will do anything to get out of a homework assignment, especially since her entire Los Angeles hometown is engrossed in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season!

On their way home from school one day, Allie and her best friend, Sam, happen upon a discarded contraption and discover that it is actually a weather-making machine. The mischievous duo decide to use the mysterious device to make it snow; if school is closed, they certainly won't have to turn in their homework assignment.

To the girls' delight, the machine actually works, and the city is magically transformed into a winter wonderland. However, their good-natured prank turns sour when the contraption falls into the hands of the town's conniving weather reporter, who is determined to use the weather-maker for his own evil purposes, with disastrous results.

Suddenly, Allie and Sam find themselves in a race against time as they team up with Santa Claus and attempt to save Christmas by recovering the machine and returning the town to normal.

Cetus-Lupeedus! Zenon and Nebula are up to their old tricks again in "Zenon: The Zequel." After a purely innocent accident of gigantic proportions, Commander Plank assigns Zenon to the most boring job in the world -- working in the Alien Patrol room. It's hysteria major because aliens never ever contact them. Or do they? With a limited amount of time and gigantic task at hand, this stellar sequel finds Zenon on a mission to help out some homeless aliens.

Disney Channel, combining original series, movies and specials with timeless classics, is the first general-entertainment television network designed for kids and families. Disney Channel is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co.