Sony Pictures Entertainment's New Family Entertainment Group Taps Five Key Development Executives.

CULVER CITY, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Sept. 10, 1999--

Bob Higgins Elevated To Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs

Stacey Attanasio Named Senior Vice President, Production

Joe D'Ambrosia Named Executive Director, Creative Affairs

Tara Polacik Elevated to Director, Creative Affairs

Grace Benn Named Creative Executive

Sander Schwartz, president of Sony Pictures Entertainment's newest division, the Family Entertainment Group (SPFE), Friday announced the expansion of SPFE's development team with five key executive appointments.

The expansion of the development team reflects SPFE's fast-growing slate of feature films, original productions for television, and direct-to-video distribution.

SPFE will actively pursue acquisitions of modern and classic children's books, video game titles and comic books, in addition to exploring remakes of kid related titles from the Columbia Pictures film library. The Family Entertainment Group will also pursue original and innovative concepts that are consistent with the Sony Pictures Entertainment brand name.

Bob Higgins has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs; Stacey Attanasio has been named Senior Vice President, Production; Joe D'Ambrosia has been named Executive Director of Creative Affairs; Tara Polacik has been promoted to Director, Creative Affairs; and Grace Benn has been named Creative Executive. The appointments mark a major step forward as SPFE builds its development team.

Prior to his new appointment, Higgins has served as Vice President, Creative Affairs, for Columbia TriStar Television Children's Programming (CTTCP). CTTCP has produced 11 series with more than 350 half-hours of syndicated and network programming, shaping Sony Pictures Entertainment into a pre-eminent supplier of quality animated and children's programming.

Higgins will continue to have creative supervision over all television programming development and current production for the division's animated television series. His role will also expand to include the development of features and direct-to-video product, which are targeted to the family audience and aimed at creating character and kid-oriented franchises.

The division currently produces "Godzilla(TM): The Series", which ranked as the No. 1 animated series for fall `98 among boys 6-11, and has been renewed by Fox Kids Network for fall '99. The current slate also includes "Men in Black: The Series" on the Kids' WB!; and "Jumanji" and "Extreme Ghostbusters", airing on Bohbot Kids Network.

For fall '99, the division's programming slate includes three new series. "Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot", premiering on Fox Kids Network, is a 26-episode animated action/adventure series based on the Dark Horse comic book. "Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles", premiering on Bohbot Kids Network, is a 40-episode, 3D CGI animated action/adventure series based on Robert Heinlein's classic novel. "Dragon Tales", a 40-episode, animated pre-school fantasy adventure series co-produced with Children's Television Workshop, will premiere Monday, Sept. 6 as part of PBS's Ready To Learn block.

"Since he assumed the role of vice president, Bob has clearly demonstrated his keen development and management skills, as evidenced by the overwhelming success of our slate of programming," Schwartz said. "With the launch of the new Family Entertainment Group, we look to Bob for even greater success as he continues to attract the most talented individuals in the industry through his strong relationships with the creative community."

Before joining Columbia TriStar Television as director of creative affairs in 1996, Higgins was director of development for Nelvana Communications Inc. At Nelvana, he supervised the development and sale of animated and live-action children's television series, including "Ace Ventura," "Stickin' Around," "The Hardy Boys," "Nancy Drew," "Free Willy," "Tales from the Cryptkeeper," "Little Bear" and "Sam & Max." A graduate of Boston College, Higgins began his entertainment career as a television packaging assistant at Creative Artists Agency Inc.

Stacey Attanasio will serve as Senior Vice President, Production. In her newly created position at SPFE, she will be responsible for live action, animated and CGI feature film development. She will focus on creating product for underserved market segments, including the all-important girl and "tween" audiences. Attanasio will concentrate on developing properties with franchise potential to be utilized across all of SPE's film and TV divisions.

"A solid theatrical film development slate is the next natural step for our new division as SPFE expands its production slate to reach underserved niches of our core family and children's audiences," Schwartz said. "We are pleased to add Stacey to our division. She is a skilled development executive whose talent and proven track record are a welcome complement to our growing development and production team."

Attanasio joins SPFE from The Meyers/Shyer Company, a Burbank, California-based production company she founded with filmmakers Nancy Meyers and Charles Shyer. As Executive Vice President, she was involved in the summer '99 hit "The Parent Trap" and put together Shyer's next film "L'affaire Du Collier." Attanasio joined The Meyers/Shyer Company after serving as Vice President, Motion Pictures, at Savoy Pictures where she oversaw the acquisition, development and production on more than 20 projects, including, "Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio," Before joining Savoy, she served in various theatrical production roles at Warner Bros. and was involved in the development and production of "Batman II," "Free Willy," and "Grumpy Old Men." Attanasio began her career at Creative Artists Agency Inc. as an agent's assistant. She is a graduate of Stanford University.

Joe D'Ambrosia has been named Executive Director of Creative Affairs. In his newly created position, he will work with Attanasio and Higgins on the development of the division's feature film slate.

D'Ambrosia comes to SPFE from Nickelodeon Movies, where he served as Director of Development, and was involved in the overall creative direction of Nickelodeon's feature film division including such hit films as "The Rugrats Movie," "Good Burger," and "Harriet the Spy." He joined Nickelodeon as Assistant to the Senior Vice President of Programming and was promoted to Manager, Nickelodeon Movies and Family Classics, before taking the director's position. D'Ambrosia began his career as a Junior Agent at Triad Artists.

Tara Polacik, who joined the company in 1997 as Manager of Creative Affairs, has been promoted to Director of Creative Affairs. In her new position, she will continue to be involved in the creation, development and direction of the division's animated and live-action programming. During her stint as manager, Polacik was responsible for overseeing the development of "Dragon Tales," a co-production with Children's Television Workshop, premiering this fall on PBS.

Polacik came to SPFE from Nelvana Communications Inc., where she served as Manager, Development, in charge of such popular children's series as "Rolie Polie Olie," and "Franklin."

Grace Benn has been named Creative Executive, responsible for acquiring and developing both feature film and television properties.

Benn comes to SPFE from Columbia Pictures, which she joined as a Creative Assistant in 1995, moving up to Assistant Story Editor in 1996, and Story Editor a year later. She began her career as an actress, appearing in national television commercials, regional theater and feature films.

Sony Pictures Entertainment's (SPE) Family Entertainment Group, established last February and led by Schwartz, produces animation and live-action programming for television and theatrical release around the world. The division will continue to expand SPE's leadership role by developing original content and franchises for its key family and children's audiences. The Family Entertainment Group also will seek to broaden its reach by developing filmed entertainment for underserved niches of its core audience, including the all-important young girl and pre-school audiences. The division's products will be adapted for use across all of SPE's wide-ranging businesses, including feature film production, international film and television distribution, direct-to-video distribution, and licensing and consumer products.

Sony Pictures Entertainment's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home video acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, development of new entertainment products, services and technologies, and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.spe.sony.com.