ARTISAN ENTERTAINMENT AND ORIGINAL FILM ARE SOUL SURVIVORS - Los Angeles (March 30, 1999) - Moving quickly to jumpstart its new production slate, Artisan Entertainment has made a deal with prominent producers Neal Moritz and Stokely Chaffin of Original Film to produce writer Steve Carpenter's directorial debut, Soul Survivor, it was announced today by Artisan Production President Jon Shestack. According to Shestack, the film is being fast tracked for a July start.

"This is a moody, atmospheric picture that brings the teen horror genre to a new level of sophistication," stated Shestack. "It's in the genre tradition, but it's not an imitation or a clone. Like Pi and the upcoming Blair Witch, we try and push the genre's limits whenever possible."

Set on a college campus, Soul Survivors is both a romantic and frightening thriller about a young woman who is caught between the world of the living and the dead.

The script was picked up by Artisan in a hotly contested competitive situation, and what made the difference, according to Moritz, "was the absolute determination of Artisan to make the picture. Artisan was extremely aggressive about getting the project, supportive of Carpenter as a director and eager to get started."

Added Shestack "We're excited to be doing this picture with Original. They have probably had more success with first-time directors and done more to revitalize youth movies than any other production company."

Carpenter's latest writing effort, also for Original, is Blue Streak, starring Martin Lawrence and Luke Wilson. His past feature film credits include The Other Man (Universal) and It Had To Be You (Universal).

The deal was negotiated for Artisan by Ken Schapiro and Erin Austen and on behalf of the filmmaker, David Lubliner and Robert Stein of the William Morris Agency.

Artisan Entertainment's release Pi was recently bestowed a 1998 Independent Spirit Award for "Best First Screenplay." The company's highly anticipated distribution slate for the coming months include films such as the 1999 Sundance Film Festival hit, The Blair Witch Project; Felicia's Journey, directed by Academy-Award nominee Atom Egoyan and Steven Soderbergh's The Limey. Additionally, later this year Artisan is bringing writer/director David Koepp's (Jurassic Park, Snake Eyes) latest directorial outing, Stir of Echoes; and Roman Polanski's The Ninth Gate, starring Johnny Depp to film going audiences.

Artisan Entertainment Inc., is a diversified entertainment company that specializes in the development, production, acquisition, marketing and worldwide distribution of quality feature-length motion pictures. The company has secured a major pay-TV deal with Showtime Networks; an output deal with Hallmark Entertainment, which covers all Hallmark, Crayola and Cabin Fever product; a distribution deal with The Shooting Gallery for its film product in all media