LOS ANGELES, Calif., Sept. 2 -- PRNewswire/AsiaNet
The Stars Will Be Under the Stars When Voice Talents Will Smith,
Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie and Michael Imperioli
Attend the Premiere in Venice's
Historic Piazza San Marco
Preparations are underway for the world premiere of DreamWorks Animation's
new computer-animated comedy "Shark Tale." As befits a movie set under the
sea, the premiere is taking place in the most beautiful city on water, Venice,
Italy. The screening, which is part of the Venice Film Festival, will be held
outdoors on September 10 in the city's historic Piazza San Marco. The event
marks the first time ever that the Piazza will be closed for the premiere of a
major feature film.
The stars of "Shark Tale," Will Smith, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie, and
Michael Imperioli, will be among the estimated 5,000 people expected to be in
attendance to watch the movie under the stars.
The Piazza San Marco is being transformed into a giant outdoor theatre for
the event, complete with a giant inflatable screen. The screen, which is the
largest inflatable screen in the world, is more than six stories tall and over
3,900 square feet. It requires approximately 20,000 cubic feet of air to
inflate the screen fully, and, once inflated, the screen will have a ballast of
more than 50 tons of water to keep it stabilized.
All of the equipment for the premiere -- some 190 tons, including more than
62 tons of steel and scaffolding, over 10.5 miles of cable, sound equipment,
and 5,000 chairs -- is being brought to the site on barges, as there are
obviously no roads in the city of Venice. In addition, the three generators
that will provide the more than one million watts of electricity needed to
power the event, will be floating on barges just offsite.
Opening in North America on October 1, 2004, "Shark Tale" tells the story
of Oscar, a fast-talking little fish whose big dreams have a habit of landing
him in hot water. Lenny is a great white shark with a sensitive side ... and a
secret -- he's a vegetarian. When a great white lie turns Oscar into an
improbable hero and the truth about Lenny makes him an outcast, these two
become the most unlikely of friends.
"Shark Tale" stars the voices of Academy Award(R) nominee Will Smith
("Ali") as Oscar, a hustler who has always been able to fin-agle his way out of
trouble, until now; two-time Academy Award(R) winner Robert De Niro ("Raging
Bull," "The Godfather, Part II") as Don Lino, a great white shark at the top of
the Reef's food chain; Academy Award(R) winner Renee Zellweger ("Cold
Mountain") as Angie, the beautiful angelfish who harbors a secret crush on
Oscar; Academy Award(R) winner Angelina Jolie ("Girl, Interrupted") as the
femme fatale Lola, a lion fish, who uses her feminine wiles to get what she
wants; Jack Black ("School of Rock") as Don Lino's son Lenny, a great white
shark who is a closet vegetarian; and multiple Oscar(R)-nominated director
Martin Scorsese ("Gangs of New York," "Goodfellas") as Sykes, a puffer fish who
is full of hot air and never misses an opportunity to make a few extra clams.
Rounding out the main cast are: Doug E. Doug and Ziggy Marley as Bernie and
Ernie, two Rastafarian jellyfish with a stinging sense of humor; Michael
Imperioli ("The Sopranos") as Don Lino's oldest son, Frankie, a chip off the
old shark; Vincent Pastore ("The Sopranos") as Luca, an oily octopus, which
makes him the perfect right-hand, left-hand, right-hand, left-hand man; veteran
actor Peter Falk as Don Ira Feinberg, a shark who is long in the tooth, but
still has plenty of bite left; and Katie Couric (TV's "The Today Show") as the
Reef's top anchorfish, Katie Current.
"Shark Tale" was directed by Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron and Rob Letterman
from a screenplay by Michael J. Wilson and Rob Letterman. The producers are
Bill Damaschke, Janet Healy and Allison Lyon Segan, with Jeffrey Katzenberg
serving as executive producer.
The Shark Tale Soundtrack features selections from the score by Hans
Zimmer, as well as songs from such multi-platinum and Grammy-winning artists as
Christina Aguilera featuring Missy Elliott, performing a new version of the
disco classic "Car Wash"; Mary J. Blige featuring Will Smith doing "Got To Be
Real"; Justin Timberlake and Timbaland performing "Good Foot"; and the film's
Ziggy Marley partnered with Sean Paul on "Three Little Birds," the song made
famous by Marley's father, Bob Marley. In addition, there are songs from JoJo,
D12, Ludacris, India.Arie, and others. The Shark Tale Soundtrack will be
released in the United States on September 21 on DreamWorks/Geffen Records.
DreamWorks SKG was formed in October, 1994, by its three principal partners
-- Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen -- to produce
live-action motion pictures; animated feature films; network and cable
television programming; home video entertainment; books; toys; and consumer
products.
SOURCE: DreamWorks Animation
CONTACT: international publicity,
Susanne Lally of DreamWorks Animation,
+1-818-695-7067
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