Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation

London – IGN.com ( www.ign.com), a global leader in online entertainment media, and Vue Entertainment, operators of award winning state-of-the-art multiplex cinemas, today announced the first ever UK screening of the cult classic Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation [PG]. The charity premiere at Vue West End, Leicester Square will take place on 28th April 2009 at 5.45 pm (film starts 6.30 pm).

Hailed as ‘the greatest fan film yet’*, Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation is a 100-minute recreation of the classic film. Started in 1982 by Chris Strompolos and Eric Zala at the age of 12 years old, it took all their pocket money, unwavering dedication, astonishing ingenuity, plus a basement fire and the loss of a pair of eyebrows before the film was finally ‘in the can’ seven years later.

For 15 years, Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation nearly became a forgotten masterpiece until a screening at a film festival by Harry Knowles made it an overnight sensation. It was subsequently featured in Vanity Fair and The Today Show. Fans include Eli Roth, Quentin Tarantino and even Steven Spielberg, who personally wrote to Chris and Eric: “Wanted to let you know how impressed I was with your very loving and detailed tribute to our Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

IGN.com and Vue are proud to bring this highly talked about, but rarely seen cult classic to the UK for the first time ever. Fans will have the opportunity to meet and greet the filmmakers and take part in a Q&A session. Plus, see exclusive props and win artwork from the original series and even indulge in some delicious bites at an Indy-themed food and drink reception.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation is the ultimate fan film; made by fans for fans. It’s the perfect fit for the IGN.com community of over four million games and movie enthusiasts,” said Justin Keeling, General Manager, IGN UK. “We love it and just had to make sure IGN.com and Vue were the first to bring it to the UK.”

Vue’s Marketing Director Mark De Quervain said, “Vue Entertainment are delighted to be the only cinema company to show this unique cult film in the UK. The opportunity to support independent film and also to raise money for MediCinema will make this a really important event for Vue and IGN.com, and a truly unmissable event for our customers.”

Tickets to the UK Charity Premiere of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation are available now for just £17.50 at www.myvue.com/raiders. Ticket proceeds from the premiere will be donated to MediCinema ( www.medicinema.org.uk), a registered charity dedicated to bringing the magic of cinemas to patients in hospitals across the UK.

*Source: Wired.com

-ENDS-

For press tickets or more information on IGN Entertainment or Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, please contact:

Mark Ward at Bastion:

Email: mark@bastion.co.uk; dean@bastion.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7421 7600

Press site: www.bastion.co.uk

For more information on Vue Entertainment, please contact:

James Selman or Laura Pettit at Freud Communications:

james.selman@freud.com; laura.pettitt@freud.com

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3003 6300

For more information on MediCinema, please contact:

Patzi Shepperson at Juniper PR & Events

patzi@juniper-pre.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1473 822411 or Mobile: 07887 662 286

More Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation links:

VANITY FAIR Magazine feature: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2004/03/raiders200403?currentPage=1

The Raider.net (includes clips & more): http://www.theraider.net/films/raiders_adaptation/index.php

Turner Classic Movies video segment:

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index/?cid=187535

WIRED Magazine feature: http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/news/2007/05/diy_raiders

About IGN Entertainment:

IGN Entertainment, a unit of Fox Interactive Media, Inc., is a leading Internet media and services provider focused on the videogame and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reached more than 35 million unique users worldwide in the month of February 2009, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore Media Metrix. IGN's network of videogame-related properties (IGN.com, GameSpy, FilePlanet, TeamXbox, Direct2Drive and others), is one of the Web's leading videogame information destinations and attracts one of the largest concentrated audiences of young males on the Internet. IGN also owns and operates the popular movie-related website, Rotten Tomatoes and one of the leading male lifestyle Websites, AskMen.com. In addition, IGN provides technology for online game play in videogames. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices throughout the U.S. and in Montreal.

About Vue:

Vue Entertainment is one of the UK’s leading multiplex developers and operators of state of the art multiplex cinemas. Formed in May 2003 with the acquisition of Warner Village Cinemas, Vue is one of the fastest growing cinema companies in the country. Having acquired the Ster Century cinema chain at the end of April 2005, Vue announced a management buyout in June 2006 in partnership with Bank of Scotland Corporate, through its Integrated Finance Team in a deal valued in the region of £350 million. The opening of the cinema in Eastleigh brings Vue Entertainment’s circuit to 66 sites with a total of 641 screens in the UK and Ireland which continues its impressive expansion following recent openings of multiplexes at The O2 Greenwich, Thanet, Hull, Stirling, Merthyr Tydfil, Cwmbran, and Camberley.

Vue has won many accolades for its service and innovations over the years including the prestigious award for International Exhibitor of the Year at Cinema Expo 2005 and for the third consecutive year, the UK Cinema of the Year RAAM award 2006, 2007 and 2008.

CEO Tim Richards was awarded the title of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006 and he also won the Leisure Report Individual of the Year award.

About MediCinema:

MediCinema is a registered charity that installs on-site cinemas in hospitals with big screen, Surround Sound, tiered seating and nurses instead of usherettes. Through the magic that is cinema, MediCinema enriches the quality of life for patients, young and old, including those in beds and wheelchairs, transporting them and their families far away from the reality of their hospital life and allowing them, just for a couple of hours, to be somewhere else.

MediCinema brings therapeutic benefits and cheers patients’ spirits by regularly screening current releases in the all-encompassing environment of state-of-the-art cinemas at St Thomas’ Hospital London and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children Glasgow. There are plans to open at the Royal Victoria Infirmary Newcastle and Stoke Mandeville Hospital at the end of the year, Guy’s Hospital next year and for the new South Gwent Children’s Centre in Newport, South Wales. Discussions are also under way with a number of other hospitals around the UK including Queen’s Medical Centre Nottingham, St George’s Tooting and Addenbrooke’s Cambridge.