UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND IMAGINE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE 'AMERICAN GANGSTER' WORLD PREMIERE TO BENEFIT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS

UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND IMAGINE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE 'AMERICAN GANGSTER' WORLD PREMIERE TO BENEFIT BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS

Drama Starring Oscar(R) Winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe to Benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Washington's Boyhood Club in Mount Vernon, NY

NEW YORK CITY, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- The world premiere of "American Gangster," the cinematic event that pairs Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, will benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon, NY, it was announced today. In the film, Washington, Crowe, Oscar(R)-winning producer Brian Grazer and director Ridley Scott team to tell the true story of a criminal mastermind who came up from the streets of 1970s Harlem.

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As a youth, Washington spent more than a decade as a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon. His history with the organization has led the actor to serve as the national spokesperson for Boys & Girls Clubs of America for the past 15 years. The premiere, sponsored in part by Volkswagen, will be held on Friday, October 19, 2007, at the historic Apollo Theater in Manhattan, followed by a VIP reception. Tickets may be purchased by emailing Kristen Jaquez, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, at kjaquez@bgca.org, or calling 212-377-6416.

"The Boys & Girls Club exerted a profound influence on me and so many of my peers growing up, and I consider it an honor to give back," Washington commented. "I spent more than a decade as a member of the Club in Mount Vernon, and I'm extremely pleased the production is willing to make 'American Gangster's' premiere a benefit for an organization that plays such an important, positive role in the lives of young people today."

Another Boys & Girls Club alumnus, Cuba Gooding, Jr., also stars in the film. Gooding belonged to the Boys & Girls Club of Tustin, California.

The film will be released in theaters nationwide on Friday, November 2, 2007.

About "American Gangster":

Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas (Oscar(R) winner Washington), the quiet driver to one of the inner-city's leading black crime bosses. But when his boss suddenly dies, Frank exploits the opening in the power structure to build his own empire and create his own version of the American Dream. Through ingenuity and a strict business ethic, he comes to rule the inner-city drug trade, flooding the streets with a purer product at a better price. Lucas outplays all of the leading crime syndicates and becomes not only one of the city's mainline corrupters, but part of its circle of legit civic superstars.

Richie Roberts (Oscar(R) winner Crowe) is an outcast cop close enough to the streets to feel a shift of control in the drug underworld. Roberts believes someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and starts to suspect that a black power player has come from nowhere to dominate the scene. Both Lucas and Roberts share a rigorous ethical code that sets them apart from their own colleagues, making them lone figures on opposite

sides of the law. The destinies of these two men will become intertwined as they approach a confrontation where only one of them can come out on top.

Washington and Crowe lead a spectacular cast of accomplished and rising stars-including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Ted Levine, Armand Assante, John Ortiz, John Hawkes, RZA, Common and T.I. -- in this blistering tale of a true American entrepreneur directed by Oscar(R) nominee Ridley Scott ("Gladiator") and produced by Academy Award(R) winner Brian Grazer ("A Beautiful Mind") and Scott from a screenplay by Academy Award(R) winner Steven Zaillian ("Schindler's List").

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than a century, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) has provided hope and opportunity to millions of America's children. In more than 4,000 communities today, the Clubs provide a positive place that kids can call their own -- with caring adult leaders and life-enhancing programs ranging from homework help and technology training to financial literacy, career exploration, the performing arts, health and fitness. BGCA's mission: to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. For more information, visit http://www.bgca.org/.

About Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (http://www.universalstudios.com/). Universal Studios is part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi.

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Web sites: http://www.universalstudios.com
http://www.bgca.org

Source: Universal Pictures

CONTACT: Jan Still-Lindeman of Boys & Girls Clubs of America,
+1-404-487-5739; or Teresa Johnson of Universal Pictures, +1-818-777-5565

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Profile: International Entertainment