Lincoln Talks to the Stars 'Off the Red Carpet'

Lincoln Talks to the Stars 'Off the Red Carpet'

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Ford Motor Company's Lincoln luxury brand is teaming with Film Life for the eighth consecutive year to present the 11th annual American Black Film Festival -- spotlighting the best and brightest of Hollywood reaching higher and pursuing the American dream.

Making its Los Angeles debut, the 2007 American Black Film Festival attracts a robust group of film aficionados for a four-day retreat of premieres, networking, panel discussions, hands-on workshops and competitive film showcases. Lincoln's sponsorship of this year's event introduces Off the Red Carpet, a three-day series spotlighting industry insiders who influence present-day filmmaking. The series will showcase individuals in front of and behind the camera; from actors, to writers, directors, casting directors and producers.

"Lincoln has had a long and proud history of partnership with the film industry," said Marc Perry, multicultural marketing manager, Lincoln. "Our alliance with Film Life and the American Black Film Festival is particularly special to us as it reinforces our commitment to the spirit of independent filmmaking and allows us to be part of a team that is passionate about bringing diverse voices to a broader audience."

Off the Red Carpet will feature award-winning producer and COO of Our Stories Films Tracey Edmonds, writer/director/actor Kasi Lemmons, Grammy winner and actor Common, Emmy Award-winning casting director Robi Reed, actor Tasha Smith, writer/director Reggie Rock Bythewood and writer Norman Vance, Jr. Off the Red Carpet will be staged at the Lincoln Lounge at the Sofitel Courtyard at the following times:

   - Thurs., October 25,   4:30 p.m.     Tracey Edmonds   - Fri.,   October 26,   3:00 p.m.     Common   - Fri.,   October 26,   5:00 p.m.     Kasi Lemmons, Reggie "Rock"                                         Bythewood, Norman Vance, Jr.   - Sat.,   October 27,   5:00 p.m.     Robi Reed, Tasha Smith   

In addition to Off the Red Carpet, Lincoln will bring back festival favorites including the Lincoln Shuttle Service available 6:00-11:00 p.m. daily, and the Celebrity "Meet 'n' Greets" from 12 noon-2:00 p.m. daily at the Lincoln Lounge, where the award-winning 2007 Lincoln MKZ, a mid-sized luxury sedan, ranked #1 in its segment by J.D. Power in the Initial Quality Study, and the 2007 Lincoln MKX, the first crossover from Lincoln, ranked #2 in its segment by J.D. Power in the Initial Quality Study, will be on display.

Off the Red Carpet talent

In 2006, award-winning producer Tracey Edmonds made Hollywood history by becoming the first African American woman with green-light authority when she assumed the role of president and COO of a motion picture company, Our Stories Films, a joint venture created by B.E.T. founder Robert Johnson, with distribution partners Harvey and Bob Weinstein. She has achieved critical acclaim and commercial success on the big and small screen including Soul Food, the movie and series, and B.E.T.'s College Hill, which set a network record as "B.E.T.'s highest-rated 'series premiere' in the network's 25-year history." Most recently, Edmonds executive produced Good Luck Chuck starring Dane Cook and Jessica Alba, released September 2007.

Grammy Award-winning artist Common made his big-screen acting debut in the 2006 action film Smokin' Aces. His sophomore effort, American Gangster with Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, is set for release nationwide on November 2, 2007. His upcoming screen appearances will be in Wanted with Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie and The Night Watchman with Forest Whitaker and Keanu Reeves.

Multitalented writer, director, actress, editor Kasi Lemmons directed the critically acclaimed film Talk to Me starring Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle. An industry power player, Lemmons drew much attention with her directorial debut of the 1997 drama Eve's Bayou, which she also penned. Her follow-up directorial effort, the 2001 The Caveman's Valentine starring Samuel L. Jackson, cemented her as a Hollywood force. She is currently at work on a pilot for CBS, The Interventionist, and a movie for HBO, The Children's Crusade. .

Emmy Award-winning casting director Robi Reed has more than 40 films to her credit. Her rise to success began as casting director for Spike Lee's School Daze, Do The Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X and Clockers. She has casted big screen and small including Antwone Fisher, The Fighting Temptations, The Best Man, Soul Food and Oprah Winfrey's Their Eyes Were Watching God .She recently partnered with gospel singer Kirk Franklin to create inspirational projects with the first major production Choir Boy, a biopic to be distributed by Lionsgate.

Writer/director Reggie Rock Bythewood made his feature film directorial debut on the HBO original feature Dancing In September. He has subsequently directed Biker Boyz and Daddy's Girl: Daughter of the Greatest, a documentary about the life of boxing champion Laila Ali. His writing credits include Spike Lee's drama Get On The Bus, the hit NBC comedy series A Different World and Fox's drama series New York Undercover, where he served as the show's supervising producer. Bythewood is currently scripting Notorious, the story of the legendary rapper Biggie Smalls for Fox Searchlight Pictures.

In 2003, writer Norman Vance Jr. sold his first feature film spec Roll Bounce. He has also penned Beauty Shop starring Queen Latifah, and Pride, starring Bernie Mac and Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard. Vance's most recent effort was the rewrite on Lionsgate family feature Kidnapped. He has also written for network television on WB's The Parent Hood and for UPN's Moesha and Girlfriends.

Actress Tasha Smith has received critical acclaim for her performances in Tyler Perry's hits Why Did I Get Married and Daddy's Little Girls. She has played a wide range of roles in feature films such as ATL, The Good Mother and The Whole Ten Yards with Bruce Willis. Smith has performed actively on the small screen creating memorable roles in HBO Emmy Award-winning mini series The Corner, directed by Charles S. Dutton. She is also the executive producer and host of her own talk show, Tasha Vision, on the Oxygen Network.

About the ABFF

The ABFF, cofounded by Jeff Friday in 1997, is a property of Film Life, Inc., a New York-based film marketing and distribution company. Its mission is to spearhead the global distribution of quality Black films and be the leading American brand producing Black movies, television, events and digital content. Film Life's key properties include the American Black Film Festival (abff.com); The Black Movie Awards on TNT (blackmovieawards.com); and the ABFF DVD Series (thefilmlife.com), a partnership with Warner Home Video.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 260,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.fordvehicles.com.

Source: Lincoln Mercury

CONTACT: Shelley O'Connor, +1-212-219-7187, soconnor@uniworldgroup.com,
Alan Hall, +1-313-337-8299, ahall@ford.com, both for Lincoln Mercury

Web site: http://www.fordvehicles.com/
http://blackmovieawards.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment