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For Immediate Release Marlon Brando

Though no one will mistake Miramax's Shall We Dance for a classic Fred Astaire musical, director Peter Chelsom's romantic dance comedy makes you want to grab a dish and dance 'til dawn. The jovial remake, based on director Masayuki Suo's Japanese movie of the same name and written by Audrey Wells (Under the Tuscan Sun), captures the original picture's thematic undercurrent that happiness is the point of life.

Bad boys Trey Parker and Matt Stone are at it again; this time with marionettes. The duo responsible for the foul-mouthed brats of South Park have cranked their sacred cow grinder to high speed with Team America-World Police in which they puree every taboo subject they can get their hands on, from AIDS to peace activism to the war on terrorism. In the process, they have delivered one of the best satires in a long, dry season.

Beverly Hills, CA — Chris Rock will host the 77th Academy Awards telecast, producer Gil Cates announced today. This will be Rock's first stint as Oscar host.

Los Angeles, CA -- SoundtrackNet, an online publication devoted to film and television music, has launched an Internet streaming radio station.

The following are the key releases of Oct. 12. Click on the titles for more info.

"Mojo" (no relation) is the rallying cry of the Permian Panthers, the Odessa, TX high school team that Friday Night Lights follows. The movie displayed that spirit on its opening weekend, tackling $20.3 million at 2,667 theaters Queen LatifahEddie MurphyHilary DuffJoaquin PhoenixJohn Travolta

Shark Tale had a fantastic weekend abroad amassing $9,953,122 from 2,098 screens in 15 countries, bringing its total to $20,049,640. The picture added eleven new territories, which accounted for most of the take. Tom HanksSteven SpielbergJamie FoxxMichael MannM. Night ShyamalanMatt DamonCharlie Kaufman

After 20 years, Paramount's exuberant Footloose, the 1984 movie starring Kevin Bacon as a rebellious youth who leads a campaign to legalize dancing, is available on a special edition DVD, with audio commentary by Bacon and screenwriter Dean Pitchford. During a recent interview with Box Office Mojo, Pitchford talked about making Footloose, which, at one point, almost became a budget-busting epic.

If screenwriter and lyricist Dean Pitchford's mentor, Peter Allen, was The Boy from Oz (portrayed by Hugh Jackman on stage), Pitchford was the boy from Hawaii, making his way into Bob Fosse's Pippin, writing the Academy Award-winning lyrics for Fame and making music and movies for everyone from Barbra Streisand and HBO to Hilary Duff and Shrek 2. Meryl StreepRobert De NiroRichard GereNicole KidmanRenée Zellweger

Fame (1980) (Grammy nomination, Best Movie Album)

Beverly Hills, CA — The 1939 adventure Gunga Din, which was directed by George Stevens, will screen on Monday, October 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Gunga Din will be presented as part of a centennial tribute celebrating the life and career of the film's Oscar®-winning director.

Beverly Hills, CA — Gilbert Cates has his 12th assignment as producer of the annual Academy Awards® telecast, Academy President Frank Pierson announced today. Cates will helm the 77th Awards scheduled for Sunday, February 27, 2005.

SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT MAKES COMPANY HISTORY, CROSSING THE $1 BILLION MARK IN BOTH NORTH AMERICAN AND OVERSEAS TICKET SALES FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW Sarah Michelle GellarTim AllenJulia RobertsJude LawJames L. BrooksAdam SandlerNicole KidmanWill FerrellJim CarreySean PennJude LawMeryl StreepWill SmithBernie MacAshton KutcherCatherine Zeta-JonesAntonio BanderasIce CubeChris Columbus

Though in need of a narrator and a sense of humor, the independent documentary, Tying the Knot, about the debate over whether gays should be allowed to marry, is surprisingly thought provoking. Held back by low production values—with terrible sound—and by an abrupt ending, the 90-minute movie by Jim de Seve raises interesting issues surrounding marriage.

Claire Danes, putting her sense of anguish in its proper place, radiates in Lions Gate's strange Stage Beauty. Also playing this odd story to the hilt are Billy Crudup, Tom Wilkinson and Zoe Tapper.

Feel-good cinema returns in Sean McNamara's Raise Your Voice. New Line Cinema's enjoyable music movie resonates thanks to a theme about pursuing one's passion, a good cast and a perfectly pictured city. Co-producer and director McNamara takes hold of Sam Schreiber's script, based on a story by Mitch Rotter, and he makes it sing. What comes out isn't opera, but it also isn't the racket blaring out of most teen flicks. Raise Your Voice is a pleasant diversion.

Friday Night Lights is one of those movies made with big bucks to make it look dirty and it works—this movie reeks. Based on a book by H.G. Bissinger (who wrote the article which inspired Shattered Glass), Friday Night Lights opens in Texas, slowly introducing a high school football team's players and coach—in harsh close-ups with a wobbly camera. One second, the camera's in someone's face, the next it's showing someone jog, sweat and grunt.