Reel.com Hires Thomas Chow as Vice President of Technology Development; Former Managing Director for Schwab Online

Business Wire, March 8, 1999

EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 8, 1999--Reel.com (http://www.reel.com)(Nasdaq:HLYW), the leading online movie store, announces the hire of Thomas Chow as vice president of technology development.

Chow brings nearly 20 years of technology experience to Reel.com, most recently as the managing director of electronic brokerage technologies at Charles Schwab & Company.

"Tom's experience will provide strategic leadership in developing technology solutions that meet the needs of marketing, customer service, and other departments in a timely manner," stated Chris Deyo, president of Reel.com. "Our customers will benefit from the introduction of new features and a faster shopping experience."

As the head of engineering, Chow's charter is two-fold. First, he will lead the development of the next generation of e-commerce systems for Reel.com. This will include new software development, systems integration, and building a scalable Web infrastructure. Second, Chow has the mandate to build a world-class development team committed to excellence and technical innovation.

Prior to joining Reel.com, Chow was the managing director of electronic brokerage technologies for Charles Schwab & Company. At Schwab, he led the development of the company's new Web trading and email systems. One of his key projects was the development of the $29.95 Internet trading system in early 1998 that boosted Schwab's leadership in the industry.

Chow has held a variety of technical management positions at leading-edge companies, including TIBCO, Dow Jones/Telerate, and Syncsort. His expertise is the rapid development of mission-critical systems. He holds an M.S. and B.S. from Columbia University.

About Reel.com, Inc.

Reel.com (http://www.reel.com and AOL Keyword: REEL) is the leading Internet-based movie store offering over 100,000 VHS and 2,300 DVD titles for sale. Reel.com also features proprietary editorial content to help customers select movies.

The staff of writers for the site includes film school graduates, video store veterans, screenwriters, and scores of other film experts. Reel.com's current Internet partners include AOL, Excite, @Home Network, Chicago Sun Times, E! Online, Film.com, Turner Home Entertainment, and TV Guide Entertainment Network. Reel.com was named the "Best Place to Buy Videos" by Yahoo Internet Life magazine.

Reel.com is a subsidiary of Hollywood Entertainment, Corp. (Nasdaq:HLYW), dba Hollywood Video, the second largest video store chain in the United States, with over 1,260 stores in 42 states.