Y2KILLER TOMATOES …and You Were Worried About Your Computers Crashing

Business Wire, Oct 28, 1999

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 1999--

For 25 years, the creators of "Killer Tomatoes" have lived the lonely lives of prophets before their time.

Their cult classic, "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," as well as a string of low budget sequels and an animated cartoon series on the Fox Children's Network, were all dismissed as mere entertainment. Now with international media attention focused squarely on the intense controversy surrounding genetically altered foods, the Killer Tomato creators are claiming vindication.

"We tried to tell people these movies weren't funny, but no one took us seriously," claimed Steve Peace, a Senior Producer who was reluctant to be identified for the record. With the "Frankenstein Food" story hitting American presses in a big way of late, the creators tout "killertomato.com" as "the only objective source of reliable information on genetically altered foods." The Official Killer Tomato Web Portal features 192 pages, 514 images, 55 video clips, 37 audio bytes, and loads of interactive imagery.

"Despite the public's historical indifference to our warnings, we feel morally obligated to tell the truth as we know it," said Peace. The Internet launch comes on the heels of ABC's recent Nightline cover story posing the question, "We are what we eat, but what if we don't know what we are eating?" The growing "Mutant Food" story has splashed across the front pages of everything from The Wall Street Journal to The LA Times, which chronicled unusual and unexplained tomato activity in a story entitled "Attack of the Flying Tomatoes."

Cloaked in secrecy and haunted by claims that many of this year's Halloween pumpkins are actually genetically mutated tomatoes, the site will debut on Friday, October 29 at midnight, Pacific Daylight Time. The secrecy has led to suspicion and warnings against viewing the site during Halloween parties or when Jack-O-Lanterns are present. The new Killer Tomato website can be enjoyed by visiting http://www.killertomato.com .

"If they don't take us seriously this time, the world may not get another chance," said Peace.

THE KILLER TOMATO CHRONOLOGY -0-

1978: Four Square Productions releases "ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES"
1988: New World Entertainment distributes "RETURN OF THE KILLER
      TOMATOES" starring George Clooney and John Astin.
1990: Fox Children's Network premieres animated "ATTACK OF THE KILLER
      TOMATOES" cartoon show (1st show ever to be completely computer
      generated).
1990: Space Shuttle ATLANTIS makes a "universal broadcast" of the
      "KILLER TOMATO" theme song into outer space.
1991: Fox Video releases "KILLER TOMATOES STRIKE BACK!"
1991: Four Square enters into merchandising arrangement with 20th
      Century Fox; over 100 products are licensed to licensees such as
      Mattel, Thermos, Nintendo, and Gameboy.
1992: Fox releases "KILLER TOMATOES EAT FRANCE," starring Marc Price,
      John Astin, and former Miss Universe Angela Visser.
1995: Buena Vista Home Video releases tongue-in-cheek "Director's Cut"
      of original "ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES."
1999: THE OFFICIAL KILLER TOMATO WEB PORTAL goes online, featuring
      192 web pages, 514 images, 55 video clips, 37 audio bytes, and
      loads of interactive trivia, 3-D imagery, games, and merchandise.
2000: The time is ripe (cough, cough) for THE TOMATOES TO RISE AGAIN!

SOURCE: DigitalWork ( http://www.digitalwork.com )

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