Oscar.com Features Exclusive Video Outtakes From Academy Awards Host Billy Crystal's Oscar On-air Promotions

Business Wire, March 22, 2000

Entertainment Editors

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 22, 2000

In keeping with the goal of providing the most unique and exclusive behind-the-scenes coverage of the Academy Awards(R), Oscar.com will premiere never-before-seen video footage of host Billy Crystal shooting his on-air promotional spots for the ABC-TV telecast.

All the clips can be found at http://oscar.com/behindscenes/show/sho_promot.html.> "We wanted to achieve a new look for both Billy and Oscar," commented Rebecca Daugherty, the producer of on-air promotions for the Academy Awards(R), when speaking about the state-of-the-art 360-degree camera that was used to encircle Crystal both vertically and horizontally. Users can access the streaming video clips by logging on to Oscar.com and clicking on the "Movies and Sound" section of the site.

Shot at Raleigh Studios' Stage 14 in Hollywood on Jan. 25, Crystal joked while he was spinning on a giant turntable to achieve the effect: "John Glenn, I've got a lot of respect for you." The outtakes are compiled from the four on-air promotions and include all of the humor from the day.

Oscar.com features all you ever needed or wanted to know about the Academy Awards, including fashion reports from trend analyst Tom Julian, trivia games, e-mailed news and event updates, a history of the awards, printable ballots, a "predict-the-winners" contest and official e-mail cards.

Throughout Oscar weekend, Oscar.com will provide users with a behind-the-scenes look at the excitement that goes into producing a show of this caliber. Live, streaming video, photographs and live reporting from the Oscar.com team will give visitors an inside look at how the show is put together and produced.

Then, on awards night, Oscar.com's team of reporters will provide extensive coverage of all pre-awards festivities, including live streaming video of the red carpet arrivals with commentary from Julian.

During the broadcast, leave your computers on to capture and complement the excitement of what is being broadcast on television.

While the Academy Awards is airing on ABC-TV, you can click on to Oscar.com and see backstage interviews with the winners via live streaming video, and play along with a play-along game titled "And the Envelope, Please," where you predict the winners and answer trivia related to the broadcast in real time.

The 72nd Academy Awards(R) presentation for outstanding film achievements of 1999 will be televised live on ABC on Sunday, March 26, at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium.

Oscar 2000 will be televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT, with a half-hour red carpet arrivals segment preceding the presentation ceremony.

Oscar.com is a co-production of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and ABC.com, which is part of GO.com (NYSE:GO). GO.com was created as part of a merger between Infoseek Corp. and The Walt Disney, Buena Vista Internet Group (BVIG).

GO.com oversees many of the Web's most popular sites and services, including the GO Network portal, ABC.com, ABCNEWS.com, Disney.com, Disneystore.com, DisneyTravel.com, ESPN.com, EXPN.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, NASCAR Online, ESPNstore.com, ABCSports.com, Family.com and Mr. Showbiz.