``Queen of the Damned'': The Amazing Aaliyah Stars in Anne Rice's Hip Gothic Tale, Coming to DVD and VHS August 27th from Warner Home Video

Business Wire, June 10, 2002

Entertainment Editors & Video Writers

BURBANK, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--June 10, 2002

On August 27th, "Queen of the Damned," the stylish vampire film starring the late Grammy-nominated recording star Aaliyah, comes to VHS ($22.98 SRP) and DVD ($26.98 SRP) from Warner Home Video.

Aaliyah was lauded as having a "haunting, memorable screen presence"(a) in this "very sexy"(b) vampire thriller, and her performance was nominated for a 2002 MTV Movie Award in the Best Villain category. Before her untimely death last August, Aaliyah also earned praises for her performance in "Romeo Must Die," including two 2001 MTV Movie Award nominations. Her music has sold more than 8 million CDs, and has garnered such accolades as two American Music Awards in 2001, two MTV Video Music Awards in 2000, two Grammy nominations in 2002 and a 2002 Soul Train award. She also leads the field of nominees for the 2002 Black Entertainment Television awards with four nominations.

(a) WBAI, Mike Sargent

(b) San Francisco Examiner, Jeffrey M. Anderson

A DVD With Bite

"Queen of the Damned" will be offered on both widescreen (16X9) and full-screen edition DVDs. Both editions will include the following special features:

-- 30 minutes of additional scenes

-- Behind-the-scenes featurettes:

-- "Aaliyah Remembered" -- a tribute by the cast and filmmakers

-- "The Music of Lestat" -- interviews with the film's composers and musicians

-- "Creating the Vampires" -- a look at the special effects

-- Commentary by director Michael Rymer, producer Jorge Saralegui and composer Richard Gibbs

-- Four music videos

-- Two extended concert sequences

-- Gag reel

-- Production book still gallery, including storyboards, artwork, sketches, designs and costumes

-- DVD-ROM enabled

Standard DVD features include the theatrical trailer, filmographies, Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio, English and French (dubbed in Quebec) languages, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

The VHS edition of "Queen of the Damned" will also include the behind-the-scenes documentary "Aaliyah Remembered" and two additional scenes as extra features.

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