SPHE to Reunite Filmmakers and Cast of Celebrated Classics BOYZ N THE HOOD and DAS BOOT at 2011 LA Film Festival

Film Critic Elvis Mitchell to lead a Q&A with Cuba Gooding Jr., Nia Long and
Director John Singleton as the studio preps a
20th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Discâ„¢ of BOYZ N THE HOOD, releasing July 19

Director Wolfgang Petersen and Star Jürgen Procnow Discuss the
Academy Award-Nominated WWII Epic DAS BOOT,
and the film’s 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Disc, Coming July 5th

Los Angeles (June 9, 2011) – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will reunite the cast of the Oscar®-nominated film BOYZ N THE HOOD at the 2011 Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by Los Angeles Times, as part of a special presentation on Thursday, June 23, at 8:00 p.m. in celebration of the film’s 20th anniversary and first-ever release on Blu-ray (July 19, 2011). The event will be held at Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14, and will include a screening of the film followed by a Q&A with special guests Oscar®-winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Best Supporting Actor, Jerry McGuire 1997), Nia Long (Big Momma’s House, Friday) and filmmaker John Singleton (2Fast2Furious, Poetic Justice, Shaft). The Q&A will be moderated by Elvis Mitchell.

SPHE will also screen the director’s cut of DAS BOOT to commemorate the six-time Academy Award-nominated epic World War II masterpiece’s release on Blu-ray (July 5, 2011). The film has been digitally restored and fully remastered for high definition and features an additional 60 nail-biting minutes from the original version. A Q&A with Oscar-Nominated Director Wolfgang Petersen (Troy, Air Force One) and star Jürgen Procnow (The Da Vinci Code, Air Force One) will precede the screening, which will take place at Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 on Thursday, June 21 at 7:00 p.m.

ABOUT BOYZ N THE HOOD
First released in 1991, BOYZ N THE HOOD took the nation by storm, earning high praise from critics and boffo box office from moviegoers. The movie marked the directorial debut of award-winning filmmaker John Singleton and ignited the acting careers of Ice Cube (Are We There Yet?, Friday), Oscar®-winner Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut (Ladder 49, Two Can Play That Game), Nia Long, Regina King (Jerry McGuire, Ray), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, Mystic River) and Angela Bassett (Waiting to Exhale, What’s Love Got to Do With It).

In addition to receiving Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay in 1991, BOYZ N THE HOOD was honored with the BMI Film Music Award, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor (Ice Cube), the MTV Movie Award for Best New Filmmaker (Singleton), the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best New Director (Singleton) and a Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Screenplay Written for the Screen (Singleton). It later received the 1993 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture, and was selected by the National Film Preservation Board for exclusive entry into the historic National Film Registry in 2002.

BOYZ N THE HOOD, an undisputed American classic, will be available for the first time on Blu-ray as a special 20th Anniversary Edition on July 19, priced to own at $19.95 SRP.

ABOUT DAS BOOT

Masterfully crafted by Oscar ® – nominated director Wolfgang Petersen (Troy, Air Force One) and critically acclaimed as one of the best war films of all time, Das Boot received six Academy Award® nominations in 1982 including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Effects/Sound Effects Editing and Best Sound. Petersen’s epic adventure deftly explores tension as pressure builds to an explosive climax, packing a visceral punch few movies can match. It is a masterpiece that should be part of every film enthusiast’s collection.

DAS BOOT, newly-remastered for high definition, will be available for the first time ever on Blu-ray on July 7 for the SRP of $34.95. The two-disc Blu-ray is tightly packed with special features including 60 additional minutes to the original version, a retrospective documentary of the making of the film, seven vignettes taking viewers on an intimate tour of a German U-boat, two featurettes offering insights from wife and First Assistant Director, Maria Petersen and a look into the making of the Director’s Cut, historical material with footage detailing the evolution of submarine battles during World War II and a director’s commentary.

“Oscar®” is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) company. SPE is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation.  SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 140 countries.