Sunday September 17, 1:09 pm Eastern Time

Press Release

SOURCE: Remember the Titans

Game Clock Ticking Down for September 23rd 'Remember the Titans' World Premiere at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena

First Film Premiere Ever to be Held at the World-Renowned Stadium

BURBANK, Calif., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Walt Disney Pictures will host a world premiere on Saturday, September 23rd, to celebrate the release of an extraordinary new motion picture, ``Remember the Titans,'' from Jerry Bruckheimer Films, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, it was announced today (9/17) by Richard Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. The event will mark the first time that a Hollywood-style film premiere has ever been held at the Rose Bowl.

Attending the premiere will be Academy Award®-winner Denzel Washington, Will Patton, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Joining the celebrities will be several original members and the two coaches of the 1971 high school football team that the story is based on. Also attending will be 50,000 high school football players, cheerleaders, their parents, coaches, athletic directors, and principals from all over southern California.

Commenting on the announcement, Cook said, ``Jerry Bruckheimer scores again! He and director Boaz Yakin have created an enormously powerful, entertaining, and uplifting film, and we wanted to premiere it in a special way. To 'kick off' this film in front of these young men and women at the Rose Bowl is especially appropriate. Telling a unique story in an emotional and captivating way, 'Remember the Titans,' like the best sports movies, is about more than just football, and we believe it will really strike a chord with moviegoers this fall.''

The football players, representing 97 schools from the greater Los Angeles area and over 100 more from as far away as San Diego, Palm Springs, Blythe, Lompoc, and Santa Barbara, will attend the premiere in their jerseys. The cheerleaders will dress in their uniforms. Their parents, coaches, athletic directors, and principals will be true to their schools by wearing school colors. Each school's representatives will arrive together at the premiere in school buses and will sit together as a team in the stadium.

The film will be shown on four giant screens (65' by 100') on the field at the Rose Bowl. Each screen is custom-made especially for this event. Other entertainment includes a fly-over by the U.S. Air Force and a performance by the USC Trojan marching band. The national anthem will be performed by the First AME Church of Los Angeles. A live band will entertain the arriving guests as games are projected on the Jumbotron. Master of Ceremonies for the evening will be former Green Bay Packers player -- and now Channel 2 sportscaster -- Jim Hill. Fireworks will end the evening.

In Virginia, high school football is king. In 1971, high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the local school board was forced to integrate, the very foundation of football's great tradition was put to the test. In what was a potentially volatile situation with far reaching consequences, Herman Boone (DENZEL WASHINGTON) was brought up from South Carolina and hired as head coach of the T.C. Williams High Titans over popular coach Bill Yoast (WILL PATTON). Hiring Boone as coach of the Titans presented a very precarious situation. However, as he and Yoast learned to work together, they found they had much more than football in common. Both were men of integrity and honor, with a strong work ethic who molded a group of unfocused boys into a dynamic, winning team of responsible, caring young men.

Walt Disney Pictures presents, in association with Jerry Bruckheimer Films, ``Remember the Titans,'' a Technical Black production, starring Denzel Washington and Will Patton. Directed by Boaz Yakin and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the film is written by Gregory Allen Howard. Executive producers are Mike Stenson and Michael Flynn. The film is distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.

    CONTACT:  Heidi Trotta Senior Vice President, Publicity of Buena Vista
              Pictures, 818-560-7280.

SOURCE: Remember the Titans