PRESS RELEASE

The summer of 2003 brought a wealth of film and television production to
New Jersey according to Joseph Friedman, Executive Director of the New
Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission. Hundreds of projects were
shot throughout the state during the past several months, in what is
shaping up to be one of New Jersey=s busiest production years ever.

Heading the list of features made in the Garden State recently is "The
Stepford Wives," a remake of the Ira Levin thriller starring Nicole Kidman,
Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Christopher Walken, Glenn Close and Faith
Hill. Producer Scott Rudin and director Frank Oz, who previously teamed up
on the New Jersey-made comedy "In And Out," filmed on location in
Bedminster and at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

Celebrated filmmaker Bill Condon chose Plainfield, Bloomfield, Chester,
West Milford and Andover locations for "Kinsey." This American Zoetrope
production concerns educator Alfred Kinsey, who became famous for his
pioneering studies of human sexuality in the 1940s and 1950s. Liam Neeson
is playing the title role, with a supporting cast that includes Laura
Linney, Ian McKellen, Chris O'Donnell and Bobby Rock.


The final film from Danny DeVito's and Michael Shamberg's production
company Jersey Films was, fittingly enough, shot here in the Garden State.
"Large's Ark" is the story of a young man who had been estranged from his
family but must return home upon the death of his mother. Zach Braff
("Scrubs") makes his directorial debut in this drama that also stars
Natalie Portman, Ian Holm and Peter Sarsgaard. Shooting took place in
South Orange, Mahwah, Dumont, and Cranford.

Sigourney Weaver, Emile Hirsch and Jeff Daniels head the cast of "Imaginary
Heroes," filmed in Glen Ridge, Moonachie, Newark, Wayne and Jersey City.
Dan Harris is directing this Signature Films production, about a family
coming to terms with the suicide of their eldest son.

"Tony 'N' Tina's Wedding," the long-running interactive theatrical show, is
now a movie. This comedy-romance, about the quirky friends and family who
gather for a young Italian couple's wedding, was filmed partly on location
in Bloomfield, Clifton and Passaic. Roger Paradiso wrote the screen
adaptation and directs, Joey McIntyre, Mila Kunis and Daisy Eagan star.

Tom Fontana, creator of the acclaimed prison drama "Oz," returned to the
former Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne for his latest project. "Strip
Search" examines how crime and punishment have changed since the attack on
the World Trade Center. Glenn Close, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daniel
Serafini-Sauli, Oliver Platt and Ellen Barkin appear in this two-part
television mini-series, under the direction of the venerable Sidney Lumet.


New episodes for the fifth season of HBO's most popular original series
ever, "The Sopranos," have been filmed during the spring and summer, and
NBC's "Ed" has just begun production on its fourth season.

New Jersey's busy shooting schedule continues well into the fall and
winter. Currently shooting is "Cookout," a comedy about the family
problems of an NBA number one draft choice. Queen Latifah is co-writing,
co-producing and will appear in this Lions Gate Films release, co-starring
Danny Glover and Farrah Fawcett, and directed by Lance Rivera. Most of the
filming will take place in Bernards Twp., East Orange and Jersey City.

Queen Latifah also heads the cast of "Taxi," a remake of Luc Besson's
action comedy about a pizza delivery boy turned cab driver who has the
innate ability to get places quickly. He is assigned to chauffeur a police
officer who is trying to thwart a group of bank robbers. Locations in the
Newark vicinity have been chosen by director Tim Story for this 20th
Century Fox production, also starring Jimmy Fallon.

In the late fall, New Jersey will host a number of other big productions
including a remake of "The Manchurian Candidate" for Paramount Pictures.
And the hit NBC series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" is now gearing
up for a fifth season of production in its North Bergen studio.