APPEALS BOARD UPHOLDS R RATING FOR FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (Moore, Cuomo, Lions Gate appeal denied)

Lions Gate Films and IFC Films to Contest 'R' Rating for Controversial, Award-Winning Film 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

VANCOUVER, BC, SANTA MONICA, Calif. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2004--

Academy Award Winner Michael Moore's Critically Heralded Film to Open Nationwide On June 25

Lions Gate Films, a division of Lions Gate Entertainment (AMEX and TSX: LGF - News News) and IFC Films have begun the process of contesting the R rating the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) has applied to its June 25 nationwide release "Fahrenheit 9/11", it was announced today by Tom Ortenberg, President of Lions Gate Films Releasing. The MPAA issued the current rating due to "violent and disturbing images and for language." Lions Gate Films has filed an emergency appeal with Jack Valenti of the MPAA for an expedited screening.

"It is sadly very possible that many fifteen and sixteen years olds will be asked and recruited to serve in Iraq in the next couple of years," said Michael Moore. "If they are old enough to be recruited and capable of being in combat and risking their lives, they certainly deserve the right to see what is going on in Iraq."

"Lions Gate Films will continue to aggressively support the artistic visions of our filmmakers. The MPAA rating applied to 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is completely unjustified," said Ortenberg. "We are adamant about overturning this decision in an expeditious manner to ensure that as many people as possible, including young adults who represent the future of our nation, are able to see one of the most important and thought-provoking films of our time in theaters on June 25."

"IFC has great concerns with the MPAA's decision and will do everything within its legal power to fight this unjust rating judgment," stated IFC Entertainment President Jonathan Sehring. "With a film like 'Fahrenheit 9/11', IFC is of the strong belief that all filmgoers should be empowered to make their own viewing decisions. The bottom line is this - during these times, it is crucial for the young people of this country to be fully informed. Michael Moore's voice deserves a broad audience and we are confident this ratings decision will ultimately be overturned."

In their recent review of the film, Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper of "Ebert & Roeper" gave the film two big thumbs up, and Richard Roeper said "Whether you are completely in favor of the war or you are completely against the war, or maybe most important of all, if you haven't made up your mind, you should see this movie."

Lions Gate Entertainment is a premiere independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of approximately 8000 titles is one of the largest in the entertainment industry. The Lions Gate brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.

IFC Entertainment consists of IFC Productions, a production company that provides financing for select independent feature films and offers filmmakers unusual creative freedom to realize their personal cinematic visions; IFC Films, a leading theatrical film distribution company bringing the best of independent and specialized films to theaters; and InDigEnt, an initiative for established filmmakers to explore the medium of digital video.

BIG BARFER WARNING

Mario Cuomo joins fight for PG-13 rating for `Fahrenheit 9/11 | June 15, 2004 | KAREN MATTHEWS

NEW YORK (AP) _ Former Gov. Mario Cuomo said Tuesday that he has been retained by the distributors of Michael Moore's documentary ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' to assist in their effort to get a PG-13 rating instead of an R. ``I'm going to do everything I possibly can to get this picture advanced,'' said Cuomo, a Democrat who has been a lawyer in private practice since being defeated for re-election by Republican George Pataki in 1994.

A screening by the Motion Picture Association of America's appeals board has been set for June 22, just three days before ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' hits theaters. But the film's distributors, Lions Gate Films and IFC Films, are trying to move that screening up to this week to expedite a decision. In ``Fahrenheit 9/11,'' Moore depicts President Bush as asleep at the wheel in the months before the Sept. 11 attacks. The movie also accuses the White House of breeding fear of more terrorism to gain support for the Iraq war.

The film's images include a beheading in Saudi Arabia, Iraqis burned by napalm and an Iraqi man dumping a dead baby into a truckbed loaded with bodies. The MPAA ratings board gave ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' an R rating for ``violent and disturbing images and for language.'' An R rating means that those younger than 17 can't see the movie unless accompanied by an adult.

Cuomo said that he has been retained by Lions Gate and IFC to assist in the appeals process and that after seeing the movie three times ``I was convinced that it should be viewed and reflected upon by as many Americans as possible ... especially young people who, in a few years, might be part of our military forces.''

Asked if the movie might be too violent for youngsters, Cuomo said, ``War is too violent for kids. ... If anybody should be interested here, it is the parents who wish to have their children understand what's going on in the world they're inheriting.''

Cuomo added that in addition to representing the distributors as an attorney he planned to go on talk shows to promote the movie. ``I'm committed personally to the proposition, as more than just a lawyer, that everybody should see this film,'' he told reporters at the midtown offices of his firm, Wilkie Farr & Gallagher.

``Fahrenheit 9/11'' won the top honor at last month's Cannes Film Festival for Moore, who received the 2002 Academy Award for best documentary with ``Bowling for Columbine.'' Moore had to seek new distributors for ``Fahrenheit 9/11'' after Disney refused to let its Miramax subsidiary release it, saying it was too politically charged.

``Fahrenheit 9/11'' opens nationwide on June 25. Lions Gate president Tom Ortenberg said the R rating could cut the movie's audience by 20 percent.

AP-ES-06-15-04 1430EDT

Have you heard about the docu-comedy beiong produced about Moore called: "THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL (I LIVE TO EAT) MOORE."

The story thus far: After consuming the contents of his refrigerator including the ice cube tray. Moore got so hungry one night he hijacked a Domino's delivery van that happened to be passing at the time.

They found him later, covered with pepperoni and mozzarella, the delivery van empty, and 50 super-sized pizza boxes scattered over the landscape with Moore trying valiantly to flag down a Mister Softee truck.

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