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MDP Worldwide Entertainment Inc. - "The Body" Wins Epiphany Prize At The 2002 Movieguide Awards

3/27/2002

MDP Worldwide's "The Body" starring Antonio Banderas and Olivia Williams won the $25,000 Templeton Foundation Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie of 2001 at the 10th Annual MOVIEGUIDE Faith & Values Awards Gala held Wednesday, March 20, in Bel Air, California. Funded by renowned financier and philanthropist Sir John Templeton, the Epiphany Prize is awarded to the motion picture that is not only uplifting and inspirational, but contains a moral lesson. Other films nominated for the award included "The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings", "Kingdom Come" and "Road to Redemption".

To date, "The Body" has grossed over $25m in its worldwide theatrical release and was theatrically released in the United States by TriStar Pictures. In addition to Banderas and Williams, the cast also includes Sir Derek Jacobi ("Day of the Jackal", "The Odessa File and Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"), John Wood ("An Ideal Husband","The Madness of King George") and Jason Flemyng ("The Red Violin", "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels"). The film was written and directed by Jonas McCord and produced by Rudy Cohen.

Set against the turbulent physical, political and spiritual backdrops of the Middle East and Rome at the dawn of the new Millennium, "The Body" tells the story of Israeli archaeologist Sharon Galban (Williams), who makes a find that threatens the foundations of western civilization. When Jesuit priest Matt Gutierrez (Banderas) is sent by the Vatican to disprove Sharon's findings, the two investigators find their faith, beliefs and identities tested while risking their lives under increasingly difficult odds to discover the truth.

McCord adapted "The Body" from a novel by Richard Ben Sapir, with behind- the-camera talent including director of photography Vilmos Zsigmond and production designer Allan Starski, both Academy Award winners for, respectively, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Schindlers List". Zsigmond is also the recipient of the 1999 American Society of Cinematographers Lifetime Achievement Award.

MDP has been rapidly expanding its production and distribution slate and has most recently acquired international rights to the poignant drama "The United States of Leland" which will be directed by Matthew Ryan Hoge and produced by Kevin Spacey, Bernie Morris, Jonah Smith and Palmer West. The film commenced production in Los Angeles on February 4, 2002 and features Ryan Gosling, Don Cheadle, Chris Klein, Lena Olin, Michelle Williams, Jena Malone and Kevin Spacey. MDP most recently distributed the action adventure film "The Musketeer", directed by Peter Hyams, this past September that debuted No. 1 at the North American box office for Universal Pictures. MDP is also currently handling worldwide distribution for the extreme sports action film "The Extremists", directed by Christian Duguay, which will be released later this year in the United States through Paramount Pictures and the cyber-horror thriller "Fear.com" directed by William Malone, which will be released in the U.S. through Warner Bros. Both feature films are in the final stages of completion.

MDP Worldwide is a leading film entertainment company engaged in the financing, development, production and worldwide distribution of feature films in all media. The company has offices in Los Angeles and Montreal and its shares of common stock are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbols: MDP.A and MDP.B).



For further information: MDP Worldwide Entertainment Inc.

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