Variety Announces 2009 Award Season Screening Series Lineup in Los Angeles, New York and Expands to San Francisco

Variety today announced the launch of the seventh annual Variety Screening Series. After the successful 2008 New York expansion, Variety continues to branch out, adding San Francisco, an area with a large contingency of AMPAS members, to the growing list of markets that co-host the annual series.

The Los Angeles Screening Series kicks off with a showing of Summit Entertainment’s "The Hurt Locker," followed by a Q&A with director Kathryn Bigelow, screenwriter Mark Boal and actor Brian Geraghty. The New York Screening Series bows with the Apparition title "Bright Star” followed by a Q&A with writer/director Jane Campion and producer Jan Chapman. San Francisco screenings launch mid-October.

Other films playing in the Series include:

• "Inglourious Basterds”
• "The Road”
• "Up In The Air”
• "The Lovely Bones”
• "NINE”

The Series will spotlight over 50 of the award season’s most anticipated films from major and independent studios through the end of the year. Each screening will be accompanied by a Q&A session with the films’ directors, writers, producers and/or cast members. The screenings will be held at the famous ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood, Landmark’s Sunshine Theatre in New York and the state-of-the-art Premier Theatre housed at George Lucas’ Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco.

"We’re excited to once again showcase the year’s top films to the voting members of the entertainment community in Los Angeles and New York,” said Neil Stiles, Variety President. "We are also thrilled to add San Francisco and the Premier Theatre to the 2009 Series, which demonstrates Variety’s ongoing commitment to igniting the conversation around the season’s awards contenders and creating some additional momentum within our ever-expanding community.”

The Variety Screening Series is open to voting members of various guilds. For more information and to RSVP, visit: www.varietyscreeningseries.com.

Los Angeles Screening Series sponsors include Cunard Line and Dell. New York Screening Series sponsors include Cunard Line, Dell, Stella Artois and the West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau.

About Variety

Variety is the leading publication for entertainment news, recognized and respected throughout the world of show business. The Variety Group–Daily Variety, Daily Variety Gotham, Weekly Variety and Variety.com–are all owned by Reed Business Information (RBI), the largest business publisher in the U.S. RBI is a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc (NYSE: RUK) (NYSE: ENL).

About Cunard Line

Cunard Line, operator of the luxury ocean liners Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria, has long been synonymous with the quest for new discoveries and the epitome of British refinement since the company's first paddle-wheeled steamer, Britannia, crossed the Atlantic in 1840. Cunard voyages bring together like-minded travelers who seek a civilized adventure and relish the Cunard hallmarks of impeccable White Star Service^TM, gourmet dining and world-class entertainment. Today, Cunard offers the only regularly scheduled Transatlantic liner service and continues the legacy of world cruising which it began in 1922. Queen Elizabeth joins the fleet in October 2010.

About West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau

Only in West Hollywood will the business or leisure traveler find 14 distinctive hotels ranging from the grand art deco to the intimately discreet, 30+ world-class galleries, the glittering Sunset Strip, and critically-acclaimed dining all within 1.9 pedestrian-friendly square miles. The primary focus of the West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau is to attract visitors to our dynamic City, through aggressive public relations, sales, marketing, and advertising campaigns. The WHMVB also is committed to playing an integral role in the creation, promotion, and execution of the City’s legendary events. Visit our website at www.visitwesthollywood.com or call us at 800-368-6020.

About Dell

Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading global systems and services company and No. 34 on the Fortune 500.

About Stella Artois

Stella Artois traces its origin back to 1366 to a brewery called Den Hoorn, located in Leuven, a town just outside of Brussels. In 1717, master brewer Sebastian Artois purchased the brewery and renamed it to his namesake. The Artois Brewery created a special brew to celebrate Christmas and named it Stella (Latin for star) for its exceptional clarity. Today, Stella Artois is the gold standard for European lagers with its distinctive flavor and spicy hop character. Imported and distributed in the United States by Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Stella Artois launched a redesigned Web site in 2007 that further strengthened the brand’s ties to the film industry. The site opens with a short film titled La Bouteille, which serves as navigation for the site, and features a series of film vignettes that tell the Stella Artois story. The site can be found at www.stellaartois.com.