EPIX, Paramount and Participant Media to Host VIRTUAL TOWN HALL on the State of Public Education in the US

EPIX, the premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service, and Paramount Pictures today announced that they will host a virtual town hall this Friday October 8 at 7:00 pm ET, bringing together a panel moderated by Arianna Huffington, Co-founder and Editor in chief of the Huffington Post and featuring WAITING FOR ”SUPERMAN” Director Davis Guggenheim and Producer Lesley Chilcott and Joel Klein, Chancellor of the New York City Schools with an on online audience of teachers, parents and other participants to discuss the state of public education in the U.S.

The event, which will be open to the public and streamed live at www.EpixHD.com/Waiting-for-Superman, is intended to evoke the atmosphere of a traditional town hall by encouraging discussion and debate around the making of the film and the issues it raises. Viewers will be able to pose questions to the panelists in real time, as well as comment and interact with one another.

"At EPIX, our goal is always to help bring people closer to the films, entertainers and filmmakers they love, which is why we’re so proud to be working alongside Paramount in support of this important film,” said EPIX President Mark Greenberg. "With this virtual town hall, we are bringing the strength of our multi-platform service to enable the kinds of conversations that WAITING FOR "SUPERMAN” was designed to inspire.”

WAITING FOR "SUPERMAN”, which opened nationwide in October to rave reviews, has triggered an intense national debate about the state of public education in the U.S. The film exposes the failings of the American school system as it depicts five intertwined stories of students struggling to get an education. Several initiatives have been launched in support of the film, including a national "Take the Pledge” campaign, which provides a way for non-profits, foundations and corporations to match individual pledge levels with powerful action items aimed at helping both students and public schools.

Participant Media has assembled a coalition of foundations and organizations for the official Social Action Campaign for the film, which provides both online and offline opportunities for audience members inspired by the film to take action. The social action website, www.waitingforsuperman.com/action, offers visitors a variety of ways to engage, from sending a state-customized form letter to their Governors and gubernatorial candidates urging the proper implementation of Common Core Standards, to accessing individual city pages in the top U.S. markets and Canada that contain city-specific education actions, tips, news and statistics to using Bing's new Education Map to find local donating, mentoring and volunteering opportunities as well as ratings for local public and private schools. Through its partnership with Stand for Children and United Way, Participant's off-line campaign efforts in approximately 20 cities across the country is working with local policy makers and opinion leaders to mobilize grass-top and grassroots activists to see the movie and make a difference in their own communities to help improve public education.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation:

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.

About EPIX:

EPIX, a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), is a next-generation premium entertainment channel, video-on-demand and online service launched on October 30, 2009. With access to more than 15,000 motion pictures spanning the vast libraries of its partners and other studios, EPIX provides a powerful entertainment experience with more feature films on demand and online and more HD movies than any other service. It is the only premium service providing its entire monthly line-up of new Hollywood titles, classic feature films, original series, music and comedy specials through the linear channel, video-on-demand and online at EpixHD.com, the leading online destination for movies. EPIX has made the commitment to deliver the industry’s most expansive online collection of movies, making more than 3,000 titles available on EpixHD.com. The service is available to over 30 million homes nationwide through carriage agreements with Verizon FiOS, DISH Network, Cox Communications, Mediacom Communications, Charter Communications and NCTC. In addition, Netflix members can instantly watch an array of new releases and library titles from EPIX streamed over the Internet from Netflix 90 days after they premiere in premium pay TV and on demand, giving EPIX another distribution channel to bring its films to more consumers.

For more information about EPIX, go to www.EpixHD.com.

About Participant Media:

Participant Media (participantmedia.com) is a Los Angeles-based global entertainment company specializing in socially-relevant documentary and non-documentary feature films, television, publishing and digital media. Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives. For each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action and advocacy programs, which provide ideas and tools to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Participant’s online Social Action Network is TakePart (takepart.com).

Participant Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky Strauss is President. Participant's films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, Darfur Now, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, The Visitor, The Soloist, Food, Inc., The Informant!, The Cove, The Crazies, Oceans, Countdown to Zero, Waiting for "Superman” and Fair Game.