Spider-Man 2 Swings Into Ballparks Via Unprecedented Marketing Partnership Between Columbia Pictures and Major League Baseball Properties

Major League Baseball Properties has teamed with Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios for an unprecedented marketing partnership to support the highly anticipated national release of Spider-Man® 2, it was jointly announced today by Geoffrey Ammer, president of worldwide marketing for the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group and Tim Brosnan, EVP Business for Major League Baseball.

The focus of the marketing partnership will be a weekend of Spider-Man® 2 events coordinated with Major League Baseball Properties and the 15 MLB Clubs hosting home games June 11-13.

During Spider-Man® 2 Weekend, which has been scheduled during a segment of the 2004 Major League Baseball Interleague Play schedule, ballparks will feature in-park and on-field Spider-Man® signage and each Club will feature special Spider-Man® promotional events, including giveaways with the world-renowned web crawler. In addition, highlights from Spider-Man® 2 will run on stadium video boards to promote the motion picture's June 30 release. Major League Baseball Properties and the 15 participating Clubs will promote Spider-Man® 2 Weekend locally in each market and nationally.

"This is the perfect alliance between two quintessential national pastimes -- baseball and movie going," said Ammer. "This partnership celebrates superheroes, whether they are on the field or on the big screen and we are extremely excited about the opportunity to create this unique promotion with Major League Baseball."

"Spider-Man® 2 Weekend is a part of our continuing marketing efforts to appeal to younger fans in new and non-traditional ways," added Brosnan. "We anticipate that Spider-Man® 2 will break records at our ballparks and in the theaters."

Major League Baseball Clubs hosting Spider-Man® 2 Weekend are the Anaheim Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays.

In Spider-Man 2, two years have passed since Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) walked away from his long-time love Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) and decided to take the road to responsibility as Spider-Man. Peter must face new challenges as he struggles to cope with "the gift and the curse" of his powers while balancing his dual identities as the elusive superhero Spider-Man and life as a college student. The relationships Peter holds most dear are now in danger of unraveling as he clashes with the powerful, multi-tentacled villain "Doc Ock" (Alfred Molina).

Spider-Man® 2 reunites the cast and filmmakers from the first adventure, including Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Rosemary Harris and J.K. Simmons, under the leadership of director Sam Raimi and producers Laura Ziskin and Marvel's Avi Arad. Joining the ensemble cast are Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius ("Doc Ock"), Daniel Gillies as John Jameson, Vanessa Ferlito as Louise, Dylan Baker as Dr. Curt Connors and Donna Murphy as Rosalie Octavius.

Columbia Pictures Presents A Marvel Enterprises/Laura Ziskin Production Spider-Man® 2 starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, Donna Murphy and J.K. Simmons. The film is directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man, For The Love of the Game). The screenplay is by two-time Oscar® winner Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People, Unfaithful) based on the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The screen story is by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar and Pulitzer-Prize winning author Michael Chabon. The producers are Laura Ziskin (Spider-Man, Pretty Woman) and Avi Arad (X-Men, Daredevil, Hulk).

About Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures, part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company. Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com/ .

   For further information contact:

   Steve Elzer,
   Senior Vice President, Media Relations
   Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
   310-244-7142
   steve_elzer@spe.sony.com

   Kathleen Fineout,
   Director, Marketing Communications
   Major League Baseball
   212-931-7882

SOURCE: Columbia Pictures

CONTACT: Steve Elzer, Senior Vice President, Media Relations of Columbia
TriStar Motion Picture Group, +1-310-244-7142, or steve_elzer@spe.sony.com; or
Kathleen Fineout, Director, Marketing Communications of Major League Baseball,
+1-212-931-7882

Web site: http://www.sonypictures.com/