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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Letters from Iwo Jima,” and Should Take Home Oscars Just over two in five say they are planning on watching the Oscars this year

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – February 21, 2007 – In the race for Best Picture Oscar, there is no clear “runaway” hit according to the American public. One in five U.S. adults (19%) say “Letters from Iwo Jima” should win the Oscar for Best Picture, while 13 percent each say the Oscar should go to “The Departed” and “Little Miss Sunshine.” Eight percent of adults say “The Queen” should win Best Picture and four percent say the award should go to “Babel.” The largest groups, however, are the 20 percent who say none of the nominated movies should win, and the 21 percent who are not sure. Though the nominated movies may have critical acclaim, it appears that mass popular appeal has eluded them.

Over one-quarter (27%) of those in the West say “Letters from Iwo Jima” should win, while the rest of the country is much more evenly divided. A different front-runner emerges among those who say they are planning to watch the Oscars this year also. One in five Oscar watchers say “The Departed” should win, while 17 percent say it should be “Little Miss Sunshine,” and 16 percent say the award should go to “Letters from Iwo Jima.”

These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,013 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive ® between February 6 and 12, 2007.

Best In the race for Best Actor there is a clear favorite, with 38 percent saying Will Smith should win for ”The Pursuit of Happyness.” Thirteen percent each say the Oscar should go to for “The Last King of Scotland” and Leonardo DiCaprio for “Blood Diamond.” Veteran actor Peter O’Toole is next as seven percent say he should win for his role in “Venus,” while one percent believes Ryan Gosling should win for his role in “Half Nelson.” Over two in five (44%) Oscar watchers also say Will Smith should win the Oscar, followed by Leonardo DiCaprio (20%).

Best Actress One-quarter (26%) say the Oscar should go to Meryl Streep for “The Devil Wears ,” while 18 percent say it should go to for “The Queen.” Further down the list, percent each say the award should go to for “” and Penelope Cruz for “Volver” and five percent say should take home the Oscar for “Notes on a Scandal.” Of those who say they will watch the Oscars this year, 31 percent say the Best Actress award should go to Meryl Streep and 29 percent believe it should go to Helen Mirren.

The Harris Poll ® #15, February 21, 2007 By Regina Corso, Research Director, Issues and Industry Research Practice, Harris Interactive ® Oscar Host The choice of host tends to get almost as much scrutiny as the awards themselves. With Ellen DeGeneres hosting this year, about two-thirds (67%) of adults say it makes no difference in their decision to watch the Oscars, while 17 percent say it will make them more likely to watch and 15 percent say it will make them less likely to watch. One-quarter (24%) of women, however, say the choice will make them more likely to watch as do one-third of those who say they are going to watch the Oscars.

Watching the Oscars More than two in five (43%) U.S. adults say they are planning to watch the Oscars this year, while just over half (54%) say they are not planning on watching. Perhaps not surprisingly, Oscar viewers are more likely to be female than male, with over half of women (52%) expecting to watch, while almost two-thirds of men (64%) expect not to watch.

Why do people watch the Oscars? More than half (54%) of those who planning to watch the Oscars say it is because they enjoy movies and like to see the recognition, while 46 percent say they watch to see the and the actresses. One-third (32%) say they always watch them, three in 10 tune in for the fashions and 29 percent say they just love award shows. On the flip side, 38 percent of those who are not planning to watch say it is because they don’t enjoy watching award shows, while just under one-quarter (23%) don’t watch the Oscars because they don’t watch many movies. One in five (18%) say they don’t watch because the show is just too long, 16 percent say it is because they always forget they are on and 11 percent don’t watch the Oscars because they don’t know any of the actors and actresses.

Other results from The Harris Poll ® are: • Education plays a role in the choice for Best Actor and Best Actress winners. Over one-quarter (26%) of those with a post graduate education think Forest Whitaker should win Best Actor and the same number think Helen Mirren should win Best Actress; • There is a generational difference in who will watch the Oscars. Just under half of Echo Boomers (those ages 18 to 30) and Generation X (those ages 31 to 42) (48% each) are planning on watching, while 43 percent of Baby Boomers (those ages 43 to 61) and just one-third (32%) of Matures (those ages 62 and older) will watch; • Seven in 10 (71%) of those in the West who are planning to watch the Oscars say this is because they enjoy the movies and like to see them get recognition; • One-third (32%) of Echo Boomers don’t watch the Oscars because they always forget they are on, while two in five Matures (39%) don’t watch because they don’t watch many movies.

The Harris Poll ® #15, February 21, 2007 By Regina Corso, Research Director, Issues and Industry Research Practice, Harris Interactive ® TABLE 1 BEST PICTURE OSCAR “Which movie should win the Oscar for Best Picture?” Base: All adults Region Oscar Viewers Total Oscar Non-Oscar East Midwest South West watchers Watchers % % % % % % % Letters from Iwo Jima 19 16 18 17 27 16 22 The Departed 13 16 11 15 9 20 7 Little Miss Sunshine 13 13 14 16 6 17 10 The Queen 8 9 7 9 9 11 7 Babel 4 3 5 3 7 9 1 None of these 20 18 27 16 21 13 25 Not sure 21 24 17 22 21 14 26 Decline to answer 1 1 1 1 1 * 2 Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. *Less than 0.5%.

TABLE 2 BEST ACTOR OSCAR “Who should win the Oscar for Best Actor?” Base: All adults Education Oscar Viewers Total HS or Some College Post Oscar Non-Oscar

less College Grad Grad Watchers Watchers % % % % % % % Will Smith for “The 38 46 36 24 22 44 33 Pursuit of Happyness” Forest Whitaker for “The 13 9 11 23 26 18 10 Last King of Scotland” Leonardo DiCaprio for 13 14 15 9 10 20 8 “Blood Diamond” Peter O’Toole for 7 6 7 8 10 6 8 “Venus” Ryan Gosling for “Half 1 * 2 1 1 2 * Nelson” None of these 13 12 11 18 12 5 19 Not sure 15 13 17 15 19 6 21 Decline to answer 1 1 1 1 - * 1 Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. *Less than 0.5%; -No response

The Harris Poll ® #15, February 21, 2007 By Regina Corso, Research Director, Issues and Industry Research Practice, Harris Interactive ® TABLE 3 BEST ACTRESS OSCAR “Who should win the Oscar for Best Actress?” Base: All Adults Education Oscar Viewers Total HS or Some College Post Oscar Non-Oscar

Less College Grad Grad Watcher Watcher % % % % % % % Meryl Streep for “The Devil Wears Prada” 26 25 28 30 16 31 21 Helen Mirren for “The Queen” 18 14 21 22 26 29 10 Kate Winslet for “Little Children” 9 11 7 6 9 9 10 Penelope Cruz for “Volver” 9 11 8 5 6 10 8 Judi Dench for “Notes on a Scandal” 5 3 6 5 9 5 4 None of these 15 16 11 18 14 6 22 Not sure 17 18 17 14 20 10 23 Decline to answer 1 1 1 1 - * 1 Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. *Less than 0.5%; -No response

TABLE 4 ELLEN DEGENERES AS HOST “This year Ellen DeGeneres has been chosen to host the Oscars. Does this selection for a host make you more likely to watch the Oscars this year, less likely to watch the Oscars or will it make no difference to you?” Base: All Adults Gender Oscar Viewers Total Oscar Non-Oscar Male Female Watchers Watchers % % % % % More likely 17 10 24 33 5 Less likely 15 17 14 9 20 No difference 67 73 61 58 73 Not sure 1 * 1 - 1 Decline to answer * * * - * Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. *Less than 0.5%; -No response

TABLE 5 OSCAR VIEWERSHIP “Are you planning on watching the Oscars this year?” Base: All Adults Gender Generation Echo Baby Total Gen X Matures Male Female Boomers Boomers (31-42) (62+) (18-30) (43-61) % % % % % % % Yes 43 35 52 48 48 43 32 No 54 64 44 51 48 53 64 Not Sure 3 2 4 1 3 3 4 Decline to Answer * - * - - * - Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. * Less than 0.5%; -No response

The Harris Poll ® #15, February 21, 2007 By Regina Corso, Research Director, Issues and Industry Research Practice, Harris Interactive ® TABLE 6 WHY WATCH THE OSCARS? “Why do you watch the Oscars?” Base: Planning on watching the Oscars Region Total East Midwest South West % % % % % Enjoy the movies and like 54 46 49 54 71 to see the recognition To see the actors and 46 46 34 53 47 actresses Always watch them 32 40 29 30 29 To see the fashions 30 37 19 35 23 Just love award shows 29 26 25 32 31 Other 8 5 6 13 3 Not sure * * * - - Note: Multiple-response question Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding. *Less than 0.5%; -No response

TABLE 7 WHY NOT WATCH THE OSCARS? “Why are you not planning on watching the Oscars?” Base: Not planning on watching the Oscars Generation Echo Total Boomers Gen X (31-42) Baby Boomers (43-61) Matures (62+) (18-30) % % % % % Don’t enjoy watching award shows 38 39 42 42 30 Don’t watch many movies 23 24 9 18 39 The show is always too long 18 19 11 18 21 Always forget they are on 16 32 17 10 8 Not sure who any of the actors are 11 11 8 8 20 Other 27 17 38 31 24 Not sure * - - 1 - Note: Multiple-response question Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding. *Less than 0.5%; -No response

Methodology The Harris Poll ® was conducted by telephone within the United States between February 6 and 12, 2007 among a nationwide cross section of 1,013 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults, number of voice/telephone lines in the household, region and size of place were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population.

In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results of the overall sample have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Sampling error for the sub-sample results is higher and varies. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. The Harris Poll ® #15, February 21, 2007 By Regina Corso, Research Director, Issues and Industry Research Practice, Harris Interactive ®

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About Harris Interactive ® Harris Interactive is the 12 th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world’s largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in France and through a global network of independent market research firms. The service bureau, HISB, provides its market research industry clients with mixed-mode data collection, panel development services as well as syndicated and tracking research consultation. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com . To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at http://go.hpolsurveys.com/HarrisPoll .

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Harris Interactive Inc. 02/07

The Harris Poll ® #15, February 21, 2007 By Regina Corso, Research Director, Issues and Industry Research Practice, Harris Interactive ®