PRESS RELEASE

OSCAR-WINNER ENNIO MORRICONE COMPOSES THE THEME TUNE FOR "PREMIUM CINEMA"

For the first time in his extraordinary career, Ennio Morricone, who won an Oscar for his career, has accepted to compose the theme tune for an entire television project. The quality of "Premium Cinema", Mediaset Premium's new film package that will launch on Friday 8 May at 9pm, has convinced the composer to work for the small screen, creating not only the score but also personally conducting the orchestra in the studio. All of the promos now running and the graphic style that characterises Premium Cinema are enhanced by the unmistakable Morricone touch. Ennio Morricone explains simply: "The inspiration? I tried to represent in music a reel of film that unravels increasingly quickly until it explodes in a concluding theme." Easy to say, but it's enough to listen to the opening notes and the moving crescendo of the theme composed by Morricone to immediately recognise his unique ability to evoke the cinema in music. Morricone has written more than 400 soundtracks. He is also celebrated for his work with Sergio Leone for his spaghetti western series: For A Fistful Of Dollars, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time In the West and many others, right up to the gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America. The celebrated composer has also worked with many other Italian and international directors, including Gillo Pontecorvo, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Bernardo Bertolucci, Giuliano Montaldo, Lina Wertmuller, Giuseppe Tornatore, Brian De Palma, Roman Polanski, Warren Beatty, Adrian Lyne, Oliver Stone, Margarethe Von Trotta, Henry Verneuil, Pedro Almodovar and Roland Joffè. In February 2007 he was awarded an Oscar for his career: after five nominations and many other awards (including seven David di Donatello, three Golden Globes, a Grammy and Golden Lion for his career), the Academy of Hollywood gave this highest honour to the Italian composer. Mediaset is consequently immensely proud that Ennio Morricone has agreed to participate in the launch of Premium Cinema, a channel aimed at all lovers of the big screen and offering the best films of recent years; the best stories, the most popular actors and unmissable cult films will all have a place on Premium Cinema which will also offer numerous previews just a few months after theatrical release in an absolutely exclusive pay-TV offer. Twelve films a day, more than 100 quality titles every months in the 16:9 format and without commercial breaks: pure cinema, 24 hours a day. Also with the possibility, with just a touch of the remote control, watch any film in its original language and with subtitles in both the original and Italian. Premium Cinema, along with Studio Universal, will expand the Premium Gallery offer with its four existing channels: Joi, Mya, Steel and Disney Channel, all of which are also available in their +1 versions.

Cologno Monzese, 6 May 2009

Press Office Premium Cinema: Sabrina Signorelli 02 25147408 – 335 8486756