ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER, MARYANN DE LEO, AND GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING SINGER-SONGWRITER-ACTIVIST, MICHAEL BOLTON, UNDERWAY WITH NEW LIFETIME TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY EXAMINING DOMESTIC & SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN     Cinema Verite Film Illuminates Prevalence Across All Economic Levels, Including Women Who Appear to “Have It All”     To Be Showcased at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and Premiering in April as Centerpiece of Lifetime’s Emmy Award-Winning Public Advocacy Campaign: “Stop Violence Against Women”   New York After winning an Academy Award in 2004 (HBO’s Chernobyl Heart), filmmaker Maryann De Leo had her pick of projects. With a history of tackling difficult stories, De Leo accepted Lifetime’s invitation to take a new look at the subject of domestic and sexual violence against women. “I knew this would be tough and very emotional, but after talking with advocates working on this issue and hearing from women who have been affected, I realized this is closer to home than people realize and their passion became my passion,” said De Leo, who is the executive producer and director of the Lifetime film – which will premiere in April – National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.   While there has been an anti-violence movement in the U.S. for more than 30 years, it has been, in large part, a silent problem. Recognizing that ending violence against women would not be accomplished by just speaking to women, Lifetime helped to partner De Leo with Michael Bolton, GrammyÒ Award-winning singer, songwriter and antiviolence activist who is the film’s executive producer. The hour-long special, as yet untitled, merges De Leo’s acclaimed journalistic abilities with Bolton’s long history of activism on the subject of gender violence, including how men need to stand up and speak out against the epidemic.     “This issue is shrouded in a mix of fear and shame, and is complicated by the fact that people think this is a personal issue, but it’s not. It is against the law. We need to talk openly about all of this - to raise awareness and to end the cycle of violence,” said Bolton, who is conducting corresponding “man on the street” interviews.     The hour-long film, currently in production and being showcased at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival on January 22, serves as the programming centerpiece of Lifetime’s ongoing EmmyÒ Award-winning public advocacy campaign, Our Lifetime Commitment: Stop Violence Against Women, now in its fourth year. Via relationships formed over the years through the campaign, Lifetime arranged for De Leo to talk and meet, in the Fall of 2004, with nearly 50 advocates whose information and expertise helped inform the content of the film.     “We, at Lifetime, are privileged to use the power of television to make a difference on critical issues facing women today – through community outreach, pushing for progressive politics in Washington, online content and of course, original programming, on behalf of our viewers in the 88 million homes we reach,” said Meredith Wagner, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs, Lifetime Entertainment Services. Allison Wallach, Lifetime Television’s Vice President, Programming, serves as the Network’s executive in charge of production for the documentary. Wallach also supervised Until the Violence Stops, the documentary which anchored last year’s Stop Violence Against Women campaign, won a 2004 EmmyÒ Award for Best Music Score and received standing ovations at its two screenings at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.   The Women During filming, De Leo and her crew, Vibha Bakshi, Co-Producer and Isabel Vega, Associate Producer, were given unprecedented access, from local police, detectives, judges, prosecutors and counselors, all committed to joining the campaign to stop violence against women in America. While some subjects were determined before filming began, many were identified along the way, as De Leo and crew met with shelters, rode with police officers during emergency calls, and filmed detectives as they followed criminal cases and testified in court. The result is an emotional mix of stories of several women, from different walks of life, all sharing the same horror of physical, verbal or sexual abuse. As De Leo watched each story unfold, a reoccurring theme surprised her. “Regardless of background, including those women living in million dollar homes, the stories were all the same. The insidious nature of the problem traps them and is a constant throughout the film,” remarked De Leo.   One woman appearing to “have it all” – a successful husband, a beautiful home, and two children in college – suffered for 22 years. One night, after being hit repeatedly by her husband, she finally called 911. “God dialed the last ‘1,’” she tells De Leo. “I couldn’t.” Another believed she had found a life partner to care for her and her six-year-old son, only to be locked up and abused – ultimately escaping with the help of police. Another subject, a fireman’s wife, endured four years of battering before finding the courage to leave. And the film includes the heartbreaking story of a woman pushed down the stairs while six months pregnant, only to see the baby taken away by the court at the behest of the abusive husband.     The Statistics     De Leo, Bolton and Lifetime seek to utilize their respective gifts of story-telling to create a continuing national conversation among men and women to stop this pervasive issue, a problem illuminated by statistics such as:     · Nearly one in three women will experience at least one physical assault by a partner at some point in their lives; · Every two minutes, someone in America is sexually assaulted; · One in five adolescent girls in America becomes a victim of physical or sexual abuse, or both, in a dating relationship · Boys who witness their father’s domestic violence are 10 times more likely to engage in domestic violence than boys from non-violent homes.     Maryann De Leo     Maryann De Leo won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2004 for “Chernobyl Heart,” aired on HBO. An independent filmmaker and journalist, De Leo’s films include other HBO documentaries:     “Rape: Cries from the Heartland” (CableAce Award); “High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell” (DuPont-Columbia Award); “Six Months to Live: Alternative Medicine and the Fight for Life”; “A Cinderella Season: The Lady Vols Fight Back” (National Sports Emmy); and “Bellevue: Inside Out.”     De Leo’s work in journalism includes an Emmy Award-winning series for NBC about the corruption of the Marcos regime in the Philippines, and an Emmy nomination for the NBC series “American Survival.” De Leo has also produced reports from Cambodia, Vietnam, El Salvador, Cuba, Guatemala, the former Soviet Union, China, Afghanistan, Angola, Korea, Iraq, Iran and Mexico.     Michael Bolton     Over the course of his extraordinary career, Michael Bolton has sold more than 52 million albums and singles worldwide, winning two GrammysÒ for best male vocalist and six American Music Awards. Bolton has penned songs for a diverse list of legendary artists including, Barbra Streisand, KISS, Cher, Patti LaBelle, Marc Anthony and Kenny Rogers. In addition, he has co-written with Bob Dylan, and performed with Luciana Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Ray Charles and BB King. Bolton has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Lewis Hine Award presented by the National Child Labor Committee, as well as the Martin Luther King Award from the Congress of Racial Equality. He was also named a Hendon Fellow at Yale University and recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in honor of his artistic and humanitarian contributions.     Thirteen years ago, he established the Michael Bolton Foundation, now Michael Bolton Charities, Inc. (MBC) to provide assistance, education and shelter to children and women at risk from poverty, as well as physical, emotional and sexual abuse. He joined forces with Lifetime at the start of the Network’s Stop Violence Against Women campaign, crediting his involvement to his three daughters, and has traveled to Washington for special events with Congress and The White House to draw attention to the epidemic.     “Our Lifetime Commitment: Stop Violence Against Women”     Lifetime will once again bring together activists working to end sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking and all forms of violence, celebrities and political leaders for Lifetime’s fourth annual “Stop Violence Against Women Week” in Washington, from March 7-11. Building on last year’s events, including the State Department meeting on the problem of sex trafficking, this year’s events, sponsored by national and grassroots groups, will include:     Congressional briefings and hearings, focused largely on the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) News conferences to highlight new messages and activities driving the movement forward Lifetime’s “Champions for Change” reception, the premier event of the week, which honors and celebrates women and men who are making a difference on this issue. Our Lifetime Commitment: Stop Violence Against Women is dedicated to raising awareness of various forms of violence such as domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking; to offer lifesaving information and support; and to promote passage of progressive national legislation. Lifetime partners with leading non-profit organizations, bipartisan political leaders, Hollywood stars, music legends and corporations to unite women and men in efforts to stop the violence against women and girls. In recent years, the Network has championed critical, bipartisan legislation on behalf of women. After more than two years of Lifetime’s intense lobbying efforts, a bill was signed into law that will clear up a backlog of DNA evidence and is expected to almost immediately take more than 70,000 rapists off the streets. The law is named in part for a rape survivor named Debbie Smith whose courageous story has inspired a Lifetime Original movie currently in development. The President also signed a law inspired by Lifetime’s highly rated original film, “Video Voyeur: The Susan Wilson Story,” starring Angie Harmon. Thanks to Harmon and the real Susan Wilson, who came to Capitol Hill with Lifetime, it is now a federal crime to secretly videotape people on federal property.     Some of Lifetime’s partners include the Family Violence Prevention Fund, the National Coalition Against     Domestic Violence, the National Center for Victims of Crime, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Mentors in Violence Prevention Strategies, The Michael Bolton Charities, RAINN, Safe Horizon and V-Day, as well as Administration officials and bipartisan Members of Congress.     LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women, Lifetime Radio for Women, Lifetime Home Entertainment and Lifetime Online are part of LIFETIME Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.     Contact: Tracey Spector (212) 424-0869 spector@lifetimetv.com Aimee Gautreau (914) 238-2698 aimee.gautreau@verizon.net