For release: Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Los Angeles-based entertainment production and marketing firm The Hatchery, LLC, is developing a feature film adaptation of the long-running, multi-Tony-nominated stage musical "Jekyll and Hyde" in partnership with Grand Illusions Media Partners (GI) after acquiring the entertainment and licensing rights to the hit production. Announcement of the acquisition and the film project was made by Margaret Loesch and Bruce Stein, Co-Chief Executive Officers of The Hatchery.

Academy Award winner Jonathan Sanger, a producer of the feature film "The Producers," opening this week, will produce the horror-musical feature with Emmy Award winners Dan Angel ("Door-to-Door") and Margaret Loesch, and Ed Elbert of GI. Sanger received an Oscar for the short film "Ray's Male Heterosexual Dance Hall," and 11 Oscar nominations, including for "Elephant Man." His other feature film credits include "Mission Impossible II," "Vanilla Sky" and "Frances."

Double Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning composer, lyricist, author and screenwriter Leslie Bricusse will serve as executive producer of the film with Tony and Grammy-nominated composer, lyricist and producer Frank Wildhorn, who wrote the music for the stage version of "Jekyll & Hyde." Bricusse was a Tony Award nominee for "Best Book of a Musical" for the Broadway production of "Jekyll and Hyde." Also executive producing is Sarah Ryan Black, Sr. Vice President and Partner of GI, and Bruce Stein for The Hatchery.

"The stage version of 'Jekyll and Hyde' has entertained audiences worldwide for more than a decade with its soaring music and dramatic re-telling of this literary horror classic," said Loesch. "The great success of recent musical films including the Academy Award-winning 'Chicago,' 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Phantom of the Opera,' and the perpetual appeal of the horror film genre make this the perfect time to bring the excitement of this story to film. 'Jekyll and Hyde' is positioned to be another great screen musical."

Dan Angel added: "We're delighted to be working on this film with the extraordinarily talented Jonathan Sanger and with Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn who are among the greatest songwriters of our time. Together, we're committed to capturing on film the same magic that audiences loved on-stage."

"Jekyll and Hyde," the classic tale of a brilliant-but-tortured scientist whose experiment in extracting the evil from human nature goes horribly awry, premiered as a musical on Broadway in 1997 to critical and popular acclaim. The production was honored with four Tony nominations. It became the longest-running show in the history of New York's Plymouth Theater and the Broadway cast recording was nominated for a Grammy Award. The Broadway production ran for four years followed by international tours that included Germany, Austria, Japan, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Switzerland, France, Canada, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The production has grossed nearly $500 million worldwide. This April, the 14th recording of "Jekyll and Hyde," Jekyll and Hyde, The Concert, will be released on GlobalVision Records/Koch Entertainment.

Bricusse has been honored with two Academy Awards (for the song "Talk to the Animals" from "Dr. Dolittle"; and original song score with Henry Mancini for "Victor/Victoria") and ten Oscar nominations. Among his other musical film credits: "Goodbye Mr. Chips," "Home Alone," "Goldfinger," "Sweet November," "Hook," "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" and "That's Life!" He received a Grammy Award for the song "What Kind of Fool Am I?" from the musical "Stop the World -- I Want to Get Off" and has nine Grammy nominations. In addition, he is a four-time Tony nominee ("Jekyll & Hyde," "Stop the World -- I Want to Get Off" and "The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd").

In 1999, Tony and Grammy Award-nominated composer Frank Wildhorn became the first American composer in twenty-two years to have three shows running simultaneously on Broadway: "Jekyll & Hyde" (written with Bricusse), which received two Tony nominations; "The Scarlet Pimpernel" (written with Nan Knighton), which received four Tony nominations; and "The Civil War" (written with Jack Murphy & Gregory Boyd), which received two Tony nominations. Frank also wrote additional songs for Broadway's "Victor/Victoria" (written with Bricusse) and was recently represented on Broadway by "Dracula: The Musical "(written with Don Black & Christopher Hampton). He was also a Producer and Co-Creator for "Harlem Song," the first open-ended theatrical run at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY.

About The Hatchery: Launched in April, 2003, The Hatchery develops and produces original family and children's entertainment for all media. The company's productions include the television comedy game show "Balderdash" and the Canadian-produced action-adventure series "Young Blades." The Hatchery is developing a series of direct-to-home video films, "R.L. Stine Presents ...," based on the best-selling horror books Nightmare Hour and The Haunting Hour from award-winning and world's best-selling author R.L. Stine (Goosebumps). Among other feature films and television series being developed are projects based on a series of critically-acclaimed, award-winning children's books including The Great Brain, Bunnicula and Blast-Off Boy (in partnership with Jane Startz); the Sammy Keyes series of children's books; the phenomenally successful series of V.C. Andrews suspense novels; and a feature film based on the award-winning short film "The Freak."

In December 2004, American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM), one of the world's largest manufacturers of social expression products, acquired a significant ownership stake in The Hatchery. The partnership leverages American Greetings' extensive catalog of intellectual properties, leading-edge creative resources and strong retail relationships with The Hatchery's significant experience in identifying and building successful franchises in family and children's entertainment and consumer products.