November 26, 2002
CONTACT: Harvey Bolgla (212) 388-1400 
                    hbolgla@dba-pr.com

                          Sara Trujillo
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            Dawn Newell (310) 247-3000

Academy's New York Film Series "Monday Nights With Oscar^®" Continues With Screening of 1948's Best Picture "Hamlet"

	The 1948 Academy Award®-winning film "Hamlet" starred Laurence Olivier and Jean Simmons. Olivier won the Lead Actor Oscar® for playing the title role in the film while Simmons received a nomination in the Best Supporting Actress category for her portrayal of Ophelia. "Hamlet" was the 21st film to win the Oscar® for Best Picture.

New York, New York, November 26, 2002 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Monday Nights with Oscar^®" film series will continue on Monday, December 9, with a screening of the 1948 Best Picture winner "Hamlet," starring Laurence Olivier, at the Ames Auditorium, 111 East 59th Street in Manhattan. "Hamlet" was the first film produced outside the United States to win an Academy Award^® for Best Picture. The film was also unique in Academy history for years, in that it generated a Best Actor Oscar for Olivier, making him the only artist in Academy history to direct himself to an Oscar. (Roberto Benigui duplicated the feat in 1998's "Life Is Beautiful.")

Part of the Academy's celebration of its 75th anniversary, "Monday Nights with Oscar" is a series of eight Best Picture-winning films, each representing a 10-year section of Academy Awards(R) history. Robert Osborne, film historian, will host the screening of "Hamlet." Preceding the film, highlights from the third decade of Academy history (1948-1957) will be featured, including coverage of the first televised Academy Awards Ceremony in 1952 and the trailer for the next film in the series, "Gigi" (1958). Participants will also receive a commemorative program for the evening, featuring background on the film and a four-color reproduction of the original movie poster for "Hamlet."

Remaining flms in the series include (in order of presentation): Monday, Dec. 9: "Hamlet" (1948) Monday, Jan. 13: "Gigi" (1958) Monday, Feb. 10: "Oliver" (1968) Monday, March 10: "The Deer Hunter" (1978) Monday, April 14: "Rain Man" (1988) Monday, April 28: "Shakespeare In Love" (1998) Monday, June 2: "Wings" (1928).

Each evening's program begins at 7:30 p.m. Subscriptions to the film series are still available by mail for $45 to the general public and $20 for students with a photocopy of official student ID. To download a subscription form, visit www.oscars.org or call 888-778-7575 for more information. Checks and money orders should be payable to the Academy Foundation. Forms should be mailed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, P.O. Box 118, 236 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10002-1401. All orders will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Individual tickets may also be purchased, subject to availability, at $7.00 for the general public and $5.00 for Academy members and students with valid I.D. To reserve an individual ticket, call 888-778-7575.

Editors: Please note that downloadable photos from this film are available at http://photos.oscars.org