From the Academy Award® Nominated Filmmaker

Julian Schnabel and the Writer of The Pianist Comes a Remarkable and Inspiring True Story About the Awesome Power of Imagination

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Available on DVD in April 29, 2008

BURBANK, Calif., February 25, 2008— Miramax Films presents the extraordinary story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a man whose indomitable imagination and love of life shaped his will to achieve a life without boundaries when The Diving Bell and the Butterfly comes to DVD on April 29, 2008 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Winner of the 2008 Golden Globe® for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was also nominated for Academy Awards® in the Directing (Julian Schnabel), Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski), Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood) and Editing (Juliette Welfling) categories. The DVD is priced at $29.99 SRP/$19.95 MAP.

Based on Bauby's best selling memoir of the same name, this triumphant true story inspired renowned filmmaker and visual artist Julian Schnabel (Before Night Falls) to create a film of unprecedented visual and emotional impact. Written by Academy Award® winner Ron Harwood (2002 winner for Best Adapted Screenplay; The Pianist), the film also features the spectacular photography of two time Academy Award® winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski (1999 winner for best Cinematography; Saving Private Ryan and 1994 winner for Best Cinematography; Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan).

The internationally acclaimed cast is led by Academy Award nominee and screen legend Max von Sydow (1987 nominee for Best Actor in a Leading Role; Pelle Erobreren), Cesar Award Winner Mathieu Amalric (2004 winner for Best Actor in Rois Et Reine; 2004), Cannes Film Festival winner Marie-Josée Croze (2003 winner for Best Actress; Les Invasions Barbares), Cesar Award nominee Anne Consigny (2005 nominee for Best Actress; Je Ne Suis Pas) and Cesar Award winner Marina Hands, (2007 nominee for Best Actress; Lady Chatterley).

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly's bravura performances, elegantly realized screenplay and sensual visuals left both moviegoers and critics breathless. "Stunning"- David Ansen, Newsweek.

Named Best Foreign Language Film at the 2008 Golden Globes®, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly garnered numerous prestigious awards and nominations, sweeping through film festivals in Europe and the U.S. with its audacious and touching depiction of Bauby's constrained yet vibrant world. Schnabel earned the Best Director Award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, where the film also received the Technical Grand Prize and was nominated for the Golden Palm. The National Board of Review named The Diving Bell and the Butterfly this year's Best Foreign Language Film, as did the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Washington and DC Film Critics Association. The film took home the Audience Award at the AFI Film Festival and was named Best Picture by the New York Film Critics Online, among other honors.

BONUS FEATURES

• Submerged: A look inside The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

• A Cinematic Vision

• Audio Commentary with Director Julian Schnabel

• Charlie Rose Interviews Julian Schnabel

Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Almaric) was felled at the age of 43 by a massive stroke that left his body almost completely paralyzed but his mind intact—what doctors call "locked in syndrome." In a heartbeat, he went from the well-known editor of a top magazine to a prisoner in his own ruined body, able only to blink his left eye. Remarkably, Bauby was able to use that eye to dictate a memoir to his dedicated speech therapist (Marie-Josee Croze)—one letter at time. Director Julian Schnabel, screenwriter Ronald Harwood and cinematographer Janusz Kaminski translate Bauby's memories and extraordinary inner life into a visually astonishing and emotionally wrenching saga in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Bauby's interior chronicle – his memories, fantasies, pain and spiritual triumph - are eloquently brought to the screen in this unforgettable film.

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