UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- OVERVIEW: Visionary filmmakers Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) join forces to produce Academy Award®-nominated director Shane Acker's distinctively original and thrilling animated epic adventure set in a post-apocalyptic world unlike any imagined. Featuring the voices of Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings trilogy), John C. Reilly (Step Brothers), Jennifer Connelly (The Day the Earth Stood Still) and Crispin Glover (Beowulf), 9 dynamically explores the will to live, the power of community and how one soul can change the world.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is offering up a $100,000 chance of a lifetime to celebrate the Blu-ray(TM) Hi-Def and DVD release of 9 this holiday. Beginning November 18th, fans have a chance to win $100,000 to save the world their way! With this much cash, the winner can donate to a children's rescue, give to the homeless or return to school - fans can create their own once-in-a-lifetime mission! * Over 200 additional prizes will be awarded, including HDTVs, Netbooks, Blu-ray(TM) players and more. Each winner of these additional prizes gets two - one for themselves and one to give away this holiday. (*$100,000 prize will be awarded in the form of a check to the winner.)

BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVE TO Blu-ray(TM) Hi-Def: Unleash the power of your HDTV and experience 9 with perfect picture and purest digital sound.

    --  U-CONTROL(TM): Universal's exclusive signature feature puts the viewer
        just one click away from going deeper into the making of the film
        without ever leaving the movie.
    --  BD-LIVE(TM): Access the BD-Live(TM) Center through an Internet-connected
        player to download exclusive content, the latest trailers and more!
        --  ON TOUR WITH SHANE ACKER:  Take a tour of the production with
            director Shane Acker as he explains the production process
            step-by-step and introduces the team responsible for creating 9.

        --  MY SCENES SHARING:  Bookmark favorite scenes from 9, then share with
            BD-Live(TM) buddies!

BONUS FEATURES (BLU-RAY(TM) HI-DEF AND DVD):

    --  DELETED SCENES
    --  9 - The Original Short: Experience the spectacular short film with
        optional commentary by writer/director/animator Shane Acker and
        animation director Joe Ksander.
    --  THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT:  From creating an 11-minute short, to
        running a full-scale feature length production, see how
        writer/director/animator Shane Acker went from the short 9 to the long
        9, including a behind-the-scenes look at script development,
        pre-production in LA, production in Luxembourg, budgets, scheduling and
        more!
    --  THE LOOK OF 9:  An in-depth look at the design, color and texture of 9.
    --  ACTING OUT:  Learn how shooting live-action reference helped animation
        director Joe Ksander animate 9's non-human characters.  Take a closer
        look at this process and hear from some of the animators about their
        performances.

    --  Feature Commentary:  Delve deeper into the world of 9 with
        writer/director/animator Shane Acker, animation director Joe Ksander,
        head of story Ryan O'Loughlin and editor Nick Kenway.

SYNOPSIS: From visionary filmmakers Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) and Academy Award®-nominated director Shane Acker comes this visually stunning and original epic adventure. In the final days of humanity, a dedicated scientist gives the spark of life to nine of his creations. The world has turned into an unrecognizable landscape of machines and spare parts, but this group of nine finds that if they band together, their small community might just be able to change the course of history. Featuring the voice talents of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly and Crispin Glover, it's a thrilling, suspenseful story critics call, "richly imaginative." (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone)

http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/9/

    TECHNICAL INFORMATION - BLU-RAY(TM) HI-DEF:
    Street Date: December 29, 2009
    Copyright:  2009 Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    Selection Number:  62106416
    Running Time: 1 Hour, 20 Minutes
    Layers: BD-50
    Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 1.85:1
    Rating:  PG-13 for violence and scary images
    Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles
    Sound:  English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS Surround 5.1, Spanish
    DTS Surround 5.1

    TECHNICAL INFORMATION - DVD:
    Street Date:  December 29, 2009
    Copyright:  2009 Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    Selection Number: 62106415
    Running time: 1 Hour, 20 Minutes
    Layers:  Dual Layer
    Aspect Ratio:  Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
    Rating:  PG-13 for violence and scary images
    Languages/Subtitles:  English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles
    Sound:  English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby
    Digital 5.1

    CAST AND FILMMAKERS
    Cast:  Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover,
    Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Fred Tatasciore
    Directed By: Shane Acker
    Written By: Shane Acker (story), Pamela Pettler (screenplay)
    Produced By: Jim Lemley, Tim Burton, Timur Bekmambetov, Dana Ginsburg
    Co-Produced By: Jinko Gotoh, Marci Levine
    Animation Direction By: Joe Ksander
    Art Direction By: Christophe Vacher
    Production Design By: Robert St. Pierre, Fred Warter
    Editor:  Nick Kenway
    Music By:  Danny Elfman (themes), Deborah Lurie (score)
    Casting By: Mindy Marin

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    CONTACTS: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    Jennifer Black
    Publicity Director on behalf of
    Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    (818) 777-5046
    Jennifer.Black@nbcnuni.com

SOURCE Universal Studios Home Entertainment