(Gaydon,
Warwickshire, 20 February, 2001) - A Land Rover Defender
will star in Paramount Pictures' eagerly anticipated live-action
adventure movie "Tomb
Raider," which opens in the United States and Canada on
June 15, 2001. Angelina Jolie, in the title role of Lara Croft,
will use the vehicle to guide her through danger, and allow her
access to remote and rugged locations in her fearless quest criss-crossing
the globe. The "Tomb Raider" Defender will be on display
at the Geneva Motor Show on 27 February.
Lara Croft's
V8-powered Defender is based on the 110 high capacity pick up,
and has been specially modified by Land Rover's own special vehicles
operation, in conjunction with Paramount Pictures. Bonatti grey
in colour with aluminium tread plates and bumpers, the unique
Defender is fitted with a "Heritage" type grille and
four Safari headlamps glaring from the front of the roof rack.
Extra accessories to aid Lara in her adventures have also been
added, including an expedition tool kit comprising a shovel and
axe at the front, a winch at the rear, navigation screen and emergency
stop buttons.
The Defender
is not the only Land Rover vehicle to star in the movie. "Tomb
Raider" fans will see the complete product line up, which
also includes the Freelander, Discovery and Range Rover. The Range
Rover plays a particularly prolific role, as the vehicle of Lara's
wealthy arch-enemy Powell. The Discoverys are driven by his evil
henchmen.
Simon West,
film director of "Tomb Raider," says: "The Defender
was the perfect choice to star as Lara's vehicle. The entire theme
of the film is based on action and adventure, so Lara's vehicle
had to be one rugged enough to match up to all the challenging
stunts."
Land Rover
will be launching two ranges of Lara Croft "Tomb Raider"
Defenders to markets worldwide later this year.
The "Tomb
Raider" movie is inspired by the most successful interactive
video game character in history - Lara Croft. Beautiful and brainy,
Lara is the heroine of Eidos Interactive's phenomenally successful
"Tomb
Raider" game series. It is one woman's fearless quest
criss-crossing the globe.
Paramount
Pictures and Lawrence Gordon present in association with Mutual
Film Company, a Golar / Eidos plc Production, "Tomb Raider,"
starring Academy Award® winner Angelina Jolie, and directed
by Simon West ("The General's Daughter," "Con Air").
The Simon West Film is produced by Lawrence Gordon ("Die
Hard," "Predator," "48 Hours"), Lloyd
Levin ("Boogie Nights") and Colin Wilson ("Jurassic
Park: The Lost World"). Jeremy Heath-Smith is the executive
producer, and Bobby Klein is the co-producer. The screenplay is
by Patrick Massett, John Zinman and Simon West based on the Eidos
Interactive game series developed by Core Design. The film also
stars Jon Voight, Noah Taylor, Daniel Craig, Iain Glen, Leslie
Phillips and Christopher Barrie. This film is not yet rated.
Paramount
Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom Inc.,
which is one of the world's largest entertainment and media companies,
and a leader in the production, promotion, and distribution of
entertainment, news, sports, and music. "Tomb Raider"
is being co-financed by Paramount Pictures and Mutual Film Company.
Paramount Pictures will release the film theatrically in the U.S.
and Canada on June 15, 2001. Mutual Film Company will distribute
internationally in Germany, Japan, Italy, and Korea through its
local partners, and in the rest of the world through Paramount/UIP.
Eidos Interactive
is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment
products for the PC, PlayStation, Nintendo 64 as well as the Internet.
Eidos Interactive is part of London-based Eidos PLC (Nasdaq: EIDSY),
which also includes Eidos Technologies, a software-based video
compression company; and Glassworks, a state-of-the-art post-production
facility specializing in digital effects for the television, feature
film and advertising industries.
For more than
50 years Land Rover has designed and built four-wheel-drive vehicles
with true rugged capability. Land Rover, based in Solihull, England
forms part of Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Group, whose
headquarters are in London. The chairman is Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle
and Land Rover is one of five Premier Automotive Group brands,
the others being: Jaguar, Aston Martin, Volvo and Lincoln.
"Tomb
Raider" and Lara Croft are trademarks of Core Design Ltd.
All rights reserved.
Land Rover
supplied two Defenders (110 HCPUs), two Discoverys, one Range
Rover and one Freelander V6 for the filming of Tomb Raider.