LOS ANGELES, July 10 /PRNewswire/-- Miramax Films and Hollywood Online have joined forces to create a massive in-theatre promotional campaign for Miramax's THE MIGHTY, starring Sharon Stone, Kieran Culkin, Elden Henson, Gena Rowlands, Harry Dean Stanton, Gillian Anderson, James Gandolfini and Meat Loaf, and for hollywood.com, the leading movie Internet site. The film and the Web site will be featured in a trailer shown on approximately 14,000 screens played before every show for at least eight weeks. The promotion will begin today; THE MIGHTY will be released in theatres on October 30.

"Hollywood Online has come up with what is arguably the best way to reach frequent moviegoers on a widespread and guaranteed basis," said Mark Gill, President of Miramax/LA. "We're delighted to be part of the debut."

"The launch of this trailer, which combines promotion for THE MIGHTY and Hollywood Online, is a landmark in our company's history," said Michael Rollens, Chairman and CEO of Hollywood Online Inc. "It's a unique marketing arrangement that reflects Hollywood Online's mission to promote movies and movie-going."

The campaign, made possible by an agreement between Hollywood Online and the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), is one of the most extensive in-theatre promotions ever. Exhibitors participating in the promotional campaign include ACT III Theatres, AMC Theatres, Cineplex Odeon, Georgia Theatre Corp., Hollywood Theatres, Hoyts Cinemas, Landmark Theatres, Mann Theatres, Metropolitan Theatres, National Amusements, Regal Cinemas, Silver Cinemas, SoCal Cinemas and United Artists.

THE MIGHTY is the funny, inspirational and adventurous tale of two outsiders who, in the noble spirit of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, set out on a mighty quest for greatness and the common good. Based on the acclaimed novel by Rodman Philbrick, it all begins when young Kevin Dillon (Kieran Culkin) and his mother (Sharon Stone) move next door to Maxwell Kane (Elden Henson) and his grandparents (Gena Rowlands, Harry Dean Stanton). Thirteen-year-old Max is a giant boy in size 14 shoes who's slow in school, short on courage, and long on not fitting in. But then, he meets Kevin, a tiny Einstein in leg braces with more smarts, lip and nerve than any kid in town. Together, they become THE MIGHTY. The film is directed by Peter Chelsom and written by Charles Leavitt.

The partnership between Hollywood Online and the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) also has resulted in the creation of ShowTimes, the most comprehensive movie listings service available, featuring national theatre information covering more than 100 exhibition chains. The service already is being promoted in theatres nationwide with posters and decals.

The deal for the unique promotion was put together Mark Gill on behalf of Miramax and Stuart Halperin, Executive Vice President and co-founder of Hollywood Online.

Production of the trailer was the joint effort between Miramax Films and Complete Post, under the creative direction of Complete Post's Scott Jacobs. The sound design was created by Complete Sound, a THX-certified facility and a division of Complete Post.

Hollywood Online is all about movies. It is the premier Web site for movies, the motion picture industry and Hollywood. The award-winning site (hollywood.com) features one of the Web's largest collections of movie-related multimedia including audio and video clips, trailers, music, photos and exclusive interactive games. Hollywood Online also offers visitors current movie, video, laserdisc and DVD information, local ShowTimes, daily Hollywood news, celebrity interviews, listings of movies on TV, a searchable database with over 130,000 movies and 850,000 cast and crew credits, reviews, box office charts, interactive forums, a weekly e-mail dispatch and live coverage of premieres, festivals and events. Founded in 1993, Hollywood Online Inc. is an independent subsidiary of Times Mirror. SOURCE Hollywood Online -0- 07/10/98

/CONTACT: Andrew Stengel of Miramax Films, 212-941-3800; or Stuart Halperin of Hollywood Online, 310-586-2016/

/Web site: http://www.hollywood.com/ CO: Miramax Films; Hollywood Online Inc. ST: California IN: ENT SU: JVN