For immediate release July 14, 2000

Contacts: Steve Balkin, Maxwell Street Historic Preservation Coalition, 312-341-3696 <mar@openair.org>; Mikaela Beardsley, Offline Entertainment, 212-989-4495 <mikaelabeardsley@hotmail.com>.

Offline Entertainment is the production company that has teamed up with Martin Scorsese and other distinguished directors to do this six part Blues mini seriers.

Read the letter below from Offline Entertainment President Alex Gibney urging the Keeper of the National Register, Carol Shull, to place Maxwell Street on National Register for Historic Places.

Then read their press release describing this project.

Then send or fax your own Save Maxwell Street letter to Carol Shull (fax# 202-343-1836) and Mayor Daley (fax# 312-744-2324).

Unless you act, a important piece of our American heriage is going to be needlessly destroyed. Everything could be gone in a month.

July 7, 2000

Dear Ms. Shull:

I am writing as a filmmaker, blues enthusiast and student of American culture to urge you to place Chicago's Maxwell Street District on the National Register for Historic Places.

As you will see from the attached, Offline Entertainment is teaming with Martin Scorcese and Paul Allen to produce a six-part documentary mini-series about the blues. With directors Michael Apted, Charles Burnett, Spike Lee, Marc Levin and Wim Wenders, our series will trace the geographical and chronological evolution of an African-American music that continues to influence popular music worldwide.

Chicago, and the development of electrified urban blues, will be the focus of two films in the series. To put it simply, without Maxwell Street, ours would be a very different story. It was only because of the musicians who played on its corners--Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, to name a few--that the sounds of the Mississippi Delta made their way onto the national, and eventually world, stage.

We intend to film what remains of the Maxwell District, in order to evoke the physical landscape--the stores, eating places and street corners--where our characters lived and played. It would be a great loss--not only for our films but for American culture--should the last vestiges of this cultural landmark disappear. I encourage the National Register to give Maxwell Street, site of some of the 20th century's most profound social and cultural transformations, the recognition it so deserves.

Sincerely,

Alex Gibney

President, Offline Television

For Immediate Release:

NEW YORK - June 9th

Clear Blue Sky Productions, OFFLINE Entertainment Group and Cappa Productions are joining forces to produce a six-part documentary mini-series on blues music to be directed by a premiere group of feature film directors with documentary experience including Michael Apted, Charles Burnett, Marc Levin and Wim Wenders. In addition to serving as executive producer with Jody Patton, Scorsese may direct one episode.

Scorsese commented, "I've always felt an affinity for blues music - the culture of storytelling through music is incredibly fascinating and appealing to me. The blues have great emotional resonance and are the foundation for American popular music."

"From Howling Wolf to Muddy Waters to B.B. King, this seminal music genre is a rich part of our cultural landscape," said Jody Patton, president of Clear Blue Sky Productions. "We're excited to be working with this range of directors and feel that the series dovetails perfectly with the mission and vision of Experience Music Project." Experience Music Project is the 140,000 square foot interactive music museum opening later this month in Seattle. Patton serves as its executive director.

New York-based OFFLINE Entertainment Group and Scorsese's Cappa Productions will produce the series. The series producer will be Alex Gibney, an Emmy® Award-winning producer and the president of Offline TV. Cappa Productions' Margaret Bodde, associate producer of Scorsese's 1995 Emmy-nominated documentary "Eric Clapton: Nothing But the Blues," will share producing duties with Gibney.

"Offline is a company fueled by the synergy between documentaries and feature films," said Gibney. "So for us, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. We have a group of feature film directors - who are also skilled documentarians - who love music. Taken together, their personal visions will form a mosaic that will reveal a bigger picture: the epic story of the history of the blues, the wellspring that flows into almost all popular music - from jazz to rock 'n' roll, to hip-hop."

"We've created a truly unique way to explore the blues - from its African origins through its current worldwide appeal" said Bodde. " By bringing together this diverse group of directors, the series will provide a fascinating view of the Blues layered through different cultural and historical perspectives."

About OFFLINE Entertainment Group

OFFLINE Entertainment Group is a New York-based production company known for producing both award-winning feature films (SLAM) and documentaries (THUG LIFE IN DC, David Halberstam's THE FIFTIES). Offline recently produced a TV movie THE HUNTRESS for USA, now being produced as a series. In addition to THE BLUES, Offline is working on a number of documentaries for HBO and two TV movies for Fox. Visit OFFLINE Entertainment Group on the web at www.offlineonline.com

About Cappa Productions

Cappa Productions is Martin Scorsese's production company - currently involved in GANGS OF NEW YORK - which has produced Scorsese's feature films and documentary projects for over 10 years.

About Clear Blue Sky Productions

Clear Blue Sky Productions is the independent film production company founded by investor Paul G. Allen in 1997 to originate, develop and finance creative, artistically-driven motion picture and television projects. Under the direction of president Jody Patton, the company has produced a variety of feature and documentary films including the forthcoming LUZHIN DEFENSE as part of their co-production deal with Renaissance Pictures, starring John Turturro and Emily Watson, Academy Award-nominee TITUS, directed by Julie Taymor and starring Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange, John Sayles' MEN WITH GUNS, a Golden Globe Award nominee for Best Foreign Language film (1998), and Michael Apted's latest documentary projects INSPIRATIONS and ME & ISAAC NEWTON, which debuted at the 1999 Toronto International Film Festival. Clear Blue Sky Productions has also partnered with WGBH-TV in Boston to produce an eight-hour series on evolution, under the creative direction of Paula Apsell (NOVA) and executive producer Richard Hutton. At the 2000 Cannes International Film Festival, CBSP also announced a multi-year development and production deal with Killer Films, founded by Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, the creative force behind such critically-acclaimed projects as BOYS DON'T CRY, SAFE, KIDS and HAPPINESS. Visit Clear Blue Sky Productions on the Web at www.clearblueskyfilms.com.

Charles Schuerhoff of CS Associates is handling foreign distribution. Co-executive producers are Henri M. Kessler, David Peipers and Ezra Swerdlow.

OFFLINE Entertainment Group is represented by Steve Glick and Paul Nagle at William Morris Agency. John Sloss of Sloss Law Office helped to broker the deal.

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