Stan Lee Media and Pentafour Establish Partnership to Develop Original Animated Properties.

ENCINO, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 25, 1999--Stan Lee Media Inc., the recently formed company deploying the global brand and intellectual-property-development capabilities of comic-book- publishing icon Stan Lee, Thursday announced that it has established a partnership with Pentafour, the largest computer-animation company based outside the United States, to produce original animated properties.

Pentafour, based in Madras, India, enjoys a worldwide reputation for its state-of-the art CGI facility, which is able to produce 3-D animation more efficiently and cost effectively than most of its American counterparts.

Stan Lee Media will utilize the computer-based animation services of Pentafour, as well as co-develop content for global exploitation. Stan Lee Media and Pentafour seek to harness local talent and resources for successful marketing of the content developed.

The partnership is Stan Lee Media's first such international alliance. One of the company's founding missions is to export creative expertise and bring the American style of storytelling to key strategic regions internationally to build indigenous entertainment industries.

"We are excited to have our own 'Pixar' to animate our new characters while bringing to life mythic superheroes from other cultures. There are incredible, heroic legends which have existed for millennia in many cultures around the globe. These stories have had trouble acquiring mass audiences when it comes to today's popular entertainment media," said Stan Lee, co-founder and chief creative officer of Stan Lee Media.

"Working with Pentafour, we can combine the world's best technology with our storytelling and production expertise to provide the missing links in shepherding the creative process."

"By having a round-the-clock operation with Pentafour in India, we will achieve unprecedented short lead times for our projects at very competitive costs," added Devendra Mishra, president and chief executive officer of Stan Lee Media.

"We look forward to working with a legend like Stan and his team. Pentafour is creating strategic partnerships with pioneers in the global entertainment community to create world-class product," said V. Chandrasekaran, chairman and managing director of Pentafour Software.

"Our opportunities to utilize the Stan Lee brand and the superhero franchise through the products developed by Stan Lee Media are unlimited in the mass-media market in India as well."

Pentafour Software is a high-tech company that functions as a one-stop shop for digital production applications for 3-D animation, 2-D animation, visual effects, film scanning/recording and CD-ROM software. Pentafour has more than 1,800 employees, with nearly 700 working on different projects for clients in the entertainment industry around the world.

About Pentafour

Pentafour is based in India with a sister production studio in Los Angeles, and has several offices around the world. Pentafour uses its skills in software development to enhance technology applications with R&D, which help in the transition of entertainment from an analog to a digital world.

Pentafour is a public limited company with revenues of $73 million over the past year. Its latest endeavor, "Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists," is the first-ever 3-D animated motion-capture feature film, and is currently in the final stages of being completed.

Pentafour recently completed work on "The King and I" for Morgan Creek as well. The company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.pentafour.com.

About Stan Lee Media Inc.

Founded by legendary comic-book-publishing icon Stan Lee, co-creator of superheroes Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four and X-Men, Stan Lee Media is deploying Lee's global brand, intellectual-property-development capabilities and goodwill for innovative Internet projects, as well as other new media and traditional media platforms.

The company is developing a branded niche, lifestyle hub on the Internet at http://www.stanlee.net intended to attract the largest- ever global community of 10-to-20-year-old comic-book and superhero enthusiasts.

In addition, Stan Lee Media is applying its creative resources both domestically and internationally to offline custom comic publishing and character creation, traditional publishing and animation for television and film.

Stan Lee Media has headquarters in Encino. The company's corporate Web site can be found at http://www.stanleemedia.com.