AFI LAUNCHES NEW WEB SITE IN CELEBRATION OF AFI's 100 YEARS . . . 100 MOVIES. Continuing to commemorate the extraordinary first 100 years of American movies, the American Film Institute (AFI) has launched its Web site dedicated to AFI's 100 Years. . . 100 Movies at: http://AFI.100movies.com/. This dynamic site offers film fans and movie buffs up-to-date information and activities for this unprecedented celebration honoring the 100 greatest American movies of all time being announced next month. Online users can try to match the movie choices of the film community in an online poll, chat with other movie mavens, learn interesting movie trivia and even enter an online sweepstakes to win a complete satellite system from U.S. Satellite Broadcasting. Movie Buffs can log on to the Web site to explore five main areas: Movie Database: The Movie Database alphabetically lists AFI's Top 400 movies nominated for the 100 greatest movies. Offering an online database of the 400 movies, the Movie Database includes stills, synopses, as well as credit and production information about each movie. Chat Room Each day in the AFI Chat Room, there will be a new lively topic of discussion relating to one or more of the Top 400 nominated movies. AFI's Chat Room creates an interesting forum on film and gives people the arena to share their own ideas on motion pictures and related topics. This Day in Movie History Each day, the This Day in Movie History section will provide users with fun facts and anecdotes about what happened on that particular day in motion picture history. Online users can find out interesting movie tidbits, view movie stills and learn more about a particular motion picture. Consumer Sweepstakes After perusing the Movie Database, online users can try to guess which movies from the list of 400 nominees will be named as the Top 10 on June 16. Once the user has made their selections, they can automatically enter to win a satellite dish and a free year of service from U.S. Satellite Broadcasting. Additionally, the Consumer Sweepstakes, sponsored by General Motors, continually gives up-to-the-minute rankings of the Top 10 movies, based on all entries, and also allows film fans to change their Top 10 picks as many times as they wish, prior to the close of entries on June 16. News Page AFI's News Page, sponsored by Newsweek, will provide users with updated information on AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies. There will be news on the CBS special and celebrity participants, TNT's 10 one-hour specials, as well as interesting stories which have appeared in the media about AFI's historic celebration. In addition, people can find out about Newsweek's special collector's issue, hitting newsstands on Wednesday, June 17, which will focus on the centennial of movie-making and AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Movies. On Tuesday, June 16, during a three-hour, primetime CBS special, AFI will announce the 100 greatest films as determined by a blue-ribbon panel of more than 1,500 leaders from across the American film community. The panel selected the 100 greatest movies from a list of 400, compiled by AFI historians and made through 1996, the 100th year of American movie-making. On June 23, one week after the CBS program, TNT will air the first of 10 one-hour specials, one broadcast each week for 10 consecutive weeks, that will take an in-depth look at the 100 movies. In addition to the CBS and TNT programs, an historic coalition of the home video divisions of 13 studios and film companies have joined together to support AFI's special promotion of the 100 greatest American movies on video. Also planned is a Newsweek special issue that will hit newsstands on June 17th, the day after the CBS special. AFI is the preeminent national arts organization dedicated to advancing and preserving the art of film, television and the many other forms of the moving image. Among its many missions, AFI trains the next generation of great American filmmakers, preserves America's great movie heritage, honors the best of the moving image through its annual Life Achievement Award and its film festival in Hollywood, and explores new technologies impacting the movies of tomorrow. More information about AFI can be found by visiting its award-winning Web site located at www.afionline.org. ---- Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite http://www.tcf.ua.edu/screensite