NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, March 9, 2008
SETH ROGEN NAMED SHOWEST COMEDY STAR OF THE YEAR
ROGEN TO STAR IN COLUMBIA PICTURES PINEAPPLE EXPRESS SET FOR 08/08/08 RELEASE LOS ANGELES — After rocketing to stardom in 2007 with standout performances in the hit movies Knocked Up and Superbad , the latter a film he also co-wrote and executive produced, Seth Rogen has been named ShoWest Comedy Star of the Year, it was announced today by Mitch Neuhauser, co-managing director of the event, which will be held March 10-13, 2008, in Las Vegas. Rogen will be presented with the ShoWest Comedy Star of the Year award at ShoWest’s closing night ceremony on Thursday, March 13th at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas. Rogen will next star in, co-write, and executive produce Columbia Pictures’ Pineapple Express, in theaters August 8, 2008. “In the world of comedy, Seth Rogen has pulled off an incredible ‘hat trick’ – not only is he an incredibly funny and talented comedic actor, but his ability to write comedy and put it all together on screen as a producer is incomparable. It is no wonder ShoWest is thrilled to be honoring Rogen as its 2008 Comedy Star of the Year,” noted Neuhauser. “Seth Rogen has provided moviegoers with hilarious comedic performances in such films as The 40-Year-Old Virgin , Knocked Up and, of course, Superbad; and we can only imagine what he has in store this summer with Pineapple Express . His uncanny ability to deliver performances that moviegoers can relate to has translated into tremendous box-office success and we are honored to present him with this award.” In the action-comedy Pineapple Express, lazy stoner Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) has only one reason to visit his equally lazy dealer Saul Silver (James Franco): to purchase weed, specifically, a rare new strain called Pineapple Express. But when Dale becomes the only witness to a murder by a crooked cop (Rosie Perez) and the city's most dangerous drug lord (Gary Cole), he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is so rare that it can be traced back to him. And it is. As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they’re not suffering from weed-fueled paranoia; incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both. The film is directed by David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls). The screenplay is by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg from a story by Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg. Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson produce. Rogen recently began production opposite Elizabeth Banks on the Kevin Smith comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno. He has a role in the just-released fantasy adventure The Spiderwick Chronicles and has several other projects in the pipeline, including Kung Fu Panda , which will be released on June 6th, and the classic Dr. Seuss tale Horton Hears A Who , set to be released on March 14th. Rogen also co-wrote the screenplay for another Apatow-produced comedy, Owen Wilson’s Drillbit Taylor , which will be released in theaters March 21st. With his writing partner Evan Goldberg, Rogen is penning The Green Hornet, a project he’s slated to star in and executive produce. Beginning his career doing standup comedy in Vancouver at the age of thirteen, Rogen moved to Los Angeles, where he landed supporting roles in Judd Apatow’s two critically acclaimed television comedies, “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared.” Rogen went on to be hired as a staff writer on “Undeclared” as well as “Da Ali G Show,” which earned him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Show. That same year, Apatow cast Rogen in the hit feature comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin, which opened at #1 at the box office and grossed over $165 million worldwide. Rogen also went on to star opposite Katherine Heigl in Knocked Up , which grossed nearly $150 million at the U.S. box office, as well as the critically acclaimed teen hit Superbad , a comedy he co-wrote, executive produced and appeared in. ShoWest is the largest annual convention for the motion picture industry. It is the only international gathering devoted exclusively to the movie business and the single largest international gathering of motion picture professionals and theatre owners in the world. The 2008 edition of ShoWest will be held March 10 - 13, 2008 at Bally’s and Paris Las
Vegas and is expected to draw more than 5,000 members of the motion picture industry. Each year, ShoWest attracts delegates from more than 50 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. ShoWest is produced by the Film Group at Nielsen Business Media, the leading trade show producer in the U.S. The Nielsen Business Media Film Group also includes ShowEast, CineAsia, Cinema Expo International and Film Journal International, as well as sister publication, The Hollywood Reporter. #### MEDIA CONTACTS: Heather Lewandoski ROGERS & COWAN 310-854-8147 ph. hlewandoski@rogersandcowan.com Jessica Erskine ROGERS & COWAN 310-854-8129 ph. jerskine@rogersandcowan.com
For updates and registration information on ShoWest please visit www.showest.com