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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Garland, TX / Los Angeles, CA / New York - February 18, 1998 THRESHOLD
ENTERTAINMENT , GT INTERACTIVE AND 3D REALMS ENTER GLOBAL AGREEMENT TO EXPLOIT VIDEO GAME
BLOCKBUSTER 'DUKE NUKEM' ACROSS FILM, TV AND HOME VIDEO
Best-Selling Interactive Entertainment Title to Move From the Computer Screen to
'the Big Screen'
In further testimony to 'Duke Nukem's' strength as an
entertainment franchise, intellectual property management company Threshold Entertainment,
leading software publisher GT Interactive Software Corp. (NASDAQ: GTIS) and hit game
developer 3D Realms have entered into an exclusive agreement whereby 'Duke Nukem,' the
best-selling, award-winning PC and video game franchise, will be exploited across film,
television and home video media worldwide.
Jointly announced today by Threshold's Chairman and CEO, Larry Kasanoff, GT Interactive
President and CEO Ron Chaimowitz, and 3D Realms President Scott Miller, the property will
be guided by Threshold's proven business model of translating properties with rich
backgrounds and strong characters into various media, as evidenced by the company's
success with the 'Mortal Kombat' franchise. The 'Duke Nukem' film is expected to feature
digital imagery created by Threshold Digital Research Lab (TDRL) and be produced by
Kasanoff and executive produced by TDRL President Alison Savitch. TDRL is one of the first
worldwide, on-line, digital production studios which produces 100% digital entertainment
for all types of media.
Kasonoff states, "We believe the self-proclaimed politically incorrect 'Duke Nukem'
character naturally fits into the broader entertainment marketplace, offering
a wealth of
potential story lines and the opportunity to create unique worlds and special effects.
'Duke Nukem' commands a strong presence in the gaming world and we look forward to the
opportunity of translating that phenomenon into a feature film."
"With his blond crew cut, beefed-up body and tongue-in-cheek tough-guy irreverence,
'Duke Nukem' is the most recognizable male action hero in interactive entertainment
today," said Chaimowitz. "Bringing Duke from the computer screen to the big
screen further strengthens one of our premier franchises and promotes the growing
convergence of interactive entertainment with all mainstream media. We are pleased to be
working with Threshold and believe Duke Nukem has the potential to move beyond the gaming
world to become a true Hollywood icon."
"We know making a hit film based on hit games is challenging," said Miller.
"But as rabid action fans ourselves, we're certain that with Threshold's top talent
and experience we can make a hit that starts a long-lived and prosperous Duke movie
franchise. Hail to the king, baby."
"It's about friggin' time my good lookin' mug was brought to the big screen,"
lamented Duke Nukem, action game star. "I was about to bust some serious butt if
Threshold, GT and 3D Realms took any longer to put this deal together!"
Seth Willenson represents GT Interactive in its relationship with Threshold, with
oversight by Harry Rubin, executive vice president of International and Business Affairs
for GT Interactive.
"Duke Nukem" is a hard-hitting action-packed interactive entertainment series
which has topped the best-seller lists and generated more than three million units in
sales worldwide since its 1991 debut. In the various 'Duke Nukem' PC, Sony Playstation and
Nintendo N64 action-adventure games, players assume the role of Duke, whose job it is to
save the world by destroying alien monsters, deploying sophisticated weapons and rescuing
"hot babes." The fictional title character, which some might deem as
"politically incorrect," is considered by game industry observers to be the
"coolest action hero to ever grace a computer screen." Duke's fictional run for
the Presidency in 1996 was supported by the slogan, "More guns, more chicks, Nukem
'96."
Headquartered in NY, GT Interactive Software Corp. is a leading global publisher of
entertainment and edutainment software under the GT Interactive, Cavedog Entertainment,
SingleTrac and MacSoft brands for personal computer as well as video game systems from
Sony, Nintendo and Sega. GT Interactive is a leader in value-priced software under the
WizardWorks, CompuWorks and Slash brands. Located on the World Wide Web at http://www.gtinteractive.com, GT Interactive is publicly traded on the NASDAQ National
Market System under the symbol GTIS.
The agreement to exploit "Duke Nukem" continues Threshold's plans of translating
some of the world's best known properties, including multimedia hits Mortal Kombat and
Zork, as well as the Hugo award-winning Ben Bova sci-fi novel Mars, into various forms of
media, including feature film (both traditional and all digital), television, web sites
and licensed merchandise. Threshold is also developing numerous internal properties,
including Bogey's, Shatterworld and The Collector, all for multimedia publication.
Threshold Entertainment is an intellectual property management company specializing in
digital media. The company develops, manages, produces and publishes intellectual
properties in all media retaining ownership of digital assets and media. Threshold
produced Mortal Kombat Annihilation, the follow up to the highly successful 1995 New Line
Cinema film, Mortal Kombat, which was number one at the box office its opening weekend.
Threshold recently completed principal photography on the $20 million action-adventure
feature, Beowulf, which was shot entirely on location in Romania. Based on the Norse
legend and starring Christopher Lambert and directed by Graham Baker, this classic story
is set in a timeless world of supernatural evil and inexplicable danger fueled by
relentless action and breakthrough special effects. In association with Kusher-Locke Co.
and Capitol Films, Beowulf will be jointly distributed worldwide.
3D Realms Entertainment, a division of the long-standing Apogee Software, Ltd., founded in
1987 and headquartered in Garland, TX, is 100 percent focused on creating highly
innovative real-time 3D action games. Apogee is the pioneer of multi-episode shareware
marketing for games and has won numerous industry marketing and game awards. On the web,
visit www.3drealms.com for more information.
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