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MARC SHAIMAN, OSCAR NOMINATED COMPOSER/SONGWRITER, TONY AND GRAMMY AWARD WINNER, TO PERFORM APRIL 24 AT

2009 NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVALGala Reception and Concert at The Island Hotel Newport Beach to Feature Music from

Hairspray, Sister Act, When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, City Slickers, etc.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA - (April 15, 2009) – On Friday, April 24 at 7:00pm, within the intimate setting of the Palm Garden at The Island Hotel Newport Beach, Academy Award ® nominated

composer/lyricist Marc Shaiman will tell Hollywood tales and perform selections from his motion picture songbook for attendees of the 2009 Newport Beach Film Festival (open to the public).

Tickets for the gala reception and concert are $30 and are available by visiting www.newportbeachfilmfest.com.

Shaiman will present a tune-filled evening of musical performance, Hollywood “dish” and lots of laughs highlighting his acclaimed musical career. A five-time Oscar ® nominee (Sleepless in Seattle, The American President, The First Wives Club, Patch Adams, and South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut) Shaiman will highlight his film score and song credits, which also include such hit films as When Harry Met Sally, Beaches (partially filmed in Newport Beach), Misery, City Slickers, A Few Good Men, Sister Act, The Bucket List and Hairspray.

Since the 2002 opening night of the smash Broadway musical “Hairspray,” based on the 1988 John Waters film of the same name, Shaiman has been honored with the Tony®, Grammy® and Olivier® Awards for his work with collaborator and life partner Scott Wittman for the show’s music

and lyrics. In 2008 Shaiman created an Internet sensation with “PROP 8-The Musical”, which has been viewed over four 4 million times.

On Saturday, April 25, Shaiman will participate in the festival’s popular Film Composers Panel

(9:00am - 11:00am, Fashion Island, Edwards Island 7 Theaters). He will be joined by fellow

acclaimed film composer, conductor and Oscar nominee John Debney (Hannah Montana: The Movie, Elf, Bruce Almighty, The Scorpion Kin, Sin City, The Princess Diaries, The Passion of the Christ, etc.) and noted composer Shawn Clement whose credits include Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Entertainment Tonight, Extra Magazine, The Guiding Light, Ally McBeal, Donny and Marie, Married....With Children, and The Heights.

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Marc Shaiman first gained prominence as the musical director for Bette Midler and her back-up singers, The Harlettes, in the mid-1970s. As a teenager, he had dropped out of high school and moved to NYC in the hopes of working with Midler. When her pianist, Barry Manilow, moved on,

the Divine Miss M hired Shaiman and their careers have been intertwined since.

Shaiman has worked on numerous stage shows with Midler, written special material for the artist and served as music supervisor on several of her films, notably Beaches (1988). He is also credited as musical director and co-producer of many of her recordings, including The Wind

Beneath My Wings and From a Distance.

In the late 80s, Shaiman's work writing special music for NBC's Saturday Night Live (for which he earned an Emmy nomination in 1987) introduced him to Billy Crystal, who helped him get the job adapting music for Rob Reiner's film When Harry Met Sally (1989). He co-wrote two of the

picture's songs and co-produced Harry Connick Jr.'s Grammy®-winning, gold album of the same name, garnering a Grammy® nomination himself as arranger.

Shaiman also scored Paul Mazursky's Scenes From a Mall (1991) and Hugh Wilson's The First Wives Club (1996), both starring Midler, and collaborated with her on the TV specials Bette Midler's Mondo Beyondo (HBO, 1988), Bette Midler--Diva Las Vegas (HBO, 1997) and Jackie's Back! (Lifetime, 1999). His collaboration with Midler on her 1992 Emmy® Award-winning performance

on Johnny Carson’s final “Tonight Show” episode is considered a classic television moment.

He solidified his association with Reiner by composing his first film score for the director's Misery

(1990) and has since scored all or part of Reiner's A Few Good Men (1992), North (1994), The American President (1995), The Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) and The Story of Us (1999).

As for Crystal, he tapped the composer to score City Slickers (1991), Mr. Saturday Night (1992), City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold (1994), Forget Paris (1995) and My Giant (1998), all

starring the comic actor. Shaiman earned an Emmy nomination as Crystal's musical director for "The 63rd Annual Academy Awards" (1991) and pocketed the award the following year for his

contributions to Crystal's hosting of "The 64th Annual Academy Awards", not to mention teaming with him on several TV specials.

Shaiman has also enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration with producer Scott Rudin, who first hired him to score Barry Sonnenfeld's The Addams Family (1991), followed quickly by Sister Act

(1992) and the sequels Addams Family Values and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (both 1993).

Shaiman has worked as a musical director and arranger for a long list of performers, including

Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Barbra Streisand, Jenifer Lewis, Martin Short, Rosemary Clooney, Lauryn Hill, Patti LuPone, Luther Vandross and Nathan Lane. He has stated

that he is most proud to have musical directed "Commitment to Life VII", which featured Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Whitney Houston, Angela Lansbury, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen and Elizabeth Taylor and which raised over $5 million for AIDS Project L.A. (APLA).

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About Newport Beach Film FestivalThe Newport Beach Film Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2009 by being one of the top 20 film festivals in the United States.  Presenting over 450 films from 37 countries, the Festival has

featured many acclaimed films, including the U.S. premiere of the 2005 Academy Award® Best Picture winner “Crash.” With its coastal location and warm weather, strong corporate sponsors,

nightly events, music performances and industry seminars, the Festival has gained recognition among filmmakers and audiences worldwide. For ticket and hotel information please visit: www.newportbeachfilmfest.com.

  About Newport Beach Known for its picturesque views of the Pacific and one of the world’s largest small yacht harbors, Newport Beach is a chic seaside community located on southern California’s Orange County coastline between Los Angeles and San Diego. The city is acclaimed for its beaches, mild year-

round weather, boating/yachting community, sophisticated atmosphere, international film festival, three annual epicurean festivals and the oldest holiday boat parade in the nation.  Newport Beach

was named “One of the top ten resort towns in the U.S” by AOL Travel in 2008. For additional travel information, please call (800) 94-COAST or visit us online at www.visitnewportbeach.com.

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