"FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON," HBO'S MOST AMBITIOUS ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING VENTURE, TO BEGIN PRODUCTION IN FEBRUARY; EXCLUSIVE 13-HOUR DRAMATIC ANTHOLOGY EXPLORES AMERICA'S APOLLO SPACE PROGRAM; TOM HANKS TO EXECUTIVE PRODUCE, AS WELL AS DIRECT ONE EPISODE; BRIAN GRAZER, RON HOWARD AND MICHAEL BOSTICK TO PRODUCE

Frank Darabont, Ted Demme, James Foley, Frank Marshall And Lili Fini Zanuck Also Set To Direct Individual Episodes; Writers To Include Remi Aubuchon, Erik Bork, Jonathan Feldman, Jeffrey Fiskin, Hanks, Steven Katz, Paul McCudden, Peter Osterland & Amy Baker, Al Reinert, Andy Wolk And Graham Yost

December 9, 1996 -- Production is slated to begin in Florida on the exclusive original HBO dramatic anthology FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, a series of 13 one-hour films tracing America's Apollo space missions, it was announced today by Chris Albrecht, president, HBO Original Programming. The biggest original programming venture in HBO history, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON will start shooting mid-February 1997, at Disney-MGM Studios, the Kennedy Space Center, and other Florida locations, with two-time Academy Award(R) winner Tom Hanks serving as executive producer, as well as directing one episode. Imagine Entertainment's Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Bostick will produce the series. In addition to Hanks, feature film directors Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption"), Ted Demme ("Beautiful Girls"), James Foley ("The Chamber"), Frank Marshall ("Congo") and Lili Fini Zanuck ("Rush") are also set to helm individual episodes.

The writers will include Remi Aubuchon, Erik Bork, Jonathan Feldman ("Swing Kids"), Jeffrey Fiskin ("Cutter's Way," "Revenge"), Hanks ("That Thing You Do!"), Steven Katz ("Fallen Angels"), Peter Osterlund & Amy Baker, Paul McCudden (the upcoming "The Brave"), journalist Al Reinert (Academy Award(R) nominee as co-writer for 1995's "Apollo 13, " and writer, director and producer of the Academy Award(R)-nominated 1989 Apollo documentary "For All Mankind"), Andy Wolk (HBO's "Criminal Justice") and Graham Yost ("Speed," "Broken Arrow," the upcoming "The Flood"). Casting, under the direction of Meg Lieberman, is actively underway.

"The story of the Apollo space program is a tale of incredible human ambition and unparalleled courage, technological triumph, and life-threatening danger," said Albrecht. "Reflecting the vast scope of the Apollo program itself, FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON will be the largest single undertaking in HBO original programming history."

"There is so much more to tell about humanity's exploration of space," noted Hanks. "In the course of working on 'Apollo 13,' I found out that truly amazing things happened during the Apollo project that the public is unaware of. We want to be as faithful as possible to the facts, but also tell compelling stories."

" 'Apollo 13' served as a catalyst for Tom to explore his passion with the space program," said Grazer. "He is intimately involved in all aspects of this project."

The epic is based in part on Andrew Chaikin's book "A Man on the Moon," which chronicles the voyages of the Apollo astronauts and the 12 manned Apollo missions. Chaikin will also act as a consultant on the series, which is scheduled to debut in December 1997, the 25th anniversary of the successful completion of the Apollo space program.

Launched against the backdrop of domestic controversy and volatile world politics, the space program offered the pristine hopes of new horizons. While some episodes of FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON will follow an entire mission, others will follow stories and characters whose lives were affected by the missions. The anthology will range from the early U.S. space efforts in 1961, when Alan Shepard became the first American to break the 100-mile barrier where space begins, to the final Apollo lunar mission in 1972, when Jack Schmitt and Gene Cernan left humanity's last footprints on the moon.

The total Apollo story will be dramatized for the first time in these 13 independent but interconnected films. Stories will center on such events as the massive human effort at Kennedy Space Center before the first manned Apollo launch; the tragic launch-pad fire that claimed the lives of the first three Apollo astronauts; the awe-inspiring journey of the Apollo 8 crew as they became the first human beings to orbit the moon; the heart-stopping lunar descent of Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, and the spectacular explorations of the moon's surface.

The anthology will also touch upon the impact of the program on the astronauts, as well as their wives and family members, the NASA press corps, and the planners, engineers, technicians and mission controllers, who together made John F. Kennedy's challenge to land a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s a reality.

Frank Darabont directed and wrote the acclaimed 1994 film "The Shawshank Redemption," which received a Best Picture Academy Award(R) nomination; as a screenwriter, his films include "The Blob" and "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein." Ted Demme directed the feature films "Beautiful Girls," "The Ref" and "Who's the Man," as well as episodes of the series "Homicide"; Lili Fini Zanuck directed "Rush" and produced 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy," a Best Picture Academy Award(R) winner, as well as "Cocoon" and "Mulholland Falls." James Foley directed the recent feature film "The Chamber," as well as "Glengarry Glen Ross," "After Dark, My Sweet" (which he also wrote) and "At Close Range." Frank Marshall directed "Congo," "Alive" and "Arachnophobia." As a producer and executive producer, Marshall's films include "The Indian in the Cupboard," "Poltergeist," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Color Purple."

Tom Hanks directed, wrote and starred in the recent feature film "That Thing You Do!"; as an actor, his films include 1993's "Philadelphia" and 1994's "Forrest Gump," both of which brought him a Best Actor Oscar,(R) and 1995's "Apollo 13."

FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON is being produced by HBO Original Programming in association with Imagine Entertainment and Clavius Base. Executive producer, Tom Hanks; producers, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Bostick; co-executive producers, Bridget Potter and Tony To; supervising producer, Graham Yost; line producer, John Melfi; associate producers, Terry Odem and Erik Bork.