BRAVO'S 2005 EMMY-NOMINATED "INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO" FINDS NEW HOME AT PACE UNIVERSITY'S MICHAEL SCHIMMEL CENTER FOR THE ARTS

NEW YORK -- September 6, 2005 -- "Inside the Actors Studio" hosted by James Lipton, the longest-running original series on Bravo, has found a new home in the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, part of the downtown Manhattan campus of Pace University. The program has been nominated for two 2005 Emmy Awards, "Outstanding Non-Fiction series" and "Outstanding Non-Fiction Special" (for the 10th Anniversary special). The program appears in 79 million homes in the U.S. and in 125 countries around the world.

The show's 12th season will originate from the stage of an increasingly active cultural center in Lower Manhattan for arts ranging from classical music to film and professional theatre. The Pace performing arts program is one of the university's fastest-growing areas of undergraduate instruction, and Pace theatre majors will be the first undergraduates regularly invited to attend the Actors Studio's "craft seminars."

The announcement was made at a news conference at the Michael Schimmel Center, with the stage arranged in the format of "Inside the Actors Studio." Lipton's "guests" were Ellen Burstyn, co-chair of The Actors Studio, and David A. Caputo, President of Pace University.

Taping will begin later this fall, with a guest list that will be announced separately.

"For those of us who have shared the show's exciting journey, this is a dream come true," said James Lipton, who created the series 12 years ago. "Pace's standing in the academic community, and the participation of its students in this year's telecast, will add new dimensions to the series. I look forward to walking out on the Schimmel Center stage with a distinguished guest. That moment will mark a significant step forward for 'Inside the Actors Studio'."

"We are thrilled that 'Inside the Actors Studio' will have a 12th season on Bravo," said Burstyn, who is starring with Aiden Quinn in the NBC TV series "The Book of Daniel," "and we are delighted that it will be coming from Pace University and lower Manhattan, which has an increasing arts scene."

"This program is not only outstanding television but a true craft seminar in theater," said David A. Caputo, the president of Pace. "It will strongly complement the training Pace University students are getting in theater and musical theater from a faculty including many who also work professionally in the New York theatre. These seminars with leading professionals represent yet another chance for Pace students to enrich their learning with the cultural opportunities of New York."

Tom Healey, head of the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, noted that "We welcome another major cultural enterprise moving to lower Manhattan. The revival in this neighborhood is knitting the artistic life of downtown to the rest of the city and indeed, to the world."

"'Inside the Actors Studio' is one of Bravo's signature original series and one of the longest running in cable history," said Frances Berwick, Senior Vice President for Programming and Production at Bravo. "We're looking forward to filming the 12th season of this multi-Emmy nominated series at Pace."

The critically-lauded series has provided a forum for the passion, perspectives and perceptions of contemporary film, theater and television's most noteworthy contributors. Lipton is renowned for hosting evenings featuring major actors and directors who discuss their craft and share the secrets of their artistic achievements.

In recent years the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University has blossomed as a venue for rising classical music stars in the River-to-River series, presentations of the New York International Fringe Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, artist-in-residence Daniel Bernard Roumain, and three seasons of performances by the late Tony Randall's National Actors Theater. The theatre has been a venue for every season of both the Tribeca Film Festival and the Tribeca Theatre Festival. Pace theatre students present 22 plays and musical productions a year in theatres including the Michael Schimmel Center.

Turning 100 years old in 2006, Pace is a private university in the New York Metropolitan area with a growing national reputation for offering students opportunity, teaching and learning based on research, civic involvement and measurable outcomes. It is one of the ten founders of Project Pericles, developing education that encourages lifelong participation in democratic processes. Pace has seven campuses, including downtown and midtown New York City, Pleasantville, Briarcliff, White Plains (a graduate center and law school), and a Hudson Valley Center at Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, N.Y. Approximately 14,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lubin School of Business, School of Computer Science and Information Systems, School of Education, Lienhard School of Nursing and Pace Law School. Www.pace.edu.

The Actors Studio is a theatre workshop for professional actors, directors, and playwrights, founded in 1947 by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford and Robert Lewis. Presently there are three Co-Presidents, Ellen Burstyn, Harvey Keitel and Al Pacino.

The Actors Studio was formed to provide a place where young and old professional actors could work together between jobs or during long runs to continue to develop their craft and to experiment with new forms in creative theatre work.

Bravo is the cable network that plugs people into arts, culture and pop culture with original programming, and movies and by showing a whole different side of celebrities. Currently available in more than 79 million homes, Bravo is known for breaking exciting new personalities, shaking up the way we look at style, media, fame and Hollywood, pulling back the curtain on the creative process and making influential and inventive original programming. Its critically acclaimed and award-winning original programming includes "Inside the Actors Studio," "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and "Project Greenlight," as well as the 2004 Emmy winner for Outstanding Reality Program, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." The network's latest hits include "Project Runway," "Blow Out" and "Showbiz Moms & Dads."

Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBC Cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980.For more information visit www.bravotv.com.