Vin Diesel and BET Networks Get Animated with 'Hannibal the Conqueror'

Diesel's One Race Production Shingle Pacts with BET Animation Division; BET Series to be Developed for Fall '07 Based on the Historic Leader

SAN DIEGO, July 21 -- BET Networks' newly-minted animation unit will join with Vin Diesel's One Race Productions to produce "Hannibal the Conqueror," an animated series based on the life of Hannibal of Carthage, universally recognized as the greatest military leader in the history of the world. The project was jointly announced by Vin Diesel and Reginald Hudlin, BET President of Entertainment. One Race Vice President Samantha Vincent and Diesel will executive produce. Last January, BET announced the formation of BET Animation under the management of Denys Cowan, former producer of the hit animated series "The Boondocks."

The series will span the life of Hannibal, from his tutelage as a warrior under his father, the king of Carthage, to his history-making invasions of Spain, England and his legendary scaling of the Alps with his army of elephants. He assembled an army from around the world to challenge the Roman Empire and his techniques and plans are still studied today.

"From my first week at BET, I have been pursuing this project," says Hudlin. "Vin Diesel brings great thought and passion to both character development and storylines, and we are pleased to be the first to be in the animation production business with Vin and One Race Productions. 'Hannibal' will be epic storytelling."

"It only took Reginald Hudlin becoming President of Entertainment for me to know that BET would be the perfect network to launch a 'Hannibal' franchise, the story of the great African general who fought an empire," said Diesel. "Having worked passionately for ten years to develop a film property on Hannibal, this animated series will offer audiences a chance to begin to understand the larger-than-life mythology of this classic figure."

Further information about the series was also presented during a BET animation panel at the Comic-Con International Conference in San Diego, the world's largest gathering of the animation and comic book industry.

ABOUT BET NETWORKS

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 81 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of businesses extensions: BET.com, the Number 1 Internet portal for African Americans; BET Digital Networks - BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; and BET Mobile, a service venture into the lucrative world of ring tones, games and video content for wireless devices.

SOURCE BET (Black Entertainment Television)
http://www.bet.com