Visionary Mexican Filmmaker Everardo Gout Tapped to Direct National Geographic Channel's Six-Part Global Miniseries Event, MARS

MARS, Produced by Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia, Is Currently in Production, With Principal Photography on Scripted Portions Set to Begin This Spring

WASHINGTON & NEW YORK -- National Geographic Channel (NGC) announced today that visionary Mexican filmmaker Everardo Gout ("Days of Grace") has been tapped to direct the network's six-hour documentary-scripted hybrid miniseries, MARS. The program, executive produced by Academy Award and Emmy-winning producers Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg of Imagine Entertainment; and Justin Wilkes, Jon Kamen and Dave O'Connor of RadicalMedia, is currently in production. Gout will also serve as an executive producer on the series. Principal photography on the scripted portions of the series is set to start shooting this spring in Budapest and Morocco, with a premiere set for fall 2016. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com or our press site www.foxflash.com, or follow us on Twitter using @NGC_PR.

"With Everardo's distinctive style of storytelling, we're hoping to spark imaginations as we weave together the story of making life on Mars an exciting and real prospect for a new generation of space enthusiasts," said Tim Pastore, president of original programming and production, NGC. "Combining a unique blend of feature quality drama with documentary sequences, MARS will unpack what the greatest minds in space exploration are doing today, and dramatize the world they are creating as they pull off mankind's greatest feat - interplanetary travel and colonization."

Gout studied film at Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematogr�ficos in Mexico City, the New York Film Academy and the Hollywood Film Institute and began his career in television. His expertise in storytelling led him into directing music videos for artists such as Mos Def, Craig David, Morcheeba, The Roots, Ozomatli, will.i.am and many more. In 2007, he was nominated for a Grammy(R) for the music video "When You Were Young," by the band The Killers. In the feature film world, Gout honed his craft by working as an assistant director to Baz Lurhmann on "Romeo & Juliet." His first critically acclaimed feature film, "Days of Grace," made its premiere at the 2012 Cannes International Film Festival to rave reviews.

MARS will tell the epic story of the thrilling quest to colonize Mars and the first manned mission in 2032 with dramatic scripted drama and feature film-caliber visual effects, intercut with documentary verité and interviews from present-day scientists and innovators who are leading the research and development of space technology.

MARS is produced by Imagine Entertainment and RadicalMedia for NGC. For Imagine Entertainment, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Michael Rosenberg are executive producers. For RadicalMedia, Jon Kamen, Justin Wilkes, Dave O'Connor, Dave Sirulnick, Jonathan Silberberg and Everardo Gout are executive producers. For NGC, Robert Palumbo is executive producer; Matt Renner is vice president, production; Alan Eyres is senior vice president, development; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

About National Geographic Channels

The National Geographic Channels (The Channels) form the television and production arm of National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between 21st Century Fox and the National Geographic Society. As a global leader in premium science, adventure and exploration programming, the Channels include: National Geographic Channel (NGC), Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo People and Nat Geo MUNDO. Additionally, the Channels also run the in-house television production unit, National Geographic Studios. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education with entertaining, innovative programming from A-level talent around the world, and with profits that help support the society's mission. Globally, NGC is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages, and Nat Geo WILD is available in 131 countries and 38 languages. National Geographic Partners is also a leader in social media, with a fan base of 250 million people across all of its social pages. NGC contributes over 55 million social media fans globally on Facebook alone. For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com and www.natgeowild.com.

About Imagine

Imagine Entertainment was founded in 1986 by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer to create independently produced feature films, television programs and other original programming. Imagine Entertainment has been honored with more than 60 prestigious awards including 10 Academy Awards and 40 Emmy awards. Past productions include Academy Award Best Picture winner "A Beautiful Mind," as well as "Apollo 13," "American Gangster," "The Da Vinci Code," "8 Mile," "Liar, Liar," "Backdraft" and "Parenthood," to name a few. Upcoming films include "Inferno," the third installment of the Dan Brown franchise; "American Made," starring Tom Cruise; and "8 Days a Week," a documentary about The Beatles. Current television productions include Fox's "Empire," "Shots Fired!" and "24: Legacy," as well as NatGeo's Breakthrough series. Past television productions include NBC's "Parenthood," NBC's "Friday Night Lights," Fox's "24" and "24: Live Another Day" and Fox's and Netflix's "Arrested Development," as well as HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon," for which Howard and Grazer won the Emmy for Outstanding Mini-Series. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer began their collaboration in 1985 with the hit comedies "Night Shift" and "Splash."

About RadicalMedia

Since 1993, RadicalMedia has produced numerous films and television programs that tell nuanced, multifaceted stories, including the Academy Award and Grammy-nominated documentary "What Happened, Miss Simone?" directed by Liz Garbus; Academy Award- and Independent Spirit Award-winning documentary "The Fog of War;" Academy Award-nominated documentary, "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"; Grammy-winning "Concert for George"; "Under African Skies," the Emmy award-winning documentary examining the making of the groundbreaking and controversial Paul Simon record "Graceland"; the Ron Howard-helmed Jay-Z documentary, "Made in America"; "The United States vs. James J. Bulger," Joe Berlinger's investigative documentary that chronicles the trial of crime boss Whitey Bulger; and the upcoming Berlinger film, "I Am Not Your Guru" for Netflix. Recent television credits include five seasons of the Emmy-nominated series "Oprah's Masterclass" for OWN; six seasons of "Iconoclasts" for Sundance Channel; "David Blaine: Real of Magic" for ABC; "You Don't Know Bo" for ESPN; the Emmy-nominated "Park Bench With Steve Buscemi" for AOL; and the Emmy-winning series "10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed the World" for History Channel.