Microsoft Names Robert Litvak to Manage Talent and Casting For Interactive Media Group

REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 29, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced it will rely on Robert Litvak to manage talent and casting for the company’s interactive media group. Litvak will work with Microsoft producers and the entertainment community to find the best creative talent – actors, comedians and other performers – for the group’s interactive entertainment efforts.

In this newly created position, Litvak will complement Microsoft® Multimedia Productions (M3P), which recruits and identifies independent producers and writers with innovative ideas for MSN TM , The Microsoft Network.

“Robert’s position is a testament to Microsoft’s early success in working with the entertainment community and our commitment to collaborating with the best creative talent in the industry,”
said Bob Bejan, executive producer for MSN.
“By working closely with M3P and the Microsoft producers, Robert will play a key role in our pioneering efforts to develop interactive and truly entertaining programming for both the CD-ROM and Internet platforms.”

About Robert Litvak

Litvak will work with Microsoft’s interactive media group to oversee the casting of actors, comedians, musicians and other performers in the group’s upcoming multimedia CD-ROM titles and MSN online entertainment programming. In this role, Litvak will manage all talent and casting issues, from identifying talent and casting needs to coordinating with casting directors, talent bookers and industry talent agents.

Litvak spent 12 years casting TV, film and theater productions. He began his casting career at ABC Entertainment in New York. Litvak later moved to Los Angeles and worked on many projects at Warner Brothers TV and as an independent casting director. He contributed to projects such as the
“Sinatra”
biopic, Steven Spielberg’s
“Balto”
and
“Family Dog,” “War and Remembrance,”
TV movie reunions of
“Cagney & Lacey,”
and numerous other TV movies, pilots, feature films and stage productions.

Litvak has spent the past two years in Seattle managing online entertainment forums for MSN and helping launch the Microsoft Cinemania® Connection. He is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Microsoft Multimedia Productions

M3P, the development arm of MSN, is dedicated to identifying the independent producers who will create the next generation of entertainment programming for the Internet. Each month, M3P development executives in New York, Seattle and Los Angeles field thousands of inquiries and guide the most promising proposals through the pitching process at MSN.

The M3P development team is composed of professionals with a broad range of experience in film, theater, television, new media and software development. Madeline Kirbach, in Seattle, directs all M3P activity. Jamie Fragen runs M3P’s West Coast office, developing Internet entertainment programming in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Lara Stein is responsible for M3P’s East Coast development efforts in New York City. Michel Girard directs M3P’s Seattle-based projects.

MSN is the third-largest online service worldwide, offering high-quality information, entertainment and communications on the Internet. With the new Web-based version launched in December 1996, MSN also makes available hundreds of special-interest bulletin boards and such online services, programming and Web shows as the Encarta® multimedia encyclopedia, Expedia
™
travel service, Star Trek: Continuum
™
, the Slate
™
online magazine, the CarPoint
™
car-buying guide, and up-to-date news and information from MSNBC News. The MSN home page can be reached at (http://www.MSN.com/) .

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing each day.

Microsoft, MSN, Cinemania, Encarta, Expedia, Slate and CarPoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

StarTrek: Continuum is a trademark of Paramount Pictures.

The Microsoft Network is operated by Microsoft Corp. on behalf of Microsoft Network LLC.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Producers interested in submitting a proposal can find more information on the M3P Web site at (http://www.m3p.MSN.com/)

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web Page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages, or visit (http://www.MSN.com/) for more information on The Microsoft Network

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