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Marina Del Rey, CA (October 30, 2008) -- New Deal Studios (NDS) was in step with Hollywood celebrities in urging people to register to vote in next weeks presidential election by co-producing a pair of historic viral, web based Public Service Announcements (PSA) with Leonardo DiCaprio and his production company, Appian Way. Having been the brainchild of Leonardo DiCaprio, Will.I.Am, Tobey Maguire and Forest Whitaker, NDS was approached to provide much of the production and post production required to quickly co-produce the 5 Friends and 5 More Friends PSAs.

5 Friends PSA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vtHwWReGU0
5 More Friends PSA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX40RsSLwF4



Within hours of the first spot blasting out via the internet on October 1st, the five-minute PSA broke viral video records as it was downloaded by over half a million people in the first day. According to Google, the PSA was a driving factor in a 95% increase in traffic to google maps neighborhood voter information section. The follow-up PSA, 5 More Friends launched yesterday and reminds people that every vote counts and to actually get out and vote on November 4th.

NDSs Head of Production, David Sanger, orchestrated a trusted crew to photograph the likes of Halle Barry, Usher, Ellen DeGeneres, Jamie Foxx, Dustin Hoffman, Jennifer Aniston and Demi Moore to encourage America to register to vote. Shot at DiCaprios home, the stars lined up to take their turn in front of the camera. Sanger states that Everyone was so generous with their resources and time, from the celebrities to the crew to the equipment vendors, it just proves how important this election is, and it was inspiring to be a part of it. The crew behind the scenes included Director, Jaume Collet-Serra; Co-Producer Keith Collea, whose RedCam Studios supplied Camera/Editorial Pipeline & Conform; Director of Photography, Roman Jakobi, and final DI color correction courtesy of Filmworks Ken Locsmandi.

Following up the wildly successful 5 Friends blast the same crew came together two weeks later, again at DiCaprios house with a couple key pick-ups at the NDS Stages in Marina del Rey, to shoot the 5 More Friends PSA. Additional celebrities such as Scarlett Johanssen, Will Smith, Julia Roberts, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Justin Timberlake and Steven Spielberg volunteered to lend their voices for the second spot to urge people to participate in this historic moment in election history. Having blasted across the internet yesterday this PSA asks America to find your polling place and get out and vote because every vote counts.

New Deal Studios was founded in 1995 by Matthew Gratzner, Ian Hunter and Shannon Blake Gans, this artist owned and operated, independent company is housed in two buildings in Marina del Rey, California. NDS has developed over the years into a full-service production and visual effects studio unlike any in the world. NDS contributes to each project by using a diverse palette of artistic tools that range from the art department, workshop, production, to the digital department and DI suite. Creativity and solid management practices are the foundation upon which NDS has grown over the years and why all major studios continue to entrust NDS with high-profile projects such as Alice in Wonderland, Night At The Museum 2, Iron Man, Watchmen, Hancock, Whiteout and Batman: The Dark Knight.
www.newdealstudios.com