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Chairman's Roundtable Series Event Speakers - September 26, 2006

Tim Sarnoff is President of Sony Pictures Imageworks, an Academy Award-winning visual effects and computer animation company dedicated to the art of digital production and character creation. Mr. Sarnoff joined Imageworks in 1997, five years after its inception.

As president, Mr. Sarnoff is responsible for the direction and management of the facility, which has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscars for its work on "Spider-Man 2" and the CG-animated short film "The ChubbChubbs!," as well as nominations for "Spider-Man," "Hollow Man," "Stuart Little" and "Starship Troopers." Other notable credits for Imageworks include "Bewitched," "The Aviator," "The Polar Express," "Big Fish," "Bad Boys II," "Stuart Little 2," "Cast Away," and "Contact."

Imageworks, which has grown from 600 to nearly 1000 employees over the past year, is currently in production on "Monster House," "Ghost Rider," "Spider-Man 3," "Beowulf," and the first two full-length CG-animated features from Sony Pictures Animation, "Open Season" and "Surf's Up."

Prior to his affiliation with Imageworks, Mr. Sarnoff was Senior Vice President of Warner Digital Studios, which was established as a division of Warner Bros. in 1995. Mr. Sarnoff originally joined Warner Bros. in 1989 to set up Steven Spielberg's animated series "Tiny Toon Adventures." During Mr. Sarnoff's tenure, Warner Bros. Animation grew from four employees to more than 300 employees, became a separate business unit of Warner Bros. and completed numerous animated television series, including "Tasmania," "Batman," "Animaniacs" and "Superman."

Mr. Sarnoff began his career as Program Director for the NBC affiliate KMIR in Palm Springs, and then moved to the NBC network in Los Angeles as a production unit manager. In 1987, he joined Paramount Television as Manager of Production Accounting, and then became Director of Domestic Television Programming.

Mr. Sarnoff is a graduate of Stanford University, where he received his undergraduate degrees in 1981.

Greg Foster, Chairman and President of Filmed Entertainment, joined IMAX Corporation in March, 2001. Based at IMAX's Santa Monica office, Foster’s primary responsibility is overseeing all aspects of the company's global filmed entertainment activities, including creative, production, film distribution, business affairs, marketing, sponsorship, studio relationships and the revolutionary IMAX DMR process.

During Foster's 5-year tenure at the company, he has successfully re-positioned IMAX’s film slate to include more commercial entertainment product by bringing numerous Hollywood blockbuster event films to IMAX Theatres around the world. Among the films released under Foster are some of the most popular entertainment franchises, and some of the most successful in IMAX’s history.

A seasoned Hollywood executive, Foster spent 15 years at MGM/UA where he served in various senior management posts, including Executive Vice President of Production and Senior Vice President of Motion Picture Marketing and Research. During the course of his career at MGM/UA, Greg played a key role in the production and/or marketing of over 150 films, including hits such as A Fish Called Wanda, Get Shorty, King Pin, Moonstruck, Rain Man, Species, Thelma and Louise, Untamed Heart and several from the James Bond – 007 series.

In 1999, Foster founded uMogul, a financial services company offering retail investors competitive market returns via mutual funds comprised of entertainment industry assets. He held the positions of Chairman, Co-founder and President of uMogul.

Foster is a 1984 graduate of Georgetown University. He and his wife have three sons and currently live in Los Angeles.

Buzz Hays was appointed Senior Producer for Sony Pictures Imageworks' recently formalized Imageworks 3D stereoscopic pipeline. This pipeline is dedicated to the creation of three-dimensional stereoscopic versions of standard release films for the IMAX 3D and Real D platforms.

Hays’ first projects are the 3D stereoscopic adaptations for two of Columbia Pictures’ most highly anticipated upcoming films, Monster House for Real D theaters and the first CG feature from Sony Pictures Animation Open Season in IMAX 3D.

“Throughout his career, Buzz has always been focused on delivering a premium entertainment experience for audiences,” said Sarnoff. “In the late ‘80s, he was responsible for THX engineering and installation which, from a sonic perspective, blew audiences away. Now, in his newly announced position, he is leading the Imageworks 3D team to create an even more immersive movie-going experience for consumers.”

“Imageworks has always considered 3D stereoscopic production an integral part of delivering something completely new and exciting to the audience. It’s very exciting to join a company that is so dedicated to taking this platform to the next level,” added Hays.

Before joining Imageworks, Hays worked for Radium where he executive produced visual effects for numerous music videos and broadcast commercials worldwide. Prior to working at Radium, Hays was executive producer at yU+co where he produced title sequences for films such as CATWOMAN, THE TERMINAL and THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK. Earlier, Hays co-founded TriBeCa Interactive with Robert De Niro. In 1993, Hays co-produced the independent film, SWIMMING WITH SHARKS.

Between 1987 and 1993, Hays served as director of engineering at Lucasfilm THX where he was responsible for all research and development efforts including the THX Sound System and Home THX. Hays also oversaw the design, construction and installation of over 600 movie theaters and film dubbing stages worldwide.


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