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RECENT PRESS
 LIFE
MAGAZINE KIDS
WEEKEND PICK, By Matt Henrickson
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE: THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN (Lean Forward
Media) In the animated DVD version of the beloved book series,
players help three siblings track down their missing uncle by
making decisions that lead to 11 different possible endings. For
ages 5 and up.
DON'T LIKE THE ENDING, CHANGE IT, Christina Binkley, July 27, 2006
"The animated 'Abominable Snowman'
is a carefully crafted adventure tale based on the classic
'Choose Your Own Adventure' kids' books."
 DVDs
PUT VIEWER IN DIRECTORS SEAT, Mike Snider, July 25, 2006
LA DAILY NEWS,
CHOOSE YOUR OWN
ADVENTURE: THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN,
Rob Lowman, July 27, 2006
...Engaging
film, which should have kids entertained but thinking about
their choices as well.
STAR TRACKS: SNOW DAY, July 25, 2006
"Felicity Huffman gets a
leg up with a legend at the Abominable Snowman DVD premiere
party in Culver City, Calif., on Saturday."
Hollywood Radar,
Access Hollywood, July 24, 2006
Featuring cast member Felicity Huffman at the premiere.
Premiere
Info & Photos
July 22, 2006 at the Eco Station in Los Angeles, California
Featuring cast including Frankie Muniz,
Felicity Huffman, Daryl Sabara, and Mark Hamill, and celebrity
guests including
Napoleon Dynamite's
Efren Ramirez ('Pedro'), cast members from Nickelodeon shows
Zoey 101 and
Ned's Declassified After School Survival Guide, Radio Disney's
DJ Adam & the Disney Street Team, and many more.
Photos courtesy of Getty
Images
The after party
continued at the Eco Station where guests enjoyed up close
encounters with tropical birds, bobcats, tortoises, exotic reptiles,
amazing sea creatures and more. Lil’C (world hip hop champion)
and a Capoeira troop entertained from the main stage.
COMING IN AUGUST!
"THE CHOICE IS
YOURS"
by Karen Springen, Newsweek, May 29, 2006
http://www.keepmedia.com/pubs/Newsweek/2006/05/29/1599146?extID=10032&oliID=213
LEAN FORWARD MEDIA,
Los Angeles Business Journal, 7/10/2006
AWARDS &
ENDORSEMENTS
"I love this program!" -
Ranny Levy, KIDS FIRST!
"Extraordinary! Clever!
Imaginative!" - Janet Stokes, Executive Director, Film
Advisory Board
KIDS FIRST! ALL STAR AWARD Winner -
Look out for article in Working
Mother naming in which Ranny Levy names Choose Your Own Adventure®
The Abominable Snowman one of her top 3 DVD choices for summer!
“I love this program. It's smart and really
reinforces good decision making. And, it's definitely worthy of
repeat viewing since the outcome changes every time you change your
options.” - Ranny Levy, Founder and President, Coalition for
Quality Children's Media and KIDS FIRST!
Approved by
THE DOVE
FOUNDATION
for family viewing
FILM ADVISORY BOARD
Award Winner
“Extraordinary! Clever! Imaginative! The
Abominable Snowman multifaceted interactive adventure gives you the
opportunity to choose your direction on a journey into an exotic
world of mystical characters and fabled creatures that will thrill
all the family.” - Janet Stokes, Executive Director, Film
Advisory Board
AND...Recipient
of
2006 iPARENTING MEDIA AWARD!
"ADVENTURE" DVD
IDEA LEAPS FOR BOOKS, Titles based on children's book series
by Claire Hoffman,
LOS ANGELES TIMES, 5/10/2006
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-choice10may10,1,3414717.story
PRESS RELEASES
& ARCHIVED PRESS
May 2006
Choose
Your Own Adventure® Series Debuts on DVD -
1st Title, The Abominable Snowman, Features
the Voices of William H. Macy, Frankie Muniz, Lacey Chabert,
Felicity Huffman, Available July 25, 2006
Archived Press:
LEAN FORWARD
GETS ADVENTUROUS, Titles based on children's book series
by
Jennifer Netherby, DVD
EXCLUSIVE, 10/31/2005
http://www.dvdexclusive.com/article.asp?articleID=2494&query=lean%20forward%20media
Lean
Forward's
Choose Your Own
Adventure DVDs let kids steer the story
by Nancy Lees, KidScreen Magazine, April 1, 2005
The
National Institute for Entrepreneurship,
www.venturebowl.com,
2004
STUDENT BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
WINNERS RAISE $2.2 MILLION FOR INTERACTIVE MEDIA START-UP
With a franchised brand and Hollywood
insiders behind it, could this be the next Baby Einstein?
New York, NY August 2, 2004 - Lean
Forward Media, an interactive media company started by two recent
graduates of Harvard Business School, beat out hundreds of challengers to
capture first place in Venture Bowl 2004, the nation's largest college
business plan competition. Now they've captured $2.2 million to launch
their business. Led by Carrot Capital, a New York venture firm, the
funding was fully subscribed, with several angel investors and even a
handful of Hollywood insiders participating in the round.
Lean Forward Media holds the exclusive
home entertainment rights to Choose Your Own Adventure® , a series of
children's books that sold over 150 million copies in the 1980's and
1990's. In the era before video games became popular, "Choose Your
Own Adventure" books provided children with low-tech virtual reality.
Readers lived out their fantasies by making decisions for "you,"
the book's main character, eventually arriving at one of many possible
endings. "Now a whole new generation of children will be able to
enjoy the same experience, except in a much richer medium, on DVD, thanks
to Lean Forward Media," proclaims Sven Jacobson, Senior Associate for
Carrot Capital.
Pre-production on the first Choose Your
Own Adventure DVD entitled The Abominable Snowman is already underway and
scheduled for release in 2005. It's the first in what is hoped to be a
long string of releases that were as successful as the original book
series.
About Carrot Capital Carrot Capital is
an early/seed-stage venture capital investment firm dedicated to helping
outstanding entrepreneurs build world-class companies. For more
information, visit the Carrot Capital web site at www.carrotcapital.com
For More Information, contact: Sven
Jacobson Carrot Capital (t) 212.586-2226
sjacobson@carrotcapital.com
SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GOOGLE FOCUSES ON
AMERICA'S COLLEGE CAMPUSES
Nation's Largest University Business
Plan Competition Showcases America's Brightest Young Entrepreneurs
NEW YORK, NY. May 12, 2004 - It's only
been two weeks since Lean Forward Media, an interactive media company
started by two students at Harvard Business School, beat out hundreds of
challengers to capture first place in Venture Bowl 2004, the nation's
largest university business plan competition. Yet, in that short time,
co-founders Michelle Crames and Jeff Norton have opened the NASDAQ Stock
Market, Michelle was named Forbes' Magazine's Future Capitalist, interest
from Hollywood executives has intensified, and they have been showered
with offers to fund their business.
Lean Forward Media holds the exclusive
home entertainment rights to Choose Your Own Adventure® , a series of
children's books that sold over 150 million copies in the 1980's and
1990's. In the era before video games became popular, "Choose Your
Own Adventure" books provided children with low-tech virtual reality.
Readers lived out their fantasies by making decisions for "you,"
the book's main character, eventually arriving at one of many possible
endings. Now a whole new generation of children will be able to enjoy the
same experience, except in a much richer medium, on DVD, thanks to Lean
Forward Media.
"Venture Bowl has been an
extraordinary experience for us," exclaims Jeff Norton, adding,
"It gave us an opportunity to showcase ourselves and our company to a
stellar group of judges who provided invaluable advice." Finalist
judges in Venture Bowl included Brian LeGette, CEO of 180s, maker of
innovative performance wear and recently named Inc Magazine's Inner City
100 Fastest Growing Inner-City Company in America, Tom Potter, CEO of
Brooklyn Brewery, one of America's most successful independent brewers,
and Julius Walls, Jr., CEO of Greyston Bakery, best known as the makers of
the two million pounds of brownies that go into Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream
each year and a pioneer in social enterprise.
"Lean Forward Media is a wonderful
example of the entrepreneurial spirit that exists on America's
campuses," says David Geliebter, a serial entrepreneur, venture
capitalist and President of The National Institute for Entrepreneurship,
organizer of Venture Bowl. "So much press is being devoted to the
greatly-anticipated IPO of Google, a company founded a short six years ago
by two former Stanford University students. This shouldn't come as any
surprise. There are hundreds of similar success stories. Michael Dell
started his made-to-order computer business from his college dorm room.
FedEx started as a business plan Fred Smith wrote for a Yale University
class. Netscape, Yahoo, and Cisco Systems were started by college
students, and the list goes on." "Venture Bowl gave us the
opportunity to compete on a national scale against some of the best and
brightest people around, which, in turn, challenged us to take our plan to
the next level to achieve our dream," remarks Michelle Crames.
"Next year, I wouldn't be surprised if Venture Bowl got as many
applications as THE APPRENTICE . Forget lemonade stands. This is the real
deal!"
Venture Bowl is organized by The
National Institute for Entrepreneurship, an organization whose mission is
to promote private sector growth through programs and initiatives that
provide students at all educational levels with access to the
entrepreneurial experience (www.tnife.org). Venture Bowl 2004 was the
third annual competition the Institute has held. Major support for Venture
Bowl is provided by Carrot Capital LLC, a New York-based venture capital
firm investing in seed and early stage businesses. Additional support for
Venture Bowl 2004 was provided by Forbes Magazine and HSBC Bank USA. Other
winners in Venture Bowl 2004 included Property Solutions International, a
team from Brigham Young University, Robotic Surgical Tech from Columbia
University and Taco Tikka, a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
team.
EDITORS NOTE: For more information about
Venture Bowl visit www.tnife.org. To set up interviews with winning team
members, please contact Suzanne Isack at 212.586.2226 x226.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AWARDS
§
KidsFirst!/Coalition for Quality Children's Media Festival, 2006 Title
§
Film Advisory Board Seal, 2006
§
Dove Foundation Seal of Approval
§
1st Place
:
Harvard
Business
School
Business Plan Competition Specialty Track, 2003
§
1st Place
, Venture Bowl 2003
§
Forbes Future Capitalist Award, 2004
§
Harvard Entrepreneurship Conference
Battle
of The Business Plans Competition, Coolest Idea, 2002
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