March 28th, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY – (March 28, 2013) –The Tribeca Film Festival (TFF), presented by American Express, announced today that the 30th Anniversary of Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy, restored in association with The Film Foundation, Regency Enterprises and Twentieth Century Fox, will close its 12th edition on Saturday, April 27. Closing night will take place at BMCC Tribeca PAC. Tickets will be available to the public via tribecafilm.com

The King of Comedy – directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul D. Zimmerman, produced by Arnon Milchan, and starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott and Sandra Bernhard –was originally released in 1983. Lauded as “shockingly prescient” by Moviefone, the film is recognized for its groundbreaking foresight into reality-TV culture and lack of distinction between renown and notoriety. It also holds up as the finest dramatic work of Lewis' career, one of Martin Scorsese's most underrated movies and a darkly funny film that features Robert De Niro playing the scary and fascinating character, Rupert Pupkin.

The King of Comedy is being restored digitally in 4K from the original camera negatives at Sony Colorworks; John Polito at Audio Mechanics is digitally restoring the soundtrack.

“Twelve years ago when we announced the first Festival, it was Marty’s idea for us to feature Restored and Rediscovered films. This year we are proud to close our 12th Festival with a restoration of his The King of Comedy,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival. “The King of Comedy was so ahead of its time; it seems more relevant today than it was 30 years ago. We are so grateful to Jim Gianopulos and Regency for helping to restore such an iconic film and ensuring it remains a part of our cultural heritage.”

In this unforgettable film, a funny thing happens to talk show host Jerry Langford (Lewis) on his way to the studio. Kidnapped by stand-up comedian Rupert Pupkin (De Niro) and his wacky sidekick (Bernhard), Langford is forced to give Pupkin a shot at the big time by allowing the struggling comic to perform his routine on Langford’s show. What unfolds is an incredibly funny and poignant story about the darker side of comedy.

“I was a big fan of the script and was very excited to do it with Marty and happy that we finally made it. The fact that it’s been restored (hard to believe so many years have passed) is even all the better, and I can't wait to see it on our closing night," said Robert De Niro, co-founder, Tribeca Film Festival.      

Scorsese said, “I’ve always been partial to comedians – the irreverence, the absurdity, the hostility, all the feelings under the surface - and to the old world of late night variety shows hosted by Steve Allen and Jack Paar and, of course, Johnny Carson, to the familiarity and the camaraderie between the guests. You had the feeling that they were there with you, in your living room. Robert De Niro and I were both drawn to Paul Zimmerman’s script for The King of Comedy, which really captured the show business atmosphere and the desperate attachments that some of the people on the other side of the screen could form, the ones that in certain cases turned dangerous.

“Making the picture was quite an experience. We had Sandra Bernhard in her debut. We had New York in summer. We had the beautiful Diahnne Abbott. We had all those wonderful guest stars like Tony Randall and Victor Borge and Ed Herlihy and Dr. Joyce Brothers, and the people who were really in the business, like Freddy De Cordova and Ed Scherick. We had my mother, and my father, and my daughter Cathy. We even had The Clash in a couple of shots, in the role of ‘street trash.’ And, we had a living legend, the great Jerry Lewis.

“I’m so happy that after all this time, The King of Comedy is finally getting a restoration, from our wonderful friends at Fox.”

The 12th annual Tribeca Film Festival will take place from April 17-28, 2013.
Visit www.tribecafilm.com/festival for more information about TFF’s 2013 programs and the full line-up of films. 

Tickets for the 2013 Festival:
Advance selection ticket packages and passes, as well as discount ticket packages are now on sale. All Festival packages and passes can be purchased online at www.tribecafilm.com/festival, or by telephone at (646) 502-5296 or toll free at (866) 941-FEST (3378).

Tickets for the Festival will be $16.00 for evening and weekend screenings, and $8.00 for all late-night and weekday matinee screenings. Single ticket sales begin Tuesday, April 9 for American Express Cardmembers, Sunday, April 14 for downtown residents, and Monday, April 15 for the general public. Single tickets can be purchased online, by telephone, or at one of the Ticket Outlets, with locations at Tribeca Cinemas at 54 Varick Street, Clearview Cinemas Chelsea at 260 W. 23rd Street, and AMC Loews Village 7 at 66 3rd Avenue. The 2013 Festival will continue offering ticket discounts for evening and weekend screenings for students, seniors and select downtown Manhattan residents. Discounted tickets are available at Ticket Outlet locations only. Additional information and further details on the Festival can be found at www.tribecafilm.com.

About The Film Foundation
Created in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation (film-foundation.org), is dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history. By working in partnership with the leading archives and studios, the foundation raises awareness of the urgent need for preservation and has saved over 600 films. In addition to the preservation, restoration, and presentation of classic cinema, the foundation teaches young people about film language and history through The Story of Movies, the organization's groundbreaking educational curriculum that is used by over 100,000 educators nationwide. Joining Scorsese on the board of directors are Woody Allen, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Curtis Hanson, Peter Jackson, Ang Lee, George Lucas, Alexander Payne, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg. The Film Foundation is aligned with the Directors Guild of America.

About the Tribeca Film Festival:
The Tribeca Film Festival helps filmmakers reach the broadest possible audience, enabling the international film community and general public to experience the power of cinema and promote New York City as a major filmmaking center. It is well known for being a diverse international film festival that supports emerging and established directors.

Founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 following the attacks on the World Trade Center, to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of the lower Manhattan district through an annual celebration of film, music and culture, the Festival brings the industry and community together around storytelling.

The Tribeca Film Festival has screened more than 1,400 films from more than 80 countries since its first edition in 2002. Since inception, it has attracted an international audience of more than 4 million attendees and has generated an estimated $750 million in economic activity for New York City.

About the 2013 Festival Sponsors
As Founding Sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival, American Express is committed to supporting the Festival and the art of filmmaking, bringing business and energy to New York City and offering Cardmembers and festivalgoers the opportunity to enjoy the best of storytelling through film.
The Tribeca Film Festival is pleased to announce the return of its Signature Sponsors: Accenture, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Bloomberg, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® Gin, Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC), Brookfield, Cadillac, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, ESPN, GE FOCUS FORWARD (in partnership with cinelan), Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Heineken USA, JetBlue, Magnum® Ice Cream, NBC 4 New York, NCM Media Networks, The New York Times, and OppenheimerFunds. The Festival is also honored to welcome the following new Signature Sponsors: AT&T, IWC Schaffhausen, PepsiCo, and Sony Electronics.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Film stills for the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival are available at www.image.net. If you are not an image.net media user yet, please register using the following referral code: 2604.

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PRESS CONTACTS:

Tammie Rosen
VP of Communications
(212) 941-2003
trosen@tribecaenterprises.com

Anna Dinces
Associate VP
212-843-9253
adinces@rubenstein.com