Oscar® Winner Meryl Streep to Narrate New IMAX® 3D Adventure Documentary To The Arctic

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX; TSX: IMX), MacGillivray Freeman Films, and Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that two-time Academy Award® winner Meryl Streep will narrate To The Arctic 3D. The film will be released exclusively to select IMAX® theatres starting April 20, 2012. 

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To The Arctic 3D, from two-time Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Greg MacGillivray (The Living Sea, Dolphins), is the first co-production from Warner Bros. Pictures, MacGillivray Freeman Films and IMAX Corporation, following the companies' strategic alliance announced late last year. 

An extraordinary journey to the top of the world, To The Arctic 3D is the ultimate tale of survival. The film takes audiences on a never-before-experienced journey into the lives of a mother polar bear and her two seven-month-old cubs as they navigate the changing Arctic wilderness they call home. Captivating, adventurous, and intimate footage brings moviegoers up close and personal with this family's struggle to survive in a frigid environment of melting ice, immense glaciers, spectacular waterfalls, and majestic snow-bound peaks.

"To The Arctic was filmed entirely in 15/70mm with spectacular shots designed to take full advantage of the IMAX 3D format, and the story and setting will be made even more powerful by Meryl Streep's unmatched artistry," said Greg MacGillivray, President, MacGillivray Freeman Films and director of To The Arctic.  "This is MacGillivray Freeman's third collaboration with Meryl, and we are delighted to pair her prodigious talents with this emotional story of family and hope." 

Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution for Warner Bros. Pictures, stated, "Together with IMAX, we have transported audiences from the reaches of space to the depths of the ocean and, most recently, into the untamed jungle. We are thrilled to partner with IMAX and MacGillivray Freeman Films to tell an important story about a vanishing landscape and the animals that count on it for their survival."

"The most enduring relationship is that between a mother and child, which is powerfully portrayed through the polar bear family in To The Arctic," added Greg Foster, Chairman and President, IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "Greg MacGillivray's engaging storytelling combined with the strength of the Warner Bros. and IMAX partnership will deliver for audiences an inspiring glimpse into how the ties between family prevail above all else." 

Meryl Streep most recently earned a Golden Globe Award for her leading role as Margaret Thatcher in Phyllida Lloyd's new film "The Iron Lady." Her numerous honors include an astonishing 16 Academy Award® nominations, including her two Oscar® wins for her work in "Sophie's Choice" and "Kramer vs. Kramer," as well as 26 Golden Globe nominations, with additional wins for her performances in "Julie & Julia," "The Devil Wears Prada," "Angels in America," "Adaptation," "Sophie's Choice," "The French Lieutenant's Woman," and "Kramer vs. Kramer." Streep's many other additional credits include the recent award-winning films "Mamma Mia," "Doubt," and "The Hours." She next stars in the comedy "Great Home Springs," to be released by later this year.

About To The Arctic 3D
To The Arctic 3D is an IMAX, MacGillivray Freeman Films and Warner Bros. Pictures co-production and a presentation of One World One Ocean (www.oneworldoneocean.org).  The film was produced in association with Campion Foundation, Reynders, McVeigh Capital Management, Canadian Museum of Civilization and MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation.  To The Arctic was shot by Greg MacGillivray, Brad Ohlund, Bob Cranston, Howard Hall, Ron Goodman and Jack Tankard, produced by Shaun MacGillivray, written by Stephen Judson and executive produced by Tom Campion, Chat Reynders and Harrison Smith. The film's companion book, To The Arctic, featuring photography by wildlife photographer Florian Schulz, is now available from Braided River, whose books combine photography and essays to raise awareness about some of the world's last great wild places (www.welcometothearctic.org). More information about the film can be found at http://www.imax.com/tothearctic.

About MacGillivray Freeman Films
MacGillivray Freeman Films is the world's foremost independent producer and distributor of giant-screen 70mm films with 35 IMAX films to its credit. Throughout the company's 40-year history, its films have won numerous international awards including two Academy Award® nominations and three films inducted into the IMAX Hall of Fame. To The Arctic 3D follows in the company's long tradition of producing films that call attention to the natural world. It is the first film presentation of One World One Ocean, a multi-year, multi-platform campaign established by company founder Greg MacGillivray to change how people see and value the world's oceans.  MacGillivray Freeman's films are known for their artistry and celebration of science and the natural world.

About IMAX Corporation
IMAX Corporation is one of the world's leading entertainment and technology companies, specializing in the creation and delivery of premium, awe-inspiring entertainment experiences. With a growing suite of cutting-edge motion picture and sound technologies, and a globally recognized entertainment brand, IMAX is singularly situated at the convergence of the entertainment industry, innovation and the digital media world. The industry's top filmmakers and studios are utilizing IMAX theatres to connect with audiences in extraordinary ways, and as such, the IMAX network is among the most important and successful theatrical distribution platforms for major event films around the globe. The Company's new digital projection and sound systems - combined with a growing blockbuster film slate - are fueling the rapid expansion of the IMAX network in established markets such as North America, Western Europe, and Japan, as well as emerging markets such as China and Russia. IMAX theaters deliver the world's best cinematic presentations using proprietary IMAX®, IMAX 3D®, and IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-Mastering) technologies. IMAX DMR enables virtually any motion picture to be transformed into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience®. 

IMAX is headquartered in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles, with offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. As of September 30, 2011, there were 583 IMAX theatres (441 commercial multiplex, 23 commercial destination and 119 institutional) operating in 48 countries.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX DMR®, Experience It In IMAX®, An IMAX 3D Experience® and The IMAX Experience® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with IMAX on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

This press release contains forward looking statements that are based on management's assumptions and existing information and involve certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Important factors that could affect these statements include, but are not limited to, general economic, market or business conditions, including the length and severity of the current economic downturn, the opportunities that may be presented to and pursued by the Company, competitive actions by other companies, the performance of IMAX DMR films, conditions in the in-home and out-of home entertainment industries, the signing of theatre system agreements, changes in law or regulations, conditions, changes and developments in the commercial exhibition industry, the failure to convert theatre system backlog into revenue, new business initiatives, investments and operations in foreign jurisdictions and any future international expansion, foreign currency fluctuations and the Company's prior restatements and the related litigation.  These factors and other risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and most recent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

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