Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Will Ferrell, Cher, Steve Nash, Former President George...

Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Will Ferrell, Cher, Steve Nash, Former President
George H.W. Bush and Other Celebrities Rally Around the Kite Runner Charity
Auction
eBay charity auction on December 5 to include 25 Authentic Afghan Kites, each
personally signed by a major celebrity

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- An unprecedented lineup of celebrities
have joined forces for a special eBay charity auction to launch Paramount
Classics and Participant Productions' social action campaign for the highly
anticipated film version of The Kite Runner. On December 5th, authentic Afghan
kites, each bearing a tail personally autographed by a different celebrity,
will be listed on eBay -- http://www.ebay.com/kiterunner. The proceeds will
benefit the Afghanistan Relief Organization (ARO) specifically for the
training of teachers and the construction of rural libraries in Afghanistan.
The Kite Runner, presented by DreamWorks Pictures, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
and Participant Productions, is a Sidney Kimmel Entertainment Production and
Parkes/MacDonald Production released by Paramount Classics in select theaters
on December 14.
Among those celebrities who have autographed the 25 kite tails are
Madonna, Angelina Jolie, Daniel Craig, Benicio Del Toro, Billy Bob Thornton,
Halle Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Cher, Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Kate
Winslet, Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman,
former President George H.W. Bush, Eva Mendes, Ryan Gosling, Steve Nash,
Lauren Bosworth, Lauren Conrad, Hans Zimmer, The Kite Runner director Marc
Forster and actor Khalid Abdalla. In addition to receiving a kite with the
tail autographed by the celebrity, the winning bidder will receive a "thank
you" card signed by the celebrity.
Other items to be listed on eBay include a trip to the set of the new
James Bond film as a personal guest of director Marc Forster, as well as a
private lunch with The Kite Runner author Khaled Hosseini. People will also
have the opportunity to bid for the inclusion of their names in Hosseini's
next book.
Mary Adams Urashima, ARO Board Member said, "We are so grateful to
everyone involved with The Kite Runner and all the celebrities who have
contributed to this amazing charity auction, and we especially wish to thank
eBay for the support and exposure it will generate."
Auction Cause will produce the charity auction through eBay Giving Works,
eBay's dedicated program for charity listings. Auction Cause is a premier
auction management agency specializing in high profile cause marketing events
for brands, nonprofits, and celebrities.
Based on one of the most acclaimed novels in recent memory, The Kite
Runner is a profoundly emotional tale of friendship, family, devastating
mistakes and redeeming love. In a divided country on the verge of war, two
childhood friends, Amir and Hassan, are about to be torn apart forever. It's
a glorious afternoon in Kabul and the skies are bursting with the exhilarating
joy of a kite-fighting tournament. But in the aftermath of the day's victory,
one boy's fearful act of betrayal will mark their lives forever and set in
motion an epic quest for redemption. Now, after 20 years of living in America,
Amir returns to a perilous Afghanistan under the Taliban's iron-fisted rule to
face the secrets that still haunt him and take one last daring chance to set
things right. DreamWorks Pictures, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant
Productions present The Kite Runner, a Sidney Kimmel Entertainment Production
and Parkes/MacDonald Production released by Paramount Classics.
About Afghanistan Relief Organization (ARO)
Afghanistan Relief Organization (ARO) is a non-political, secular non-
religious, nonprofit, humanitarian organization, registered in the United
States and in Afghanistan (a requirement of all non governmental organizations
working in Afghanistan).
ARO has worked on relief efforts in Afghanistan since 1998. After late
2001, hundreds of non governmental organizations (NGOs) began arriving in
Afghanistan to participate in reconstruction. In 2005, the new Afghan
government began a careful review and re-registration process to determine
which organizations were contributing programs beneficial to recovery efforts.
As of early February 2006, the Afghan government renewed the operating
licenses of about 160 NGOs, out of approximately 1600 NGOs. The Afghanistan
Relief Organization was the tenth NGO re-registered and remains in good
standing.
ARO delivers relief aid directly into the hands of the needy throughout
Afghanistan, and offers general education programs designed to encourage self
sufficiency.
About Participant Productions
Participant Productions is a Los Angeles-based production company that
focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films and
documentaries. Participant's films have been chosen to awaken, inspire and
empower audiences to take action and create change. The company is headed by
CEO Jim Berk and President Ricky Strauss. Participant was founded by
philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Participant Productions
films currently in release are Ted Braun's documentary Darfur Now, Jonathan
Demme's documentary Jimmy Carter Man From Plains and Louise Hogarth's
documentary Angels in the Dust. Upcoming releases include Marc Forster's The
Kite Runner Mike Nichols' Charlie Wilson's War, Brett Morgen's documentary
Chicago 10, The Visitor (Tom McCarthy's first film since The Station Agent)
and Errol Morris' documentary S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedure).
Past films have included Good Night, And Good Luck, Syriana, North Country
and Murderball, which collectively received 11 Academy Award(R) nominations
and one Oscar(R) in 2005, and Participant's An Inconvenient Truth, which won
two 2006 Academy Awards(R) -- for Best Documentary and Best Original Song --
and has become one of the highest grossing documentaries in history. For
further information, please visit http://www.participate.net

Contact: Jeff Sakson
310-550-5109
jeff.sakson@participantproductions.com

Alison Lehrer
323-956-8790
Alison.lehrer@paramountvantage.com

SOURCE Paramount Classics

Jeff Sakson, of Participant Productions, +1-310-550-5109,
jeff.sakson@participantproductions.com, or Alison Lehrer, +1-323-956-8790,
Alison.lehrer@paramountvantage.com, both for Paramount Classics