"Welcome To America" Begins Principal Photography  12/12/05

MEXICO CITY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 12/12/05 -- Principal photography has commenced on location in Mexico City on "Welcome To America." The movie stars Academy Award®-winning actor Kevin Kline as a Texas cop who joins with a Mexico City teenager to embark on a desperate quest for loved ones enslaved in the international global epidemic of sex trafficking.

Also starring in the drama are Alicja Bachleda, Cesar Ramos, Paulina Gaitan, Marco Perez ("Amores Perros") and Guillermo Ivan.

28-year-old Marco Kreuzpaintner ("Summer Storm") is directing the screenplay by Jose Rivera (Academy Award® nominee for "The Motorcycle Diaries") based on "The Girls Next Door," a New York Times Magazine expose by Peter Landesman. The producers are Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow") and Rosilyn Heller ("American Heart"). The movie is scheduled for a North American release in 2006 by Lions Gate Films.

"It's satisfying to direct blockbusters like 'Independence Day' and 'The Day After Tomorrow,' but I'm equally passionate about making independent movies that deal with important contemporary issues," said Emmerich.

"'Welcome to America' is a gripping drama about worldwide sex trafficking rings that can help raise awareness about one of the world's most disturbing scourges. According to the State Department, the real number of sex slaves imported to the United States is at least 100,000 and could be as high as 200,000 annually. Our goal is to make an emotionally-engaging and thought-provoking film that accurately depicts this insidious epidemic from the victims' point of view.