ABC PICKS UP �MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION�

ABC Television has picked up IDT Entertainment�s drama series �Masters of Science Fiction,� featuring works from some of the most well known authors of science fiction, the network announced today. Negotiations are underway to include works from Isaac Asimov (author of �I Robot� and �Nightfall�), Ray Bradbury (�The Martian Chronicles,� �Fahrenheit 451�), Harlan Ellison (�A Boy and His Dog,� �Jeffty is Five�) and Robert Heinlein (�The Puppet Masters,� �Stranger in a Strange Land�). IDT Entertainment, in association with Industry Entertainment, will produce a minimum of four one-hour episodes.

�With IDT Entertainment and Industry bringing such high-end talent, we�re very excited about this anthology,� said Quinn Taylor, senior vice president of Motion Pictures for Television and Miniseries, ABC Entertainment. �We�ve been trying to put together this kind of series because it has great potential to become appointment television.�

Writer Michael Tolkin (�The Rapture,� �The Player�) will adapt and direct one episode. Discussions are underway to feature such works as �The Discarded� by Harlan Ellison, �The Last Question� by Isaac Asimov, as well as for Ray Bradbury to adapt his own �Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed.�

�We�re delighted that �Masters of Science Fiction� has found a broadcast home on ABC�s primetime lineup,� said John Hyde, COO of IDT Entertainment. �ABC is the perfect venue for these interpretations of science fiction�s seminal literary voices.�

�We are excited by the response we�re getting from the creative community,� says Industry Entertainment partner Keith Addis. �We are in advanced discussions with distinguished screenwriters and directors to bring the works of these science fiction icons to a broad audience in the most compelling and entertaining way.�

Production on the series will begin this May in Vancouver. Morris Berger, Steve Brown and John Hyde are executive producers for IDT Entertainment. Industry Entertainment�s Keith Addis, Brad Mendelsohn and Andrew Deane are executive producers, and Ben Browning and Adam Goldworm are co-producers.