Lisa Kudrow, Joan Rivers, Matt Groening and Jerry Seinfeld among the Stars Headlining at MIPCOM

• Press Release
• Source: Reed MIDEM
• On 9:20 am EDT, Friday September 18, 2009

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The 25^th edition of MIPCOM (5-8 October, Cannes) is set to welcome an eclectic line-up of international television and cinema talent.

Lisa Kudrow, unforgettable as Phoebe from “Friends,” will be at MIPCOM in her role as producer to promote the documentary series “Who Do You Think You Are?”, supported by Wall to Wall and Is or Isn’t Entertainment, Kudrow’s production company. The show, which traces celebrities’ family trees, is based on a successful BBC series and is soon to be broadcast on NBC. Kudrow became a fan when she saw the show whilst on location in Ireland. An episode featuring Kudrow’s own story tells the tale of her grandmother who was a victim of the Holocaust.

Comedy Central is adding a new face to its Emmy-nominated “Roast” franchise. The network is rolling out the red carpet to Roast one of comedy’s most trailblazing female performers, comedy icon Joan Rivers, who will be in Cannes to promote the launch of “Comedy Roast with Joan Rivers” for international syndication. Miss Rivers will be dispensing her slew of butchering barbs and hysterical one-liners to MIPCOM attendees at a special appearance to be announced by the show’s distributor, MTV Networks International.

To celebrate the 20^th anniversary of “The Simpsons,” MIPCOM will also be welcoming series creator Matt Groening who will deliver a keynote along with the show’s producer Al Jean. The two men will discuss their 20 successful years through a speech studded with anecdotes and memories. Morgan Spurlock, actor, director and TV presenter best known for his film “Super Size Me,” will present the conference.

Stand up and sitcom legend Jerry Seinfeld will attend MIPCOM to promote “The Marriage Ref,” a comedy created by “The Oprah Winfrey Show” producer Ellen Rakien and distributed by Endemol. Jerry Seinfeld’s first series, “Seinfeld,” rapidly became a global hit and has been honored with no less than nine Emmy Awards.

A veritable fashion phenomenon in Japan, the singers from AKB48 will invade the Majestic hotel for the MIPCOM opening night soirée. Their show, performed every night to a sell-out crowd in a hip Tokyo neighborhood, has been downloaded onto thousands of telephones and a host of fans follow the singers as they tour the world via video on the web. At MIPCOM, the group’s producer, Yasushi Akimoto, will explain what goes into this successful concept.

Considered to be the inventor of molecular cookery, celebrated Catalan chef Ferran Adrià Acosta from the El Bulli restaurant, will present “Canal Cultura,” a new channel from Spanish group RTVE. Ferran Adrià Acosta is patron of this latest addition to the Spanish television sector and will be unveiling his first gastronomic show dedicated to avant-garde cuisine at MIPCOM, which will be screened on the channel.

“Midsomer Murders” has conquered enthralled audiences in over 200 countries and the show’s star, John Nettles, will look back on its success at MIPCOM. Accompanied by key members of the cast, Nettles will bid farewell to the very popular Inspector Thomas Barnaby.

Lastly, Swedish actor Jakob Eklund, who has a huge fan base in northern Europe, will also be in Cannes for the presentation of crime series “Johan Falk,” six 90-minute episodes to be delivered in the fall. Eklund plays the boss of a special crime-fighting task force and will be joined at MIPCOM by the team from German distributor Bavaria Film.

Star-studded events at MIPCOM:

• Lisa Kudrow will present “International Formats Creator” on Tuesday 6 October at noon
• Matt Groening will deliver a keynote on Tuesday 6 October at 5.30pm
• Jerry Seinfeld will give a press conference on Tuesday 6 October at 2.30pm
• AKB48 will perform at the opening night soirée, Monday 5 October at 7pm
• Ferran Adrià Acosta will give a press conference on Monday 5 October at 10am
• John Nettles will be giving interviews on Tuesday 6 October from 11am

Details will be posted on www.mipcom.com

Photos are available for download from: http://www.reedmidem.com/v3/Press/DownloadZone/fr/

Notes to editors:

About REED MIDEM

Founded in 1963, Reed MIDEM is a leading organizer of professional, international tradeshows. Reed MIDEM events have established themselves as key dates in professional diaries. The company hosts MIPTV, MIPDOC, MIPCOM, and MIPJUNIOR for the television and digital content industries, MIDEM for music professionals, MIPIM, MIPIM Asia, MIPIM HORIZONS and MAPIC for the property and retail real estate sectors.

Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organizer, with over 470 events in 37 countries. In 2008 Reed brought together over seven million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, and organized by 38 fully staffed offices.

Reed organizes a wide range of events, including exhibitions, conferences, congresses and meetings. Its portfolio of over 470 events serves 44 industry sectors, including: Aerospace & aviation, automobiles, broadcasting, building & construction, electronics, energy, oil & gas, engineering, manufacturing, environment, food service & hospitality, gifts, healthcare, interior design, IT & telecoms, jewelry, life science & pharmaceuticals, machinery, medical education, printing & graphics, property & real estate, security & safety, sports & recreation, travel.

For further information about Reed MIDEM visit www.reedmidem.com.

REED MIDEM
Jane GARTON, Press Director, Tel: 33 (0)1 41 90 44 39
Jane.garton@reedmidem.com
or
Joanna KIRK, Press Officer, Tel: 33 (0)1 41 90 45 82
joanna.kirk@reedmidem.com
or
Adeline ANFRAY, Junior Press Officer, Tel: 33 (0) 1 41 90 49 10
adeline.anfray@reedmidem.com
www.mipworld.com