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Acclaimed film producer Mark Canton (300, The Spiderwick Chronicles) has been named Chairman of the 12th edition of “CAPRI, HOLLYWOOD 2007 - THE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL” it has been announced by Pascal Vicedomini, producer of the highly respected gathering that celebrates cinematic art and the “made in Italy” cultural trademark. This year’s festival will take place December 27th through January 2nd 2008 at various locations on the Isle of Capri, Italy.

The festival is jointly produced by Pascal Vicedomini and the Capri World Institute, with support from the Film Department of the Italian Ministry of Culture, The Campania Region of Italy, The Naples Chamber of Commerce, Kimbo Coffe and Fiuggi Mineral Water.

“I’m honored to be named chairman of this highly prestigious international event that will ring in 2008 by paying homage to Italian cinema and its traditions,” said Canton. “Pascal and his team are lining up a stellar array of films and events that is certain to make this year’s “CAPRI, HOLLYWOOD 2007” the best they have ever produced.”

Canton has been a pre-eminent force in the entertainment industry for over two decades, helping bring more than 300 pictures to the screen in his capacity as a senior studio executive (President of Worldwide Theatrical Production at Warner Bros. Pictures and Chairman of the Columbia Tri-Star Motion picture Companies) and producer.

Canton most recently produced the mega-hit 300, based on the Frank Miller graphic novel. Directed by Zack Snyder for Warner Brothers Pictures, 300 opened to record-setting box office numbers, having grossed more than $460 million worldwide making it the highest-grossing March release in the history of the motion picture business. Additionally, the 300 DVD is setting sales records around the world. His next film, The Spiderwick Chronicles, based on the best-selling children’s books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black with Mark Waters (Mean Girls) directing, is in post-production for Paramount Pictures and slated for a February, 2008 release. In addition, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, written and directed by Nicole Kassel (The Woodman) based on the Arthur Miller play and starring Michael Douglas, is in pre-production, as is Piranha, a re-invented version of the 1978 hit directed by Alexandre Aja for release by Dimension Films. Canton is also developing a contemporary re-make of the Award-winning MGM musical, Fame.

A native of New York, Canton is a 1979 UCLA graduate (magna cum laude) and a member of UCLA’s National Honor Society for American Studies. In addition to serving on the UCLA Board of Councilors and the Dean’s Advisory Board for the School of Theatre, Film, and Television, he is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute and Founder and Chairman Emeritus of AFI’s Third Decade Council.

“The slogan of this year’s “CAPRI, HOLLYWOOD 2007” will be The European Cinema Lives, a testament to the fact that all great cinema does not just originate in Hollywood,” said Marco Di Lello, Minister of the Tourism and Cultural Departments of the Campania Region of Italy. The European cinema will be represented with screenings of works both old and new by some of Europe’s most prestigious directors.

The final rundown of “CAPRI, HOLLYWOOD 2007” will be announced on December 20 at The Media Center located on Rome’s Via dell’Umilta. The festival will also present juried awards to the best Italian films of 2007 and sponsor galas where the 2007 Capri Awards will be presented to an exciting array of filmmakers and stars.

Other highlights of the festival will include The Fiuggi International Symposium on producing helmed by Academy Award winning riter/producer/director Bobby Moresco.

Participants in previous “CAPRI, HOLLYWOOD – FESTIVALS” have included Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren, Taylor Hackford, Vanessa Redgrave, Val Kilmer, Faye Dunaway, F. Murray Abraham, Mira Sorvino, Geoffrey Rush, Eva Mendes, Gerard Butler, Claire Danes, Anthony Minghella, Bobby Moresco, Shekhar Kapur, Ken Loach, Terry Gilliam, Max Von Sydow, Frank Miller, Heyden Christensen, Geraldine Chaplin, David Carradine, Gerard Depardieu, Abel Ferrara, Harvey Keitel, Armand Assante, Matthew Modine, Carmen Maura, Nikita Mikhalkov, Andrei Konchalovsky, Michael Radford, Mario Monicelli, Lina Wertmuller, Gabriele Muccino, Franco Nero, Ornella Muti, Giancarlo Giannini, Dante Ferretti, Anthony and Sandy Powell, Ann Roth, Pietro Scalia, Luciano Pavarotti and many more.