Calling All Aspiring Filmmakers: Intel and W Hotels Launch Innovative Film Series, €˜Four Stories, Produced and Curated by Roman Coppola and The Directors Bureau

Global Online Screenplay Competition Launches; Three Winning Scripts to be Produced at W Hotels Around the Globe

‘Four Stories’ Film Series Kicks off the Ultrabook™ Experience, Intel’s New Series of Collaborations with Leading Innovators in Travel, Film, Business, Fashion and Design

SANTA CLARA, Calif. & NEW YORK, 2012-08-10 — /travelprnews.com/ — Offering aspiring filmmakers a platform for global exposure, Intel Corporation and W Hotels Worldwide today launched “Four Stories,” an innovative screenplay competition curated by acclaimed film director and screenwriter Roman Coppola and his award-winning production company, The Directors Bureau. Starting today through Aug. 30, filmmakers can visit intel.com/fourstories to upload their original screenplays – inspired by the highly mobile, 24/7 nature of travel – for the chance to see their idea come to life on the big screen.

Three winning screenplays will be selected from a global pool of submissions by an exclusive panel of industry leaders, including Roman Coppola (The Directors Bureau), Michaelangelo L’Acqua (W Hotels global music director), Deborah Conrad (chief marketing officer at Intel), Eddy Moretti (executive producer and creative director at VICE), Michael Pitt (actor), Jeff Baena (screenwriter), Chloe Sevigny (actress), PJ Ransone (actor) and Blake Whitman (vice president of creative development at Vimeo) and Danny Gabai (agent, motion pictures for William Morris Endeavor).

“Four Stories” is the first collaboration from The Ultrabook Experience, a new initiative from Intel that features collaborations with innovative brands, emerging and established artists, and designers and entertainers that use the Intel-inspired Ultrabook devices to do extraordinary things. Throughout 2012, The Ultrabook Experience will unveil grand-scale projects with innovators in travel, film, business and design that are using Ultrabook devices to rethink what’s possible.

Combining technology and artistry to advance the next generation of great filmmakers, “Four Stories” will be comprised of three winning scripts that will be developed and transformed by Coppola and The Directors Bureau into 10-minute shorts inspired by the intense energy of the global jet-setter, each with its own talented cast. Scripts must be set in a W Hotel, and the Intel-inspired Ultrabook must play a key role in the film. To complete the series, the fourth film will be written and directed by Roman, who most recently co-wrote Wes Anderson’s summer film, “Moonrise Kingdom.”

“I admire W Hotels and Intel for encouraging emerging artists by giving them this chance to introduce themselves,” Coppola said. “To all those people thinking of participating, I hope that they take this opportunity to be bold, to push boundaries and to think of ideas which are totally unique to themselves. As Thomas Edison said, ‘Hell, there are no rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something.’”

The Directors Bureau, along with notable cast and winning filmmakers, will then travel to shoot the scripts at glamorous W Hotel destinations such as W Doha Hotel & Residences, W Retreat & Spa Maldives, W Mexico City and W Washington D.C. The properties, each with their own design narratives, draw in local contextual insights and unique design collaborations to create a distinctive personality. Combined with the love affair travelers have with their Ultrabook, enabling them to enjoy each connected minute on the road, the destinations will provide further inspirational backdrops – evocative of the stylish international guest.

“Four Stories” will premiere at red carpet events at select W Hotels around the world later this fall, as well as broadcast on The Ultrabook Experience website, whotels.com, the W brand’s social media channels and W Vision in-room entertainment channel.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Intel on this exciting film initiative that provides a global platform for emerging talent,” said Vincent Gillet, Global Brand Leader, W Hotels Worldwide & Le Méridien. “Like the W Hotels Designers of the Future Award and the W Hotels and burn studios DJ Lab, the “Four Stories” film series is yet another way for W to identify and support rising visionaries in their field, while showcasing what’s new and next to our global guests.”

As part of the overall collaboration between Intel and W Hotels Worldwide, high-impact Ultrabook design installations will be featured at W Hong Kong, W London-Leicester Square, W New York, W Paris-Opéra, W San Francisco and W Singapore, allowing both W guests and locals alike to interact with the latest in innovative technology. Additionally, Ultrabook devices will be integrated into the Whatever/Whenever concierge experience at all 42 W hotels and retreats worldwide, further demonstrating the marriage between technology and design to create impactful and emotional experiences.

“Today, we are in the midst of an evolution of the arts through the power of every day technology,” said Johan Jervoe, vice president of partner marketing, Intel. “A new generation of artists can bring film, music, design and art to life more easily because they no longer have to compromise. They can have one device, the Ultrabook, with both performance and portability, so they can readily share their creations at the touch of a keyboard button. We are excited to be working with W Hotels on ‘Four Stories’ as a unique platform for these rising stars to tell and share their stories globally.”

Inspired by Intel, Ultrabook is a new category of computing devices that will increasingly give people the most complete and satisfying, no-compromise and more secure computing experience in one sleek and portable device. With great battery life and offered at mainstream price points, Intel expects Ultrabook devices to be as transformational to mobile computing as Intel® Centrino® Mobile technology was more than eight years ago.

About Roman Coppola and the Directors Bureau

Roman Coppola is a critically acclaimed director, screenwriter, producer and music video creator. In 2012, Coppola co-wrote “Moonrise Kingdom,” his second collaboration with director Wes Anderson (the 2007 film “The Darjeeling Limited” was the first). As a director, Coppola has worked with Arctic Monkeys, Daft Punk, Phoenix, The Strokes, Ween and other bands to produce timeless music videos. He is currently in post-production on his second feature as director, “A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III,” a comedy starring Bill Murray, Charlie Sheen and Jason Schwartzman.

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.

About W Hotels Worldwide

W Hotels is a contemporary, design-led lifestyle brand and the industry innovator with 42 hotels and retreats, including 14 W-branded residences, in the most vibrant cities and exotic destinations around the world. Inspiring, iconic, innovative and influential, W Hotels provides the ultimate in insider access, offering a unique mix of cutting-edge design and passions around fashion, music and entertainment. W Hotels offers a holistic lifestyle experience that is integrated into the brand’s sensibility through contemporary restaurant concepts, glamorous entertainment experiences, stylish retail concepts, signature spas and inspiring residences. With more than 13 years of proven success, W Hotels is on track to reach more than 60 hotels by the end of 2015. W Hotels have been announced for Guangzhou, Milan, Shanghai, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Athens – Astir Palace, Muscat, Mumbai, and Santa Fe, Mexico, while upcoming W Retreats include Verbier and Mexico’s Riviera Maya. For more information, visit www.whotels.com. To live the W Hotels lifestyle 24/7/365, visit www.wresidences.com.

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