Studio Joins Innovative College Preparatory Program for Students of South Los Angeles High School for the 2009-2010 School Year

LOS ANGELES and CULVER CITY, Calif., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Entertainment has signed on to be a corporate sponsor of student interns from Verbum Dei High School, the renowned college preparatory school in the Watts area of Los Angeles, California.

"The Verbum Dei and Sony Pictures partnership is our first student internship entry into the entertainment business and is a very significant opportunity for us," said William Muller, S.J., President, Verbum Dei High School. "Needless to say, our students have been looking forward to this opportunity with Sony."

The internship program, which is designed to prepare high schoolers with real world work experience while they complete their education, began this month. Four Verbum Dei students share an entry-level job at the Sony Pictures Entertainment headquarters in Culver City.

"We are thrilled to join this incredible program as part of our efforts to cultivate the next generation of entertainment professionals and support our local community," said George Rose, Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Sony Pictures Entertainment. "Verbum Dei has distinguished itself by giving students the chance to get real world work experience before they apply to college."

A Catholic, college preparatory high school located in Watts, Verbum Dei High School has implemented a Corporate Work Study Program whereas students work one day a week in entry level positions with local businesses to help fund their education and gain valuable work experience. Verbum Dei boasts a 100% college acceptance rate for its graduates.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is a strong supporter of local education programs including: the Sony Pictures Entertainment Student Diversity Fellowship, designed to provide West Los Angeles Community College students with an in-depth understanding of professional television production, techniques and practices at Sony Pictures Television; the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) Community Arts Partnership (CAP), which offers free-of-charge arts education programs for elementary, middle school and high school students across Los Angeles County; the Sony Pictures Media Arts Program, part of CAP, which brings together leading technologies with top arts professionals to offer animation instruction for middle school students; as well as the Culver City High School Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA), a unique program offering courses in theater, music, art, dance and film.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 130 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

SOURCE Sony Pictures Entertainment

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