Sony Pictures Entertainment, Overbrook Entertainment & XPRIZE Join Forces To Launch Robotics Competition

CULVER CITY, Calif., April 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Entertainment, Overbrook Entertainment, and XPRIZE will launch an unprecedented robotics competition celebrating the highly anticipated release of After Earth, in theaters May 31. Through an immersive two-stage competition, the XPRIZE After Earth Challenge propels individuals to engage in meaningful discussions regarding space exploration and environmental sustainability, while applying fundamental principles of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics in navigating the fictitious universe of After Earth. The competition launches April 24, 2013 at XPRIZEAfterEarth.com.  

The XPRIZE After Earth Challenge puts participants in the shoes of a Ranger cadet, exploring the relationship between survival and sustainability while completing a mission to send an unmanned rover to explore Nova Prime, the human race's new home in After Earth. Eligible teams (2-5 students between the ages of 13 and 17 with 1 adult captain) of the XPRIZE After Earth Challenge can register for a chance to win by visiting www.XPRIZEAfterEarth.com beginning on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 12:01am PT, through 11:59 PM, Friday, June 7, 2013.

In Phase 1 of the challenge, teams will create a 2-3 minute video essay that answers targeted questions and describes their thinking on the importance of space exploration, and the relationship between sustainability and survival.  Video entries will be judged, and ten teams will be selected to move forward to Phase 2 of the contest.

In Phase 2, the top ten teams from the previous phase will receive a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® kit to use for their mission and a Sony Handycam® HDR-PJ230 camcorder to document their experience.  They will design and build a Nova Prime landscape (playfield), upon which their LEGO MINDSTORMS robot will complete a series of mission tasks in one or more of four thematic areas: (1) Natural Resources, (2) Renewable Energy, (3) Agriculture, and (4) Shelter/Protection.  Teams will showcase their Robot, Landscape, and Mission Tasks in a live performance in their community, which will be uploaded to the website for the judges.

The winning team will be highlighted in a Special Feature about the XPRIZE After Earth Challenge on the U.S. Blu-ray disc* of After Earth, and all members of that winning team will receive a signed Blu-ray and other cool prizes.

The Grand Prize winner will be announced August 9, 2013.

*Complete rules and regulations can be found at XPRIZEAfterEarth.com.

"XPRIZE is proud and excited to join the creative teams of Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment for the XPRIZE After Earth Challenge," said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and CEO of XPRIZE.  "After Earth is not only a spectacular science fiction adventure but it also underscores the importance of protecting our planet, something we value deeply at XPRIZE. We are pleased to partner with the visionary team at Overbrook to present a complimentarily themed educational competition focusing on the sustainability of the Earth."

Caleeb Pinkett, a producer of the film, added, "The XPRIZE After Earth challenge is an innovative way to get students excited about the film, the franchise, and the ideas that inspired them both, while using a combination of real-world science and science-fiction to fuel young people's passion for preserving this planet."

About "After Earth":
In After Earth, a crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

Columbia Pictures presents an Overbrook Entertainment/Blinding Edge Pictures production directed by M. Night Shyamalan from a screenplay by Gary Whitta and M. Night Shyamalan and a story by Will Smith, and produced by Caleeb Pinkett, Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith, James Lassiter, and M. Night Shyamalan.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com/.

About Overbrook Entertainment:
Overbrook Entertainment, founded by partners James Lassiter and Will Smith, is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment focused in film and television and has produced a diverse slate of both critically acclaimed and blockbuster feature films, which have generated more than $2.5 billion dollars in worldwide box office receipts and even more in home video sales. Some of Overbrook's most successful films include ALI, HITCH, PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, I AM LEGEND, HANCOCK, SECRET LIVES OF BEES, and most recently THE KARATE KID. Overbrook's next feature project is AFTER EARTH, which is set for a May 2013 release.

About XPRIZE:
Founded in 1995, XPRIZE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is the leading organization solving the world's Grand Challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prize competitions that stimulate investment in research and development worth far more than the prize itself. The organization motivates and inspires brilliant innovators from all disciplines to leverage their intellectual and financial capital for the benefit of humanity. XPRIZE conducts competitions in five Prize Groups: Education; Exploration; Energy & Environment; Global Development; and Life Sciences. Active prizes include the $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $10 million Archon Genomics XPRIZE presented by Express Scripts, the $10 million Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE, and the $2.25 million Nokia Sensing XCHALLENGE. For more information, go to www.xprize.org, "like" us at www.facebook.com/xprize and follow us on twitter @xprize.

SOURCE Sony Pictures