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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VOLVO Goes and Has Gone Hollywood

ROCKLEIGH, NJ -- Sweden, which has produced such movie headliners as Ingrid Bergman and Ann Margaret, is sending a new star-in-the-making to Hollywood. The S70, a dazzling performance coupe from Swedish carmaker Volvo, will have a featured role in "The Saint", starring Val Kilmer as the globe-trotting thief and hero, Simon Templar.

Volvo and Paramount Pictures plan a worldwide promotional campaign for the film. The movie-going public will catch tantalizing flashes of red and a quick impression of a sleek, aerodynamic shape in trailers for the film prior to its opening in theatres across North America on March 14. Both companies will devote pages of their World Wide Web sites to "The Saint." Robert C. Austin, Director of Marketing Communications for Volvo Cars of North America, described the cross-promotion as mutually beneficial. "By putting The Saint in a Volvo, the producers can subtly get the message across that even though Simon Templar is a thief, he is at heart an upstanding kind of guy. And by putting the C70 in a thrilling, fast-paced action movie, Volvo can send the message that even though their cars are safe and reliable, they can be sexy and exciting."

The S70 is not the first Volvo to be driven by The Saint. In a 1960s television series starring Roger Moore, Simon Templar drove a Volvo P1800 coupe.

In the new film, shot on location in Moscow, London and Oxford, Val Kilmer as Templar finds himself embroiled in a web of intrigue and deceit when he is hired to steal the life work of a beautiful Russian scientist played by Academy Award nominee (for "Leaving Las Vegas") Elizabeth Shue. Apparently Elizabeth realizes that a man who drives a Volvo can't be all bad, because...But then you'll just have to go see the movie to find out what happens.

The production team's credits are as stellar as those of the leading actors. Director Phillip Noyce has previously directed the action films "Clear & Present Danger" and "Patriot Games," while the producers have been responsible for such hits as "Thelma and Louise," "The Sting," "Jaws," "Chariots of Fire," "Star Wars," "Alien," and "The Hunt for Red October."

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