FREEZE!!! OR JOIN THE CHASE -- FOR THE NETWORK TELEVISION PREMIERE OF "BANDITS," AIRING SATURDAY, AUGUST 6 ON ABC

Starring Academy Award Winners Billy Bob Thornton and Cate Blanchett And Two-time Emmy Award Winner Bruce Willis

Don't get left behind when the comical crime caper "Bandits" makes its network television premiere as the "ABC Saturday Movie of the Week," AUGUST 6 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Cate Blanchett and Billy Bob Thornton were both nominated for Golden Globe Awards for their performances in the film.

It all begins with a cement truck that crashes through prison walls. Two convicts -- Joe Blake (Bruce Willis) and Terry Lee Collins (Billy Bob Thornton) -- now fugitives on the run, team up with Harvey Pollard (Troy Garrity), their new getaway driver, for a bank-robbing spree, and their infamous tactics grab the attention of national television.

Their strange but effective strategy consists of kidnapping -- and sleeping at the homes of -- the bank managers on the night before the heist. Then, very early the next morning and now with the assistance of the managers, they easily rob the banks without anyone even knowing. In the course of their criminal adventures, however, a love triangle is formed between Joe, Terry and a bored housewife named Kate Wheeler (Cate Blanchett) who accidentally becomes caught up with the group after running away from her home and husband. Will the bandits' lucky streak continue, or will they be caught and sent back to the slammer...?

Starring in the film are Bruce Willis ("Whole Ten Yards" & "Sin City") as Joe Blake, Billy Bob Thornton ("Bad Santa" & "Monsters Ball") as Terry Lee Collins, Troy Garrity ("Barbershop 1&2" & "After the Sunset") as Harvey Pollard and Cate Blanchett ("The Aviator" & "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King") as Kate Wheeler.

"Bandits" was directed by Barry Levinson ("Envy" & "An Everlasting Piece"), and written by Harley Peyton (TV Series "Twin Peaks" & "Keys to Tulsa"). The film was produced by Baltimore Spring Creek Productions, Cheyenne Enterprises, Empire Pictures, Hyde Park Entertainment, Lotus Pies, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM). Distributed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM).

"BANDITS" IN HDTV:
The ABC Television Network's HDTV broadcast of "Bandits" will air in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound.

This film carries a TV-14, D,V parental guideline.