ABC TO AIR THE LIGHT-HEARTED ROMANTIC COMEDY �SWEET HOME ALABAMA,� THURSDAY, MARCH 2

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey, Josh Lucas and Candice Bergen, Feature Will Air in HDTV with 5.1-Channel Surround Sound and Spanish Audio

Come on home to ABC this March with the engaging and light-hearted romantic comedy, �Sweet Home Alabama,� airing as the �ABC Thursday Movie of the Week,� THURSDAY, MARCH 2 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. (Rebroadcast. OAD: 5/5/05)

She�s got the job and the man of her dreams, but still, something is missing� Melanie Smooter, also known throughout Manhattan as Melanie Carmichael, is an up and coming New York fashion designer who has recently become engaged to the city�s most eligible bachelor -- the Mayor�s son. But there�s one little catch � she�s already married. Before she can say �I do� again, Melanie has to return to her hometown in Alabama to officially divorce the husband she left behind there. Once �home,� old emotions are stirred up, as Melanie is caught between the new life she�s built for herself and the old one she so desperately wanted to escape.

Starring in �Sweet Home Alabama� are Reese Witherspoon (�Just Like Heaven,� �Walk the Line,� �Legally Blonde�) as Melanie Smooter, aka Melanie Carmichael, Patrick Dempsey (TV�s �Grey�s Anatomy� and �Lucky 7�) as Andrew Hennings, Josh Lucas (�Glory Road,� �Around the Bend,� �Hulk�) as Jake Perry, Candice Bergen (TV�s �Boston Legal,� �The In-Laws�) as Mayor Kate Hennings, Fred Ward (�Abandon,� �Enough,� �Corky Romano�) as Earl Smooter, Jean Smart (TV�s �24,� �I Heart Huckabees,� �Bringing Down the House�) as Stella Kay, Ethan Embry (�Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,� TV�s �Law & Order: Criminal Intent,� �Numb3rs,� �Dragnet�) as Bobby Ray and Rhona Mitra (TV�s �Boston Legal� and �The Practice�) as Tabatha Wadmore-Smith.

�Sweet Home Alabama� was directed by Andy Tennant (�Hitch,� �Anna and the King�). The screenplay was written by C. Jay Cox (�Latter Days,� �Reason Thirteen�), with writing credits for the story given to Douglas J. Eboch (�The 24 Year-Old Virgin,� �Party at Sam�s�). Presented by D&D Films, Original Film, Pigeon Creek Films and Touchstone Pictures. Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures.

�SWEET HOME ALABAMA� IN HDTV:
The ABC Television Network�s HDTV broadcast of �Sweet Home Alabama� will air in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC�s selected HDTV format and 5.1-channel surround sound and with Spanish audio. This film carries a TV-PG,L parental guideline.