ACADEMY AWARD WINNER MORGAN FREEMAN TO HOST "AFI'S 100 - YEARS 100 MOVIES - 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION," A NEW ENTERTAINMENT SPECIAL COUNTING DOWN THE 100 GREATEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman ("Million Dollar Baby," "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Driving Miss Daisy") will host AFI'S 100 YEARS...100 MOVIES - 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION, a new entertainment special counting down the greatest movies of all time, to be broadcast Wednesday, June 20 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. During the broadcast, the confidential list of the 100 greatest American films of all time will be revealed by some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

Those scheduled to be included in the special are Tim Allen, Halle Berry, Peter Bogdanovich, Jeff Bridges, Laurence Fishburne, Peter Fonda, Harrison Ford, William Friedkin, Dennis Hopper, Norman Jewison, Spike Lee, Shirley MacLaine, Malcolm McDowell, Eva Mendes, Liza Minnelli, Sydney Pollack, Debbie Reynolds, Martin Scorsese, Martin Sheen and M. Night Shyamalan.

In this 10th annual installment of the Emmy Award-winning series, both classic favorites and newly eligible films released from 1996 to 2006 will be considered. New entries to the ballot include titles such as "American Beauty," "The Aviator," "Brokeback Mountain," "Lord of the Rings," "The Matrix," "Saving Private Ryan," "Sideways," "Traffic" and "Titantic."

"AFI's critically acclaimed series has sparked national debate on what makes a great movie and why, ultimately driving people to discover-and re-discover-the classics of American film," said host Morgan Freeman. "I am honored to be a part of this national celebration of film."

Morgan Freeman's feature film credits include Academy Award nominated performances in "The Shawshank Redemption," "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Street Smart," as well as an Oscar win for "Million Dollar Baby." Other memorable films include "Batman Begins," "Bruce Almighty," "The Sum of All Fears," "Along Came A Spider," "Amistad," "Se7en," "Unforgiven" and "Glory." Freeman will appear later this year in "Evan Almighty," "Gone, Baby, Gone," "The Bucket List" and "The Feast of Love."

This will be the 10th annual special in the AFI's continuing celebration of American cinema, following the nine critically-acclaimed Network specials: "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies," "...100 Stars," "...100 Laughs," "...100 Thrills," "...100 Passions," "...100 Heroes & Villains," "...100 Songs," "...100 Movie Quotes" and "...100 Cheers," which annually spark a national discussion of America's film history among movie lovers across the nation.

To compile the final list, AFI distributed a ballot with 400 nominated movies to a jury of over 1,500 leaders in the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and historians.

The jurors were asked to consider the following criteria in making their selections:

FEATURE-LENGTH FICTION FILM

Narrative format, typically over 60 minutes in length.

AMERICAN FILM

Motion picture with significant creative and/or production elements from the U.S.

CRITICAL RECOGNITION

Formal commendation in print, television and digital media.

MAJOR AWARD WINNER

Recognition from competitive events including awards from peer groups, critics, guilds and major film festivals.

POPULARITY OVER TIME

Including success at the box office, television and cable airings, and DVD/VHS sales and rentals.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

A film's mark on the history of the moving image through visionary narrative devices, technical innovation or other groundbreaking achievements.

CULTURAL IMPACT

A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

AFI allows five write-in votes per ballot.

AFI celebrates its 40th Anniversary in 2007. AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and digital media. AFI trains the next generation of filmmakers at its world-renowned Conservatory, maintains America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and explores new digital technologies in entertainment and education through the AFI Digital Content Lab and K-12 Screen Education Center. As the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the US, AFI ON SCREEN encompasses the annual AFI FEST presented by Audi: AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival-as well as year-round programming at ArcLight Hollywood and the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, including SILVERDOCS: AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival. AFI AWARDS, the annual almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year, while AFI's 100 Years . . . series has ignited extraordinary public interest in classic American movies. And, during the past 34 years, AFI's Life Achievement Award has become the highest honor for a career in film. Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.

For the 10th consecutive year, multi-Emmy Award winner Gary Smith is the executive producer and director of the AFI primetime special. AFI Board Chair Emeritus Frederick S. Pierce is the executive producer for AFI. Dann Netter ("The 2002 Emmy Awards") and Bob Gazzale ("AFI Life Achievement Award, A Tribute to Sean Connery") are the producers. SFM Entertainment LLC is the distributor of the program. Major sponsors include Best Buy, Colgate Total, GM, The Home Depot, Paramount, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Sony, Warner Bros. and all major motion picture companies.