CROSS PEN IN PIVOTAL SCENE OF NEW SPY FILM CELEBRATED WITH LAUNCH OF NEW VERVE

In one of the plot-twisting scenes of the much-anticipated film STORMBREAKER ™, a young secret agent reaches for his trusted gadget, a Verve® pen by Cross®, to combat crime and save the schoolchildren in Britain. At 14, this teenage super spy in the British Secret Service, Alex Rider ™, has amassed a stellar arsenal of extraordinary gadgets, and yet the pen with its special powers rises as one of his most essential companions.

STORMBREAKER ™, the movie, is based on the incredibly successful book series Alex Rider authored by Anthony Horowitz. STORMBREAKER ™ is the first of the Alex Rider novels to be translated to film, with the movie’s release date scheduled for October 6, 2006 in the United States (a summer debut is scheduled in London where the author resides and where the plot is based). The Alex Rider Adventures recently rose to the #1 position on the New York Times best-seller list for youth-oriented paperbacks. Horowitz is presently at work on his next book in the series with his writing instrument of choice, the Cross fountain pen. These novels by Horowitz have been applauded by the London Daily Mirror newspaper as “…pure class, stylish but action packed…he’s figured out that being James Bond in miniature is way cooler than being a wizard.”

To coincide with the movie’s premiere, Cross will be providing a complimentary movie ticket to STORMBREAKER ™ with each purchase of a Verve pen (ball-point, rolling ball or fountain pen) from September 22 through October 20, 2006. The sleek, aerodynamic Verve Radial Chrome pen that is featured in STORMBREAKER ™ may be purchased at Cross stores, online here, or through select retailers in the United States. Finely etched concentric engravings give the bright chrome finish on this pen its contemporary flair.

The Verve Radial Chrome fountain pen is given to “Alex” (portrayed by Alex Pettyfer) by his gadgets master, “Smithers” (played by Stephen Fry). The pen is described in the film in this way, “The nib can be fired from a range of up to eight meters. The ink is sodium pentothal. Whomever you hit will do exactly what you want for up to six hours.”

Producer Peter Samuelson adds, “We looked everywhere for the coolest, sleekest high-tech pen a spy would use…to fire truth serum into an enemy’s neck or to write home. The smartest pen we could find was the Cross Verve.”

Cross will celebrate the Verve’s movie debut with a new Verve pen created in a sleek golden tone inspired by jet-setting secret agents. This new finish, Golden Shimmer, has a matte, bronze-gold shine that’s the embodiment of sophisticated chic – the perfect pal for noting numbers (and keen observations) at the martini bar, or wherever your personal and business adventures take you. This pen has charcoal accents and rhodium-plated appointments. The unique design of all Verve pens includes a seamless spring-loaded clip that retracts until it is at one with the body of the pen. The Verve fountain pen is fitted with the Cross exclusive 360-degree wrapped nib.

The Verve pen in the new Golden Shimmer finish becomes available in August, just before the introduction of STORMBREAKER ™ in theatres throughout America. The suggested retail prices are: fountain pen $ 175, Selectip® rolling ball pen $ 135, and ball-point pen $ 95.

STORMBREAKER ™ is a Weinstein Company presentation that is being distributed in theaters nationwide by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM).

Film cast includes: Sarah Bolger, Robbie Coltrane, Stephen Fry, Damian Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Alex Pettyfer, Missi Pyle, Andy Serkis, Alicia Silverstone, Ashley Walters and Mickey Rourke

Film Synopsis: Teenager Alex Rider ™ is reluctantly recruited as an M16 spy. Armed with his special set of gadgets, his mission begins at Darrius Sayle’s HQ – the lunatic billionaire has offered to donate a cutting-edge “Stormbreaker” computer to every school in Britain. Could this really be a deadly plot? Time is running out as Alex finds himself in mortal danger….

About Cross: Maker of fine writing instruments and accessories produced under the Cross name for 160 years. Based in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Contact: Patricia Russo
212.688.4868
patrusso@earthlink.net