Ewan McGregor Returned to The Sundance Film Festival After 14 Years to be Honored at The 2009 Ray-Ban Visionary Award

Award Presented By Friend and Fellow Actor Alan Cumming

PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ — Alan Cumming, Eliza Dushku, Roman Diaz, Ralph Macchio and others were on hand to honor Ewan McGregor at the 2009 Ray-Ban Visionary Award in Park City, Utah, at ASCAP Music Cafe. The evening was presented by Vittorio Verdun, Vice President of Marketing for Luxottica Group US and Henry Schleiff, CEO of Crown Media Holdings.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090119/NY60255 )

The star studded evening was brought together with music provided by celebrity DJ Brent Bolthouse and the coveted award presented to Ewan McGregor by fellow actor and friend Alan Cumming who expressed that “Ray-Ban is a brand that is classic and edgy and when I think of Ewan I think of exactly the same thing.”

McGregor who has not returned to Sundance since 1996 when his breakthrough roll in Trainspotting premiered at the festival expressed, how “great it is to see how many people are able to support film and that filmmaking is a worldly platform for Ray-Ban to show its support means a lot to the industry.”

Ewan McGregor began his acting career with Bill Forsyth’s 1993 project, Being Human. He quickly gained widespread praise and an Empire Award for his performance in the thriller Shallow Grave, which marked his first collaboration with director Danny Boyle. McGregor’s breakout role came as a heroin addict in Boyle’s 1996 film version of Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting. Since then, he has taken on challenging and dynamic roles in blockbuster films, such as Star Wars, Moulin Rouge!, Cassandra’s Dream and this year’s Sundance premiered film, I Love You Phillip Morris.

The Ray-Ban Visionary Award, established in 2003, honors the work and dedication of an individual who possesses extraordinary passion, creativity and leadership, and whose work showcases vision, imagination and originality. Previous award winners include Quentin Tarantino, Aaron Eckhart, Matt Dillon and Kevin Bacon, Colin Callender (President of HBO Films) and Mark Ordesky (EVP/COO New Line Productions and President of Fine Line Features).

About Ray-Ban

Beginning in 1937 with the early Aviator style, the introduction of other classics such as the Wayfarer in 1952 and continuing today, Ray-Ban is a brand that embodies America and adventure, great cities and wide-open spaces, heroism, individuality and authenticity. Ray-Ban is the world’s best known eyewear brand and global leader in its sector. All models in the Ray-Ban collections are products of meticulous, original styling that translates the best of the latest fashion trends into an ever-contemporary look for millions of Ray-Ban wearers around the world. Introduced to the silver screen in 1961, the unique Ray-Ban lifestyle is embodied in its collections, reflected throughout hundreds of films, and remains the choice eyewear brand of both in real life and in films. www.ray-ban.com.

About The Creative Coalition

The Creative Coalition (www.TheCreativeCoalition.org) is the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan, social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating and mobilizing its members on issues of public importance, primarily public education, the First Amendment, arts advocacy, and runaway production. Headquartered in New York City, The Creative Coalition also has offices in Washington, DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The Creative Coalition does not endorse or raise funds for political parties or candidates.

About Luxottica Group S.p.A.

Luxottica Group is a global leader in eyewear, with over 5,900 optical and sun retail stores in North America, Asia-Pacific, China, South Africa and Europe and a strong brand portfolio that includes Ray-Ban, the best-selling sun and prescription eyewear brand in the world, as well as, among others, license brands Bvlgari, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo and Versace, and key house brands Vogue, Persol, Arnette and REVO. In addition to a global wholesale network that touches 130 countries, the Group manages leading retail brands such as LensCrafters and Pearle Vision in North America, OPSM and Laubman & Pank in Asia-Pacific, and Sunglass Hut globally. The Group’s products are designed and manufactured in six Italy-based high-quality manufacturing plants and in the only two China-based plants wholly-owned by a premium eyewear manufacturer. For fiscal year 2006, Luxottica Group (NYSE: LUX; MTA: LUX) posted consolidated net sales of euro 4.7 billion. Additional information on the Group is available at www.luxottica.com .

SOURCE Ray-Ban