Novell Ships New Entertainment Title Hard Evidence: The Marilyn Monroe Files

New CD-ROM Title Lets Users Investigate the Untimely Death of Marilyn Monroe

OREM, Utah -- June 27, 1995 -- Marilyn Monroe would have been 69 this June. Thirty-three years after her death, this superstar legend continues to intrigue millions as evidenced by the special-edition U.S. postage stamp and a new CD-ROM entertainment title. Today Novell, Inc. began shipping Hard Evidence: The Marilyn Monroe Files, an interactive investigation that allows users to explore the twists and turns of Marilyn's life and death.

Did Marilyn Monroe really commit suicide, or do the facts point to a cover up? The Marilyn Monroe case files were closed to the public for more than two decades. With the records now in the public domain and incorporated into Hard Evidence, users can explore the facts and mystery behind the death of the Hollywood legend.

Hard Evidence: The Marilyn Monroe Files contains authentic records, articles, and testaments from those who knew her. It incorporates the evidence and information from the most popular theories about her death to allow users to determine what really happened the night of August 4, 1962.

"The professional design, material, presentation and interactivity of Hard Evidence are designed to cause the user to think about the situation -- the facts and circumstances surrounding Marilyn Monroe," said Julie Tamura, product marketing director, Novell Consumer Division. "We think users will be intrigued with the investigation and the facts they uncover in Hard Evidence through the different role-playing activities."

Designed for teens and older audiences (ages 14 and older), Hard Evidence lets users gather evidence by assuming any one of four different roles--an investigative reporter, a lawyer from the district attorney's office, the county coroner or a detective from the Los Angeles police force.

Depending on the role the user assumes, the user will gather facts and information that may not necessarily be available in another role. For instance, a reporter will likely find information the coroner cannot. This strategy challenges the user to explore and understand the facts from various points of view and then draw their own conclusions based on the evidence.

Hard Evidence lets users gather evidence and information about inconsistencies surrounding her death through visiting the places she frequented and the people who knew her, and by reviewing the available records.

Hard Evidence: The Marilyn Monroe Files was created for Novell by T1 New Media, a division of Bertelsmann Entertainment Company. T1 is known for its expertise in the multi-platform production of entertainment titles. T1 New Media works in conjunction with expert organizations in television, video and graphics production, professional script writing and music composition.

"T1 is a young, creative group of people with experience in business development, video production, television production, fine arts and computer programming," said Florian Lahnstein, general manager, T1 New Media, Hamburg, Germany. "The company comes from a television production background, which brings an understanding of production values."

The quality of production is reflected in all aspects of the title. The three-dimensional graphics are stylized to represent and recreate the feeling and emotion of the 1960s era and were produced using Silicon Graphics workstations.

All Hard Evidence content is factual information acquired from more than 20 years of research, accumulated through various sources such as the Los Angeles Police Department and the Motion Picture and Television Photo Archive.

Pricing& System Requirements

Hard Evidence: The Marilyn Monroe Files is now available from software retailers, superstores, warehouse clubs and direct from Novell at (800) 451-5151. The suggested retail price is $49. System requirements include MPC Level 2 multimedia capabilities, which include an IBM PC or compatible 486/25SX or higher, Windows 3.1 or higher, 4MB RAM, a 16-bit sound card and a double-speed CD-ROM drive or higher.

T1 New Media of Hamburg, Germany specializes in the production of entertainment titles for Independent Software Vendors within the computer industry. T1 New Media is part of the Bertelsmann Entertainment Company, which includes such divisions as BMG Records and Double Day Book Publishing.