Ewan McGregor Honored With 7th Annual Ray-Ban Visionary Award

NEW YORK (Map) - Presented by RAY-BAN and THE CREATIVE COALITION at Sundance Film Festival

NEW YORK, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Golden Globe nominee Ewan McGregor will be honored with the 2009 Ray-Ban Visionary Award, presented by Ray-Ban and The Creative Coalition on January 18th, 2009 in Park City, Utah, at 7pm at the ASCAP Music Cafe. McGregor was chosen to receive the prestigious award, which is in its 7th year, because of his unprecedented accomplishments as an actor, writer, singer, director, and producer.

A talented, critically acclaimed actor, McGregor has successfully distinguished himself as one of Hollywood's finest talents. Debuting in feature films 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 then played his breakout role 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.

McGregor has had an immense impact in Hollywood. His scope of work surpasses acting as he co-created, wrote and produced the documentary television series' Long Way Round and Long Way Down, which tracked a 19,000-mile motorcycle journey he and friend Charley Boorman took from London to New York. McGregor has also lent his singing talents to a number of movie soundtracks including, Cassandra's Dream, Miss Potter, Down with Love, Emma, Velvet Goldmine and Moulin Rouge!.

The 7th annual Ray-Ban Visionary Award, in partnership with The Creative Coalition, is proud to honor the work and dedication of an individual who possesses extraordinary talent, passion, creativity, vision, imagination and originality. Previous award winners include Quentin Tarantino, Aaron Eckhart, Matt Dillon, Kevin Bacon, President of HBO Films Colin Callender and EVP/COO New Line Productions and President of Fine Line Features Mark Ordesky. Always committed to the growth of music and the arts, Ray-Ban will once again provide their support by being an official sponsor of The 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

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.