Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Announce Winner of Black Beauty Car from “The Green Hornet” Movie

Jonathon Hanington from Tualatin, Ore., is the lucky winner of “The Key to Black Beauty” sweepstakes

CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Someone in Oregon has the sweetest ride around. Carl’s Jr.^® and Hardee’s^®, announced today that Jonathon Hanington of Tualatin, Ore., officially won Black Beauty, one of the fully loaded prop cars from the Columbia Pictures movie “The Green Hornet.” The car, offered as the grand prize in the fast food chains’ “The Key to Black Beauty” instant win game and sweepstakes, was delivered to Hanington on Friday, March 4, at the Carl’s Jr. located in his hometown of Tualatin, Ore. Hanington, a 27-year-old full-time student and Army reservist, received the keys from Happy Star, the iconic mascot of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. Hanington was joined by nearly 50 friends and family members to check out his sweet new ride and enjoy dinner at the restaurant, along with Carl’s Jr. franchise owners Dan Gjurgevich and Joe Karcher.

“The Black Beauty is one of the coolest, most recognizable cars around, and we’re thrilled we were able to partner with Sony Pictures and Dr. Pepper to give it away to one of our guests”

“When I was notified that I won Black Beauty, I couldn’t believe it – I thought it was a prank call. It was unreal,” said Hanington. “I loved the Green Hornet movie and this car just looks so awesome. It’s decked out with realistic-looking prop machine guns and rocket launchers. It doesn’t get cooler than that.”

Hanington had the option to receive the car in legally operable mode, with no visible weapons, but chose for it to be delivered non-legally operable, loaded with prop weaponry from the movie. The car, based on the Chrysler Imperial Crown body style, which was produced in 1964, 1965 and 1966, is suped up with top-of-the-line, stunt-ready (but nonfunctioning) accessories, including prop hood machine guns and front and rear bumper rockets.

“The Black Beauty is one of the coolest, most recognizable cars around, and we’re thrilled we were able to partner with Sony Pictures and Dr. Pepper to give it away to one of our guests,” said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for CKE Restaurants. “The car is a true classic and a piece of movie history, so we were very happy to be able to make Jonathon’s day.”

The sweepstakes ran from Nov. 17, 2010 to Jan. 11, 2011 at Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants across the United States, and on the brands’ Facebook pages (www.facebook.com/carlsjr or www.facebook.com/hardees). Guests purchasing a limited-edition 42-ounce “The Green Hornet” collectors’ cup co-sponsored by Dr Pepper^® received a unique code to enter the promotion or a complimentary code could be found online. In addition to the sweepstakes, an instant-win game was also included on the collectors’ cups and featured a variety of other prizes including Southwest Airlines Vacations packages, limited-edition “The Green Hornet” PSP^®go Systems, a Sony home-theater system, Sony Electronics, movie tickets to see “The Green Hornet,” and Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s gift certificates and food prizes.

The entire promotion was part of a marketing partnership between CKE and Sony Pictures around the Jan. 14, 2011 release of the 3D action movie, “The Green Hornet.” In addition to the sweepstakes and instant-win game, the partnership included a commercial starring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou, themed food products, premiums, and a national tour of the Black Beauty car to select Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s locations across the country.

About CKE Restaurants Inc.

CKE Restaurants, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Carpinteria, Calif. As of the end of its third quarter of fiscal 2011, CKE, through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,153 franchised, licensed or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and 18 countries, including 1,245 Carl’s Jr. Restaurants and 1,896 Hardee’s restaurants. For more information about CKE and its brands, please visit www.ckr.com, www.carlsjr.com and www.hardees.com.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 140 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

About The Green Hornet

In The Green Hornet, Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is the son of LA’s most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to maintain a directionless existence on the party scene – until his father (Tom Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more industrious and inventive employees, Kato (Jay Chou), they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime. To get close to the criminals, they come up with the perfect cover: they’ll pose as criminals themselves. Protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets. Using all his ingenuity and skill, Kato builds the ultimate in advanced retro weaponry, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car, equal parts firepower and horsepower. Rolling in a mobile fortress on wheels and striking the bad guys with Kato’s clever gadgets, The Green Hornet and Kato quickly start making a name for themselves, and with the help of Britt’s new secretary, Lenore Case, they begin hunting down the man who controls LA’s gritty underworld: Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). But Chudnofsky has plans of his own: to swat down The Green Hornet once and for all. The Green Hornet is directed by Michel Gondry, written by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, based upon "The Green Hornet" radio series created by George W. Trendle, and produced by Neal H. Moritz.

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