New Cities Boston, Nashville, New Jersey, Philadelphia, San
Francisco, Sarasota, Fl, and Westchester Are Contributing to the
Nationwide Effort
New York City Completely Sold Out
HOLLYWOOD--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
In an unprecedented effort led by a team of African-American business
leaders in New York, organizations across the U.S. coordinated a massive
national campaign to find African-American business leaders to
underwrite free admission to the Golden Globe-nominated film "SELMA" for
students around the country.
New cities Boston, Nashville, New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco,
Sarasota, FL, and Westchester have come together to create funds that
will allow students in these locations to see "SELMA" for free at
participating theaters.
The efforts are inspired by the success of the program in New York City,
in which 27 African-American business leaders created a fund for 27,000
of the city's 7th, 8th and 9th grade
students to see the film for free. Due to the overwhelming demand, the
New York City effort sold out in the very first weekend and was expanded
to 75,000 tickets.
"Our goal was to educate as many children as we could about the
historical importance and contemporary relevance of the march in Selma,"
said Bill Lewis, Co-Chairman of Investment Banking, Lazard. "Seeing so
many business leaders in other cities join this spontaneous initiative
is a wonderful outcome for the children and for our country."
The students in these cities will show a student ID or report card at
the box office of any participating theater for free admittance. The
programs begin today, January 12th and run through January 19th
(Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) or while tickets last.
Business leaders in additional cities are currently organizing
commitments and participation from community organizations. Those cities
and leaders will be announced Wednesday, January 14th.
The local business leaders who are leading the efforts are:
Bennie Wiley, Principal, The Wiley Group and Flash Wiley, Counsel,
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, in Boston (10,000 tickets)
"How
inspiring to see so many members of the African-American community come
together to expose our young people to this important chapter in
history," said Bennie Wiley and Flash Wiley. "We are delighted to join
this extraordinary effort."
Lawrence Jackson, Chairman, SourceMark, LLC, Former President, Dollar
General, in Nashville (10,000 tickets)
"Director Ava DuVernay has
created a film about an important piece of American history," said
Jackson. "Nashville is privileged to raise funds to help bring the film
to as many students as possible."
David R. Jones, President & CEO, CastleOak Securities, L.P., Anré
Williams, President, Global Merchant Services, American Express, and
Carla A. Harris, Vice Chairman, Morgan Stanley in Northern New Jersey
(10,000 tickets)
"New Jersey is honored to join its friends in New
York in bringing ‘SELMA' to students who may not otherwise have the
opportunity to hear Martin Luther King, Jr.'s message," said Jones. "We
are grateful to the leaders in New York, whose generosity and vision
lead to this movement."
Leslie Brun, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SARR
Group, LLC, in Philadelphia (10,000 tickets)
"Philadelphia is
happy to do its part in helping students experience the story of Dr.
King's journey in Alabama," said Brun. "The challenges he faced there
will still ring true today for many of our country's youth."
Charles Ward, Chief Development Officer, Yerba Buena Center for the
Arts, in San Francisco (10,000 tickets)
"We've managed to raise
$100,000 in a relatively short period of time. That will send 10,000
kids to see the movie," said Ward. "We do expect that there may be even
greater demand. We'd like to cover as many admissions as possible."
The Grain Family in Sarasota, FL (1,000 tickets)
"‘SELMA' tells the
story of Dr. King's march so powerfully and so beautifully, that we are
honored to contribute to such a worthwhile cause," said the Grain Family.
Michael V. Littlejohn, Partner, IBM Global Business Services in
Westchester (6,000 tickets)
"We are so inspired by the program in
New York City and are humbled to be able to contribute to its success,"
said Littlejohn.
For a list of participating theaters in select cities offering free
admission to students during this program and for information on group
sales, visit www.SelmaMovie.com/studenttickets.
To help get the word out about the program, tweet using the hashtag
#SelmaForStudents.
Directed by Ava DuVernay and starring David Oyelowo as Martin Luther
King Jr., "SELMA" earned a Golden Globe for Best Song for "Glory" by
Common and John Legend and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor
and Best Director.
The film also stars Tom Wilkinson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Alessandro Nivola,
Giovanni Ribisi, Common, Carmen Ejogo, Lorraine Toussaint, with Tim Roth
and Oprah Winfrey as "Annie Lee Cooper."
Paramount Pictures, Pathé, and Harpo Films present "SELMA." Produced by
Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey, the film
is executive produced by Brad Pitt, Cameron McCracken, Diarmuid McKeown,
Nik Bower, Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes and Nan Morales. The film is
written by Paul Webb. "SELMA" is directed by Ava DuVernay.
"SELMA" is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the
tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of
violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated
in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of
1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights
movement. Director Ava DuVernay's "SELMA" tells the story of how the
revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo)
and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that
forever altered history.
"SELMA" is playing in theaters nationwide. To learn more about the film,
go to http://www.selmamovie.com.
About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor
of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a
leading content company with prominent and respected film, television
and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of
some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including
Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Television, Paramount
Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and
Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media
Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing
Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.
Paramount Pictures Corporation
Ashley Bodul, 323-956-7823
Ashley_Bodul@paramount.com
Source: Paramount Pictures Corporation
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