New York Yankees Go to Bat for BULLY

NEW YORK, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that the New York Yankees are the latest group in a long list of celebrities and public figures who are stepping out to support BULLY, which is expanding to theaters nationwide Friday, April 13th, with a recent PSA they shot during spring training in Tampa, Florida.

Yankees Manager Joe Girardi, along with players Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera and Curtis Granderson took a timeout from practice at Steinbrenner Field to speak up about the effects bullying has on children and what people can do to make a change.

The 30-second PSA can be seen here: http://web.yesnetwork.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=20527459

"When a community of people come together, we have the ability to enact positive change through our words and actions," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "Bullying is a problem too powerful to ignore, and I'm proud to stand alongside so many others in raising awareness for this meaningful cause. " 

"The Yankees are idolized by young people everywhere, so they really are perfect ambassadors for this film and its message," said TWC President of Marketing Stephen Bruno. "We're thrilled to have their voices in the mix."

Other celebrities and public figures have stepped out in their own ways to help get the film's message out including: Justin Bieber featuring his song "Born To Be Somebody" in a BULLY TV spot; Ellen DeGeneres featuring the families from the film on her show; Meryl Streep and attorneys David Boies and Ted Olson hosting an NYC screening; Victoria Justice, Giuliana Rancic and Joel McHale hosting the LA premiere; Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa hosting an NYC screening; Anderson Cooper hosting a town hall special on CNN to discuss bullying with Dr. Phil, Kelly Ripa and BULLY director Lee Hirsch; Tommy Hilfiger designing t-shirts; the dozens of celebrities who tweeted to help #BullyMovie trend; and many other supporters shooting PSAs. Companies including Bing and Twitter have partnered to help in the quest to reach as many parents, teachers and children as possible. And, in a move that inspired and rallied hundreds of thousands of supporters, Michigan high school student Katy Butler garnered more than half a million signatures on her petition to the MPAA on Change.org to lower BULLY's R rating, which subsequently happened last week.

Efforts to pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act are also in the works after TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein's recent meeting with Senator Bob Casey. This bill will amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to address and take action to prevent bullying and harassment of students.

BULLY leads all non-fiction films so far for 2012 with its strong opening weekend attendance.

ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE. Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes.  TWC releases took home eight 2012 Academy Awards®, the most wins in the studio's history. The tally included Best Picture for Michel Hazanavicius's THE ARTIST and Best Documentary Feature for TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay's UNDEFEATED. THE ARTIST brought TWC its second consecutive Best Picture statuette following the 2011 win for Tom Hooper's THE KING'S SPEECH.

Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; I'M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD; HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; BLUE VALENTINE; THE COMPANY MEN; MIRAL; SCRE4M; SUBMARINE; DIRTY GIRL; APOLLO 18; OUR IDIOT BROTHER; I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT; SARAH'S KEY; and SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D. Currently in release are MY WEEK WITH MARILYN; THE ARTIST; THE IRON LADY; CORIOLANUS; W.E.; UNDEFEATED; and BULLY. Upcoming releases include THE INTOUCHABLES. Recently wrapped was SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, and currently in production is DJANGO UNCHAINED.

TWC is also active in television production, led by former Miramax Films President of Production and current President of Television Meryl Poster, with credits including the Emmy® nominated and Peabody Award winning reality series Project Runway, spin-off series Project Accessory and Project Runway All Stars, the VH1 reality series Mob Wives, and the critically acclaimed HBO comedy/crime series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency which also received a Peabody Award. The company is currently in pre-production on the martial-arts epic Marco Polo for Starz as well as production on the second season of Mob Wives and the newest installment in the series' franchise Mob Wives Chicago. TWC additionally has 17 series in different stages of development, including The Nanny Diaries, being adapted for ABC by Amy Sherman Palladino (Gilmore Girls).

SOURCE The Weinstein Company