Paul McCartney's "My Valentine" Short Film To Make Theatrical Debut At THE INTOUCHABLES Showings

NEW YORK, May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In his directorial debut, Paul McCartney has created an artistic, black and white short film to his song "My Valentine" that audiences will get to enjoy before all showings of THE INTOUCHABLES for the duration of its theatrical run. The Weinstein Company (TWC) will release THE INTOUCHABLES in theaters on May 25. The three minute short film, which came to fruition following an original idea by Stella McCartney, stars Academy Award© winner Natalie Portman (BLACK SWAN, BEAUTIFUL GIRLS) and Golden Globe© winner Johnny Depp (FINDING NEVERLAND, CHOCOLAT). Portman, who was exclusively dressed by Stella McCartney for the film, and Depp translate the lyrics of the song through sign language throughout the film each with their own distinct interpretations, and Depp adds soul midway through the film with a guitar solo, which was recorded live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6jTIlPr-yI&feature=related 

Said TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein, "What an honor it is to have Paul's short film directorial debut on the head of THE INTOUCHABLES showings. Paul and Stella are great old friends. He was the first musician to say yes to perform at the 9/11 concert for New York, which I produced along with our friends John Sykes and Jim Dolan. Stella had a wonderful idea when she thought this song would translate well into a film, and I can't wait to share it with our audiences when THE INTOUCHABLES comes out on May 25."

On April 14 at an exclusive gala premiere at the Stella McCartney store in Los Angeles attended by Dave Grohl, Orlando Bloom, Lykke Li, Gwyneth Paltrow and Reese Witherspoon among others, McCartney premiered the short film. The track is one of two original compositions on his new studio album 'Kisses on the Bottom', which was released in February and went to Number One on the Billboard Jazz Chart as well as going Top Five across the world.

Produced by Susanne Preissler, the film's cinematographer was Academy Award© winner Wally Pfister (INCEPTION, THE DARK KNIGHT), and it was edited by Paul Martinez. The film was shot on 35 mm film.

THE INTOUCHABLES – SYNOPSIS

An irreverent, uplifting comedy about friendship, trust and human possibility, THE INTOUCHABLES has broken box office records in its native France and across Europe.  Based on a true story of friendship between a handicap millionaire (Francois Cluzet) and his street smart ex-con caretaker (Omar Sy), THE INTOUCHABLES depicts an unlikely camaraderie rooted in honesty and humor between two individuals who, on the surface, would seem to have nothing in common.  Directed Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, the film was nominated for a total of nine 2012 Cesar Awards, France's equivalent to the Oscars, including Best Picture, and winning Best Actor for breakout star Omar Sy, and won the Grand Prize at the 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival. The film has won multiple awards at film festivals around the country including: the ColCoa Film Festival's Audience Award and Critics Special Prize; the Florida Film Festival's Audience Award for Best International Feature; the Wisconsin Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Narrative Film; and the Nashville Film Festival's Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.

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; SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D; MY WEEK WITH MARILYN; THE IRON LADY; and W.E. Currently in release are THE ARTIST; CORIOLANUS; 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