Anti-Bullying Documentary "Bully" Receives Support From Bing
NEW YORK, March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weinstein Company is pleased to announce a partnership with Bing to drive massive awareness of the dangers of bullying surrounding the highly anticipated release of the anti-bullying documentary "Bully," in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on March 30 and in other cities on April 13. The goal of the partnership is to help raise awareness of the serious implications of bullying as well as encourage more Americans to speak out and stand up to bullying.
The "Bully" movement is growing, with support from high profile people such as Ellen DeGeneres, Justin Bieber, Meryl Streep, Anderson Cooper, Kelly Ripa, Demi Lovato, Tommy Hilfiger, Victoria Justice, Billie Jean King, Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Gerry Lopez, CEO of AMC Theaters, legal powerhouses David Boies and Ted Olson, and Drew Brees. Seventeen year-old high school student Katy Butler got involved by starting a petition to encourage the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to change the rating on "Bully" from R to PG-13 so that kids can see it. To date, Butler has garnered more than 400,000 signatures and delivered the petition to the MPAA earlier this month.
Together, the companies will launch a multi-million dollar, multi-media campaign to promote "Bully" and illustrate the impact of bullying, with the rallying cry "stop bullying." The partnership includes an ad campaign appearing on TV and online including a video telling Butler's story, social media promotion, and the sponsorship of multiple screenings in NY and the official premiere in Los Angeles, tonight, March 26th, hosted by E!'s Giuliana Rancic and Joel McHale with Victoria Justice. In addition, E! Entertainment is the media sponsor for the Los Angeles event.
"Bing is an innovative search engine that can help connect people with resources to educate and drive awareness about this important cause," said TWC Co-Chairman Harvey Weinstein. "It is truly inspiring to collaborate with a company like Bing that sees the value in using their voice and influence for an issue like this that affects children everywhere."
"Bing is designed for doing and we speak to a generation of people who do amazing things," said Lisa Gurry, Senior Director, Bing and MSN. "We believe we can help this movement by leading online and driving for change. We're honored to partner with The Weinstein Company and help people find the best resources to help address this important issue."
Bullying affects millions of kids every day – with over 13 million kids in the US being bullied this year, and over 3 million students missing school each month because they feel unsafe at school. The goal of "Bully" is to get parents, students, educators, and advocates involved to help stop bullying.
ABOUT "BULLY"
Directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, BULLY is a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary. At its heart are those with huge stakes in this issue whose stories each represent a different facet of America's bullying crisis. BULLY follows five kids and families over the course of a school year. Stories include two families who have lost children to suicide and a mother awaiting the fate of her 14-year-old daughter who has been incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With an intimate glimpse into homes, classrooms, cafeterias and principals' offices, the film offers insight into the often cruel world of the lives of bullied children. As teachers, administrators, kids and parents struggle to find answers, BULLY examines the dire consequences of bullying through the testimony of strong and courageous youth. Through the power of their stories, the film aims to be a catalyst for change in the way we deal with bullying as parents, teachers, children and society as a whole.
ABOUT Bing:
Bing, the search engine from Microsoft, is for people who do; for people who are always doing more and don't have time to sit still. So whether you're on your PC or on your phone, Bing has features designed not just to connect you to the information you are looking for, but also to help you get things done right on Bing.com. From making dinner reservations to sharing a link with one of your Facebook friends, it can all happen within Bing. With Bing, you simply get results you can trust that will get you quickly from searching to doing. Bing is for doing.
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.; and UNDEFEATED. Upcoming releases include BULLY and 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).
