By MCN Editor editor@moviecitynews.com
FILM LEGEND ROBERT REDFORD, DIRECTOR OF UPCOMING FILM “THE CONSPIRATOR,” TO THROW CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCH
INFO ABOUT REDFORD / CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCH
Robert Redford will be in Chicago to support his most recent directorial effort, The Conspirator, which opens in theatres nationwide April 15. The debut film from The American Film Company, The Conspirator tells the true, widely unknown story of the lone woman (Robin Wright) charged in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the young Union lawyer (James McAvoy) who defended her.
A lifelong baseball fan, Redford was a high school teammate of Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale, and Redford earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Colorado as a pitcher before turning his attention to his acting career. During his legendary film career, Redford starred as Roy Hobbs, a player for the fictitious New York Knights, in the baseball classic, The Natural. During the film, Hobbs hit a game-winning home run in the ninth inning that shatters the scoreboard clock at Wrigley Field (the scene was set at Wrigley Field but filmed in Buffalo).
COMPLETE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM CHICAGO CUBS
CUBS ANNOUNCE OPENING DAY FESTIVITIES
RON SANTO, JR. TO LEAD SEVENTH-INNING STRETCH;
FILM LEGEND ROBERT REDFORD, DIRECTOR OF UPCOMING FILM “THE CONSPIRATOR”, AND A FAMILY SELECTED AT THE GAME TO THROW CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCHES;
NATIONAL 9/11 FLAG ON DISPLAY DURING NATIONAL ANTHEM
Friday, March 25, 2011
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today announced festivities to take place on Opening Day, Friday, April 1 at Wrigley Field prior to and during their 1:20 p.m. game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Ron Santo, Jr., the son of the Cubs legend, will lead the crowd in the singing of the seventh-inning stretch; film legend and Academy Award winning director Robert Redford will throw out a ceremonial first pitch; and for the second year in a row, the Ricketts Family will select a family of Cubs fans at the game to throw a ceremonial first pitch.
Additionally, Wayne Messmer will sing the National Anthem with the National 9/11 Flag on display in the outfield. Destroyed in the aftermath of the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 and stitched back together seven years later by tornado survivors in Greensburg, KS, The National 9/11 Flag is a living testament to the resilience and compassion of the American people. The flag is currently on a journey across the United States through the 10th Year Anniversary of 9/11.
The Cubs will also have a pre-game moment of silence in honor of those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and will conduct a collection at the ballpark to help raise funds for UNICEF to help children affected by the disaster.
During the last 13 seasons, no one led the crowd in the singing of the seventh-inning stretch more than Cubs legend Ron Santo, who passed away last December 3 at the age of 70. His son and namesake, Ron Santo, Jr., will lead the crowd in the singing on April 1 and visit both the WGN Radio and WGN TV broadcast booths as the Cubs continue to remember his father and our friend with a series of events and commemorations throughout the 2011 season, including a No. 10 patch worn by all uniformed personnel and Ron Santo Day on August 10, when the Cubs will dedicate a statue in Santo’s honor.
Redford will be in Chicago to support his most recent directorial effort, The Conspirator, which opens in theatres nationwide April 15. The debut film from The American Film Company, The Conspirator tells the true, widely unknown story of the lone woman (Robin Wright) charged in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the young Union lawyer (James McAvoy) who defended her.
A lifelong baseball fan, Redford was a high school teammate of Hall of Fame pitcher Don Drysdale, and Redford earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Colorado as a pitcher before turning his attention to his acting career. During his legendary film career, Redford starred as Roy Hobbs, a player for the fictitious Brooklyn Knights, in the baseball classic, The Natural. During the film, Hobbs hit a game-winning home run in the ninth inning that shatters the scoreboard clock at Wrigley Field (the scene was set at Wrigley Field but filmed in Buffalo).
In addition to Redford, the Ricketts family for the second year in a row will randomly select a family at the game to throw a ceremonial first pitch. Last year at Opening Day, the Sluga family from Arlington Heights was selected to throw a ceremonial first pitch.
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THE CONSPIRATOR Synopsis: The debut film from THE AMERICAN FILM COMPANY, THE CONSPIRATOR is directed by Robert Redford from a screenplay by James D. Solomon, and stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright as well as Alexis Bledel, James Badge Dale, Jonathan Groff, Danny Huston, Toby Kebbell, Kevin Kline, Justin Long, Colm Meaney, Stephen Root, Tom Wilkinson and Evan Rachel Wood.
Film synopsis: In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks.
Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. As the trial unfolds, Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son.
THE CONSPIRATOR http://conspiratorthemovie.com/
ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS / PRESS SITE http://www.roadsideattractionspublicity.com/login.php
THE AMERICAN FILM COMPANY http://www.theamericanfilmcompany.com/
Follow on Twitter @1865Lincoln
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GO CUBS! Big Redford fan, can’t wait to see movie. The trailer looks sweet.