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SUMMER SUCCESS OF SARAH’S KEY UNLOCKS A RE-RELEASE FOR THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY ON NOVEMBER 4

Posted Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011 - Comments Off on SUMMER SUCCESS OF SARAH’S KEY UNLOCKS A RE-RELEASE FOR THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY ON NOVEMBER 4
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Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League and a Holocaust survivor, calls SARAH’S KEY “One of the most important movies of the year.”

New York (November 2, 2011) – The Weinstein Company (TWC) President of Distribution, Erik Lomis, announced today that SARAH’S KEY will be re-released on November 4th on 300 screens across the US.  SARAH’S KEY opened in late July and has grossed over $7 million.

“Audiences responded to SARAH’S KEY for its great story, its emotional impact, and its historical importance; and the power of that word-of-mouth made it one of the most successful indie releases of the summer. We know there’s an even bigger audience for the movie, and that’s why we’re re-releasing it now, in a wider pattern, and just in time for awards consideration,” said Lomis.

Based on Tatiana de Rosnay’s  best-selling novel, SARAH’S KEY is the story of an American journalist living in Paris, Julia Jarmond (Kristin Scott Thomas), whose research for an article about the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup in 1942 in France ends up turning her own world upside down. “Sarah’s Key” has been on the New York Times Bestseller List for 138 weeks and the success of the movie over the summer saw it rise to #2.  It has been published in 40 countries, and there are now more than 3 million copies in print in the US.

During its release over the summer, SARAH’S KEY attracted many advocates, including Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League and a Holocaust survivor, who said of the movie: “SARAH’S KEY is much more than a Holocaust film.  It is an emotional tour-de-force, a compelling Holocaust drama writ large that examines the interconnected lives of a series of unforgettable characters through time… Along the way we witness the worst and the best of humanity. We see in the most graphic terms the horrible and tragic choices that Jews had to make facing the Nazi onslaught.  There were no good choices and whatever one decided, the price to pay was momentous and long-lasting.  SARAH’S KEY is a must see for that alone.”

Director Gilles Paquet-Brenner comments on the success of SARAH’S KEY in the US:  “I wanted to direct a movie that made this relatively unknown period of French history accessible.  I’m so happy that audiences in the US have responded to the emotional core of SARAH’S KEY and to the idea of our individual sense of responsibility towards history, regardless of our own cultural heritage.  I’m also delighted with the critical support Kristin Scott Thomas has received for her restrained performance which helped steer the film clear of the trap of sentimentality.  She becomes the audience’s conscience.”

“It’s always tricky for a writer to accept a director’s vision of her book, but Gilles Paquet-Brenner captured the emotion I wanted to share with my readers when I wrote the book, and I think it is wonderful that movie-goers are expanding the understanding of this dark moment in our history in such a vital way,” notes author Tatiana de Rosnay.

SARAH’S KEY is directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner and based on the novel “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay. Written by Serge Joncour and Gilles Paquet-Brenner, the film stars Kristin Scott Thomas, Mélusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup, Frédéric Pierrot, Michel Duchaussoy, Dominique Frot, Gisèle Casadesus, Aidan Quinn and Natasha Mashkevich.

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, including Tom Hooper’s THE KING’S SPEECH, winner of four 2011 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture.

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; and SUBMARINE. Currently in release are DIRTY GIRL; I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT; APOLLO 18; OUR IDIOT BROTHER; SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D; and SARAH’S KEY. Upcoming releases include MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, PIRANHA 3DD; THE ARTIST; W.E.; and THE IRON LADY.

TWC is also active in television production, with credits including the Emmy® nominated and Peabody Award winning reality series Project Runway, 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 producing After The Runway, Project Runway All Stars and Project Accessory. The company currently has 17 series in different stages of development, including Marco Polo, a scripted historical series about the great explorer, for Starz; and The Nanny Diaries, being adapted for ABC by Amy Sherman Palladino (Gilmore Girls).

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