By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

MASSIVE E-BOOK GIVEAWAY FOR THE INTOUCHABLES MOVIEGOERS

Posted Thursday, July 26th, 2012 - 4 Comments »
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YOU CHANGED MY LIFE: A MEMOIR GIVES FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF TRUE STORY THAT INSPIRED THE WORLDWIDE RECORD-BREAKING COMEDY

New York, NY – July 26, 2012 – The Weinstein Company (TWC) and Weinstein Books announced today that they, along with partners Amazon, Apple, B&N.com, and Sony, plan to give away free eBook copies of You Changed My Life: A Memoir to all of THE INTOUCHABLES moviegoers between July 27 and August 3. The book was written by Abdel Sellou, the man whose life THE INTOUCHABLES is based off of, and tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a French aristocrat quadriplegic and the high-spirited, low-class Algerian ex con, played in the film by César Award winning Omar Sy (Omar et Fred), hired to serve as his hands and feet. You Changed My Life: A Memoir is available wherever books are sold now.

Everyone who buys a ticket to see THE INTOUCHABLES between July 27 and August 3 will receive a card from participating theaters with information on how to redeem the free eBook, published by Weinstein Books, a member of The Perseus Books Group.

In real life, Sellou, the man who not only faithfully served but truly saved the severely disabled Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, played by François Cluzet (TELL NO ONE) in the film, is as ebullient and impertinent as the movie’s character, but much more complicated and guarded about his past. In this book, he breaks his long silence about his turbulent youth and unexpected awakening and writes, with striking honesty and humor, about his unrestricted upbringing, his formative years as a thief and con artist, and his time in prison. Throughout, he accepts responsibility for his mistakes (and misdemeanors), and above all, he expresses his profound gratitude to Pozzo – his boss, teacher, and friend – for putting an end to his carefree life of indifference and aimlessness. He reveals how, thanks to Philippe, he eventually learned to live differently – with limits, with responsibilities, and with empathy – and like it.

“The response to the film has been incredible worldwide and in the U.S.,” said Weinstein Books Publishing Director Georgina Levitt. “The stories Abdel shares in his memoir will undoubtedly move, entertain, and touch the hearts of all readers. We thank our partners who have joined us in bringing this book to everyone who experiences THE INTOUCHABLES over the next week.

THE INTOUCHABLES, directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, has become this year’s highest grossing foreign language film in North America surpassing Academy Award© winning A SEPARATION for the record. This milestone comes even before the film’s July 27th nationwide expansion and follows an expansive list of global and domestic acclaim and box office records.

The film has the third highest gross of all time in France and is the highest-grossing French film in Germany ever, and has held the #1 spot in many countries around the world. Currently the worldwide gross is $356 million and counting.

The audience response in the U.S. matches the international love of the film. The film’s stars Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy, winner of this year’s César Award for Best Actor, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, have chemistry and charm that make for one of the most feel good films of our time. THE INTOUCHABLES has garnered awards at film festivals all around the country this year including: the ColCoa Film Festival’s Audience Award and Critics Special Prize; the San Francisco International Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature; the Florida Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best International Feature; the Wisconsin Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best Narrative Film; the Nashville Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature; and the Maui Film Festival’s Audience Award for Narrative Feature World Cinema.

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 César 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.

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; W.E.; CORIOLANUS; UNDEFEATED; THE ARTIST; and BULLY. Currently in release are EASY MONEY and THE INTOUCHABLES. Upcoming releases include LAWLESS; KILLING THEM SOFTLY; THE MASTER; and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. 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).

ABOUT THE PERSEUS BOOKS GROUP

The Perseus Books Group is an independent company committed to enabling independent book publishers to reach their potential, whether those publishers are Perseus-owned, joint ventures, or owned by third parties. Perseus publishing imprints include Avalon Travel, Basic Books, Basic Civitas, Da Capo Press, Da Capo Lifelong Books, PublicAffairs, Running Press, Seal Press, Vanguard Press, and Westview Press, as well as partnerships with The Newsweek/Daily Beast Company, The Nation Institute, and The Weinstein Company. Recent New York Times bestsellers published by Weinstein Books include Knowing Your Value by Mika Brzezinski, The Lean  by Kathy Freston, Raquel by Raquel Welch, and My Remarkable Journey by Larry King. For more information, visit our websites at www.weinsteinbooks.com <http://www.weinsteinbooks.com> and www.perseusbooks.com <http://www.perseusbooks.com> .

 

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Posted in Movie City News, Press Releases | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “MASSIVE E-BOOK GIVEAWAY FOR THE INTOUCHABLES MOVIEGOERS”

  1. david says:
    July 26, 2012 at 3:09 pm

    a really worthy film

  2. Jo Ann Saali says:
    July 27, 2012 at 7:08 am

    Wonderful movie.

  3. Bob in SF says:
    July 27, 2012 at 10:11 am

    Do I have to see it again to get the book? I saw it months ago!

  4. Jayne says:
    July 27, 2012 at 12:35 pm

    @ Bob in SF

    It’s free right now in the kindle store-

    http://www.amazon.com/You-Changed-My-Life-ebook/dp/B0089EHYMQ/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

    If you don’t have kindle, there are free reading apps for tablets, phones, etc.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=sv_kstore_1?ie=UTF8&docId=1000493771

    I did not check any of the other stores but presumably, it would be available free there as well.

Quote Unquotesee all »

It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon