Home Media Magazine - June 14-20,2010 - (Page 22)
PIPELINE Edited by Billy Gil www.homemediamagazine.com Vivendi Delivers ‘Letters to God’ By Billy Gil Vivendi Entertainment is releasing the uplifting family film Letters to God on DVD Aug. 10 at $24.95. The film tells of a young child with a terminal illness who writes prayers as letters to God. The letters find their way to a conflicted postman searching for meaning in his life. The Dove Foundationapproved film stars Robyn Lively (“30 Rock”), Jeffrey S.S. Johnson (“Burn Notice”), Tanner Maguire (“Lost”), Bailee Madison (Don’t Be CHRISTIAN Afraid of the Dark), Michael Bolten (Flipped) and Ralph Waite (“Days of Our Lives”). Special features include on-set devotionals, behindthe-scenes material, a featurette on the music in the film, character stories with the cast, short stories, outtakes, bloopers and more. The title will be marketed to Christians through such outlets as Christian bookstores, radio, social networking and through charitable contributions from some retail sales to cancer organizations and children’s charities. Paul Bettany and Martha West in Creation Universal Starts Production On ‘Honey 2’ for Fall Release dancers for a competition or returnBy Chris Tribbey DTV The direct-to-DVD follow-up ing to the hard life of the streets. Executive producer of the film is to the 2003 Jessica Alba dance film Marc Platt, who also proHoney has begun producduced Wanted and the first tion in Los Angeles and is Honey film. Co-starring slated for a fall 2011 disc are Randy Wayne (Dukes release, according to Uniof Hazzard: The Beginning), versal Studios Home EnterBrittany Perry Russell tainment. (“CSI: NY”), Seychelle GaHoney 2 is directed by Bille briel (The Last Airbender), Woodruff (Beauty Shop) and Graham Christopher “War” Martistars Katerina Graham (“The Vampire Diaries”) as a hot young nez (Bring It On: Fight to the Findancer who has to choose between ish) and Tyler Nelson (Stomp the training a group of undisciplined Yard 2). Darwin Descendent Keynes on ‘Creation’ The film takes Keynes’ book about Darwin to the screen By Billy Gil ionsgate’s Creation, out June 29 (DVD $27.98), adapts the novel Randal Keynes wrote about his great-great-grandfather, Charles Darwin, after Keynes found writings by Darwin that showed a human side to the great naturalist often overlooked by history, and by his detractors. Keynes, a conservationist and author, discovered a writing case that had belonged to Darwin’s daughter, L TALENT TALK ACADEMY AWARD® NO DA NI EL LE CA TA NZ AR ITI KE ISH A CA ST LE -H UG HE Sand MINEE TON I CO LLE TTE “4 Stars. This is a must-not-miss, charming, delightful and wonderfully funny and very human exploration of teenage girls.” – Mr. Movie Esther Blueburger's quest begins when she escapes from her Bar Mitzvah party and is befriended by Sunni, the effortlessly cool girl who is everything Esther thinks she wants to be. $26.95/SRP HEY HEY IT’S ESTHER BLUEBURGER/ DVD 101 min./Color/Cat# 320112 UPC: 0 12233 20112 3 ISBN: 978-1-56994-350-2 ACADEMY AWARD® NOMINEE for ordering assistance Call 1 800 424-2593 www.montereymedia.com monterey media… a uniquely independent studio Order Date: 06/15/2010 Street Date: 07/13/2010 www.heyheythemovie.com www.heyheythemovie.com Annie, who died at an early age. The box contained mementos placed there by her mother, Emma, as well as a detailed account of Annie’s sickness by Darwin as he watched over his daughter during her final days. “I was struck by his close interest, his desperate effort to save her life by doing all that he could with medicine, with science, to keep her alive,” Keynes said. “We all imagined he was just the person who had given us the struggle for existence … claiming that nature was ruthless. … I just had to write the book because it showed an aspect to Darwin’s character that people had just forgotten.” After Annie died, Darwin wrote a 10-page essay about her and about his loss that Keynes calls an “extraordinary piece of writing.” Keynes took all that he found and wrote his novel about Darwin’s close relationship with his eldest daughter as well as his own struggle to grasp the meaning of his discoveries, and about the conflicts he faced with his religious wife. The film Creation, directed by Jon Amiel (Entrapment) and adapted by John Collee (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World) expands upon that story and at times takes dramatic license in order to fill the gaps, which Keynes said did not clash with his understanding of Darwin. “Everything they added to the story seems to me to be true to the spirit of Darwin and Emma,” Keynes said. The film stars Paul Bettany (who also starred in Collee’s Master and Commander) as a sick and troubled Darwin, haunted by the ghost of his daughter and by his then-unfinished work, The Origin of the Species, which recently celebrated its 150th year in publication (2009 also marked Darwin’s 200th birthday). Bettany’s real wife, Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly, plays the religious and restrained Emma, who must cope with her husband’s increasing distance and her own religious dilemma in the face of her husband’s theory of evolution by natural selection. “I hope people will see how difficult it was for each of them (Darwin and Emma) and how they managed to come to an understanding,” Keynes said. The Creation DVD includes deleted scenes and is full of extras exploring differing views on Darwin. Among other featurettes are a couple featuring Keynes, one in which he details what he found in Annie’s box and another in which he gives a tour of Down House, Darwin’s former home, which Keynes hopes will become designated a world heritage site. 22 Home Media Magazine June 14–20, 2010
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