The first Truly Moving Picture Award winner of 2008, Penelope is the modern-day fairy tale of a young woman in the curious position of being cursed with a pig’s snout. Christina Ricci plays Penelope, whose parents have kept her behind lock and key while they look for a well-to-do suitor who will help break the spell. Enter the charming James McAvoy as Max, the slightly-sketchy heir to a fortune might or might not be what he says he is.
Check out the trailer to this must-own new movie:
We’ve also created a brief discussion guide that plays on the movie’s themes of self-image and finding one’s own path in life. Grab the pdf from Heartland, then sit down with your family, your book club or just the friends you invited over for movie night and start discussing!
If you caught this one in the theaters, leave a comment and we’ll pick someone to receive the DVD courtesy of Heartland and Summit Entertainment. Heck, even if you haven’t seen it, leave a comment about how much you’re dying to and you could win it too!
As promised, here’s the video from this week’s screening of Journey to the Center of the Earth, with an interview with actor Josh Hutcherson and a few impromptu reviews by audience members for good measure. They all loved it, and you will, too!
Summer is the season of big movie releases, but this month’s best-kept secret is one good-time adventure you don’t want to miss. Journey to the Center of the Earth might not be grabbing all the headlines (yet!), but we here at Heartland can say with confidence that you don’t want to miss this rollercoaster of a ride. It’s so exciting, Warner Bros. Pictures is even releasing it in Real D 3D cinema in select theaters!
The movie sets three explorers (Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson and Anita Briem) on an adventure of a lifetime when they go looking for one scientist who sought out the center of the Earth and never returned. Traveling through never-before-seen worlds, the trio comes face-to-face with surreal and unimaginable creatures—including man-eating plants, giant flying piranha, glow birds and terrifying dinosaurs from days past. The adventurers soon realize that as volcanic activity increases around them, they must find a way back to the Earth’s surface before it is too late.
One family happy to get in on the advanced screening of Journey to the Center of the Earth
Heartland hosted an advanced screening in Indianapolis earlier this week, and over 600 people left the theater with grins and great reviews after checking out the movie for themselves. Actor Josh Hutcherson even surprised the crowd with a late appearance at the theater, signing autographs and posing for pictures with some of his biggest fans (read more about the evening).
Coming soon: the first Heartland videocast, featuring an interview with Hutcherson and a few of the thumbs-up reviews for this newest Truly Moving Picture Award winner. Stay tuned!
Heartland proudly announced the latest Truly Moving Picture Award winner to come to theaters. WALL*E is the newest Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar production, about a lone robot left behind on an uninhabitable Earth. Over 700 years, this garbage-processing machine develops one unexpected flaw–a personality!
The movie is a true Pixar triumph, stunning in detail and heartwarming in story. When EVE, a probe looking for signs of life on Earth, Wall*E can’t help but fall hopelessly for the sleek machine. He spends every moment trying to impress her. When she’s completed her directive, Wall*E sets aside his own duties to look after her.
In a wild series of adventures, Wall*E finds himself on the space station where Earth’s population now lives and in the middle of a fight between man and machine. Can he help EVE and the captain convince the computer to send the ship home? Can he convince EVE to look past his dirty, worn exterior to the witty robot inside?
Even with its sparse dialogue, kids and their parents alike will be captivated by this charming robot and his knack for getting in and out of sticky situations. Pixar’s signature attention to detail and subtle storytelling mean there are elements for young and old–kids will appreciate the goofy antics of the robots and their human counterparts, while parents will recognize certain relevant messages on the state of our collective consciousness today.
Learn more about the movie, then be sure to vote with your movie ticket this weekend. Check out the movie and send a message to Hollywood that audiences demand these Truly Moving Pictures!
With the upcoming nationwide release of Truly Moving Picture Award winner Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, I got to snag a few minutes on the phone with actor Chris O’Donnell, who plays Kit’s dad Jack in the film. Check out the latest episode of the Heartland Truly Moving Pictures podcast for the whole interview. O’Donnell talks about how he got on board with such a fantastic ensemble cast, how excited his own daughter is about the movie, and what films are Truly Moving Pictures around his house (hint: one’s a classic Christmas flick!).
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is the first from the popular book series to be adapted for the big screen. Starring Abigail Breslin as Kit, the family film is a story of determination, courage and perseverance in even the darkest of times. Catch the movie in a theater near you when it opens July 2.
Here at Heartland, we know movies are about more than just the two hours in front of the screen. Movies are about moments, about the ways the story gets to you and stays with you long after the credits roll.
To that end, we’ve started creating Discussion Guides for you to use with your family, your book club, your church group or anybody else. These short guides spur discussion through thought-provoking questions, simultaneously offering unique suggestions on getting involved in your community in ways that bring out the various themes in each movie.
Our latest guide is a companion to THE BUCKET LIST, newly available to own on DVD and Blu-Ray. Click over to Heartland and download the five-page guide. Once you’ve tried it out, leave a comment below or send us an email about how you used the guide for yourself.
One of the last Truly Moving Picture Award winners of 2007, THE BUCKET LIST is available today on DVD and Blu-Ray disc!
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star as two men who couldn’t be more different. One a jet-setting billionaire, the other a mechanic with a penchant for reading, the two become unlikely friends when similar cancer diagnoses land them in the same hospital room. Aware that their days are numbered, the new friends set out on a quest to do all those things they’ve always meant to do before they “kick the bucket.”
We’ve got copies of THE BUCKET LIST on DVD and we want you to have one! Leave a comment below (by noon EST on Thursday) and we’ll nab a random reader or two (or more!) to get their very own copy of this Award winner. Good luck!
If you’ve just gotta have your copy now, be sure to check out the back of the case and look for the Truly Moving Picture Award logo, the label that proves this movie is one you won’t be disappointed in.
Coming soon - a viewer’s guide to help you experience THE BUCKET LIST beyond the screen. Stay tuned!
In exactly one month, the latest Truly Moving Picture Award winner hits theaters. It’s Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, starring Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin as the first American Girl to get her own feature film, and it opens nationwide on July 2.
Kit is a resourceful young girl determined to help her family when they land on tough times in the midst of the Great Depression. Julia Ormond, Chris O’Donnell, Jane Krakowski and Joan Cusack round-out the familiar cast.
Check out the trailer for this fun family flick–it’s perfect for girls, boys, moms and dads!
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is also the latest FILM Project selection. The FILM Project is creating a one-of-a-kind cirriculum to pair with the movie and the book its based on. Learn more about FILM today!
Do you live in or near New York City, LA, Chicago, Dallas or Alpharetta, GA? Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is playing exclusive engagements in these cities on June 20–that’s a whole week before the movie hits theaters! Stay tuned for updates on how you can enter to win tickets to this exciting advanced screening–details coming soon!
I was wrapping up a pleasantly quiet Memorial Day weekend on Monday when I clicked over to Yahoo! News and read of the passing of Sydney Pollack. Immediately I thought of the night last year that he returned to Indianapolis to screen what would be his last film as a director, Sketches of Frank Gehry.
Jeff and Mr. Pollack chatted like old friends; fitting, really, as that’s exactly what they were. Pollack’s ties to Indiana–he was born in Lafayette–brought him back to the Hoosier state often. Jeff remembered his visit to the Festival in 1993 during an interview with WISH-TV:
It was a time when, who really knew what this film festival was about? And we really didn’t know what we were doing a whole lot back then, I think. But he was extremely gracious…In my career with Heartland I’ve met a lot of famous people. But no one more generous and giving and helpful than Sydney Pollack.
Despite a career that started in acting, he found his niche behind the camera. The filmmaker’s extensive resume lists credit after credit as producer on projects you probably never even realized he had a hand in. I know I didn’t. I suppose it’s a testament to his quiet strength and humility of spirit.
Our thoughts and prayers at Heartland go out to Mr. Pollack’s family; his is a cinematic voice that will truly be missed.
On one of the first gorgeous days of May, Heartland set up shop at Indy’s Hometown Expo, the annual event on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. Organized by the Convention and Visitor’s Association, the mid-day event attracts all kinds of local businesses, attractions and organizations (our booth was right next to Connor Prairie’s!).
Hundreds of people came out to learn about Heartland for the first time or catch up on what we’ve been up to this year. Two lucky visitors entered our Truly Moving Picture trivia game and won a DVD set of Award winners and an All-Festival Pass for this year’s screenings. Don’t you wish you’d stopped by?!
Vision Racing driver Ed Carpenter also hung out at the Heartland booth signing autographs next to his car. Vision Racing has been a sponsor and supporter of Heartland for years, and their presence only boosted the excitement already buzzing around the booth.
