December 30, 2014 (New York, NY) – The Weinstein Company (TWC) is proud to announce today that the Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF)) will be awarding their recently released film THE IMITATION GAME with two of the festival’s highest accolades this year. The film, which has been the recipient of several festival awards since it first showed in Telluride and Toronto earlier this year, will be named Best Picture and Outstanding Ensemble Cast by NBFF. It will be screening at the historic Lido Theater in Newport Beach in January with members of the Orange County Film Society (OCFS) and select members of the film’s cast and crew set to attend. In addition, NBFF, along with their partners Screen International, Visit Newport Beach California and OCFS, will host a pre-BAFTA private reception at the ME Hotel in London on Thursday, February 5th with members of the cast also in attendance.
TWC released THE IMITATION GAME in select theaters on November 28th and nationwide on December 25th. The film, which was produced by Black Bear Pictures and Bristol Automotive, has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards including Best Picture, Best Motion Picture Actor in a Drama, Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score. It was also included in the American Film Institute’s top 11 films of the year and nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards. Directed by Morten Tyldum, produced by Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky and Teddy Schwarzman, with a screenplay by Graham Moore, the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, Charles Dance and Mark Strong.
Commented director Tyldum: “Our tremendous and heartfelt thanks go to the Newport Beach Film Festival and their partners Screen International and the Orange County Film Society. Their support is so important to us and we’re incredibly proud to receive such prestigious honors from them for THE IMITATION GAME this year. This is a film that recognizes a man who was a hero and saved lives, but was sadly persecuted in his lifetime. We are grateful to be shining a long overdue light on him.”
“After the Newport Beach Film Festival team screened THE IMITATION GAME at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was abundantly clear that this film and its cast were standouts”, said Gregg Schwenk, CEO and Executive Director of NBFF. “The film was exceptional at portraying the legacy and contribution of Allen Turing and the code breakers.”
During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of ‘gross indecency’, an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality – little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing. Famously leading a motley group of scholars, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called unbreakable codes of Germany’s World War II Enigma machine. An intense and haunting portrayal of a brilliant, complicated man, THE IMITATION GAME follows a genius who under nail-biting pressure helped to shorten the war and, in turn, save millions of lives.
THE IMITATION GAME SCREENING
Monday, January 5 at 7:30 PM
Lido Live Theater
3459 Via Lido Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Following the screening will be a Q&A with producers and select members of the cast.
NOTE: This screening is for Orange County Film Society members only. For press inquiries, please contact Todd Quartararo at Todd@QandAmarketing.com or 949.291.1777
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. During Harvey and Bob’s tenure at Miramax and The Weinstein Company, they have received 331 Oscar nominations and won 79 Academy Awards.
Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; 1408; 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; BULLY; THE INTOUCHABLES; LAWLESS; KILLING THEM SOFTLY; THE MASTER; SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; DJANGO UNCHAINED; QUARTET; ESCAPE FROM PLANET EARTH; DARK SKIES; THE SAPPHIRES; SCARY MOVIE 5; KON-TIKI; UNFINISHED SONG; FRUITVALE STATION; LEE DANIELS’ THE BUTLER; THE GRANDMASTER; SALINGER; 12-12-12; PHILOMENA; MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM; AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY; VAMPIRE ACADEMY; THE RAILWAY MAN; THE IMMIGRANT; YVES SAINT LAURENT; BEGIN AGAIN; THE GIVER; FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR; TRACKS; THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY; ST. VINCENT; THE IMITATION GAME and BIG EYES. Upcoming releases include PADDINGTON.
TWC also boasts an active television production division. TWC garnered nine Emmy nominations in 2013. The Weinstein Company Television produces the reality powerhouse Project Runway, now in its 12th season on Lifetime; with its spin-off series Project Accessory and the critically-acclaimed Project Runway All Stars, hosted by Alyssa Milano. TWC recently launched Million Dollar Shoppers and completed Supermarket Superstar hosted by Stacy Keibler for Lifetime as well as Rodeo Girls for A&E. TWC is currently in production on Mob Wives Season 4 for VH1 and Welcome To Myrtle Manor Season 2 for TLC. Announced scripted projects in development include John Fusco’s historical action-adventure epic Marco Polo and an adaptation of Daniel Stashower’s bestselling Civil War-era spy thriller The Hour Of Peril. TWC also developed Amy Sherman Palladino’s The Nanny Diaries for ABC and produced the award-winning HBO series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, directed by Anthony Minghella.
ABOUT NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL
Celebrated as one of the leading film festivals in the United States, the Newport Beach Film Festival has evolved into a prestigious multicultural event, attracting over 55,000 attendees to Southern California. Committed to enlightening the public with a first-class international film program, a forum for cultural understanding and enriching educational opportunities, the Festival focuses on showcasing a fresh and diverse collection of studio and independent films from around the globe. The 16th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival will screen an international slate of over 400 independent and studio films, including feature-length narrative, documentary, short, animated and student films that will compete for a series of Jury, Festival Honors and Audience Awards.