HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Paramount Pictures,
Participant Media and Walden Media announced today 40,000 people
have pledged to see the award-winning documentary film WAITING FOR
"SUPERMAN" when it opens this fall, making it the second
goal reached on the campaign's "Pledge Progress Meter." As a
result, Chicago-based office
supply retailer OfficeMax® is fulfilling its commitment to add 40
deserving U.S. teachers to its "A Day Made Better" program.
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Now in its 4th year, the OfficeMax program helps defray the
out-of-pocket expenditures on school supplies by dedicated teachers
by awarding 1,000 outstanding teachers with $1,000 in school supplies.
"Thanks to more than 40,000 pledges to see this important
documentary film, OfficeMax is pleased to surprise 40 deserving
teachers across the country with a total of $40,000 in school supplies on behalf of our
national cause called A Day Made Better," said Bill Bonner, senior director of external
relations for OfficeMax. "By joining the 'Take the Pledge'
campaign, we hope to call attention to the issue of teacher
out-of-pocket spending, encourage national support and start
erasing teacher teacher-funded classrooms."
WAITING FOR "SUPERMAN" directed by Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth") will
be released under the Paramount Vantage banner and distributed by
Paramount Pictures. It examines the crisis of public
education in the United States
through multiple interlocking stories. Designed to start a national
conversation, the movie and corresponding "Take the Pledge"
campaign aim to inspire everyone to create innovative and long-term
solutions to help change the course of our kids' lives for the
better. The "Pledge Progress Meter" launched in May as a way for
non-profits, foundations and corporations to match individual
pledge levels with powerful action items aimed at helping both
students and public schools. First Book was the first organization
to take the pledge, by agreeing to donate 250,000 new books to
schools and programs in low-income communities across the country
once the pledge meter reaches 50,000 pledges.
The film opens in New York and
Los Angeles on September 24, nationwide in October.
The film is produced by Lesley
Chilcott, with Participant Media's Jeff Skoll and Diane
Weyermann serving as executive producers. It is written by
Davis Guggenheim & Billy Kimball.
For more information about the movie, or to take the pledge go
to http://www.WaitingForSuperman.com or text "PLEDGE" to 77177
To join the conversation visit us on Facebook at
http://www.Facebook.com/WaitingForSuperman
What does your school need? Tell us by Tweeting #MySchoolNeeds
at http://www.Twitter.com/WaitingSuperman
ABOUT PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and
distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE:
VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected
film, television and digital entertainment brands. The
company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage,
Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon
Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital
Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home
Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount
Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group, and Worldwide Television
Distribution.
ABOUT PARTICIPANT MEDIA
Participant Media is a Los
Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially
relevant, commercially viable feature films, documentaries and
television, as well as publishing and digital media. Participant
Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and
was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff
Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky
Strauss is President.
Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that
bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives. For
each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action
and advocacy programs, which provide ideas and tools to transform
the impact of the media experience into individual and community
action. Participant's films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson's War, Darfur Now, An
Inconvenient Truth, Good Night, and Good Luck, Syriana, Standard
Operating Procedure, The Visitor, The Soloist, Food, Inc., The
Informant!, The Cove, The Crazies, Oceans, Furry Vengeance, CASINO
JACK and the United States of
Money, Countdown to Zero and Waiting for "Superman."
ABOUT WALDEN MEDIA
Walden Media specializes in entertainment for the whole family.
Past award-winning films include: "The Chronicles of Narnia"
series, "Journey to the Center of the Earth," "Nim's Island" and
"Charlotte's Web." Upcoming films include the third installment in
the Narnia series "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn
Treader."
ABOUT OFFICEMAX
OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE: OMX) is a leader in both
business-to-business office products solutions and retail office
equipment. The OfficeMax mission is simple. We help our customers
do their best work. The company provides office supplies and paper,
in-store print and document services through OfficeMax ImPress®,
technology products and solutions, and office furniture to
businesses and individual consumers. OfficeMax customers are served
by more than 30,000 associates through direct sales, catalogs,
e-commerce and approximately 1,000 stores. For more
information on "A Day Made Better" visit
www.adaymadebetter.com.
ABOUT A DAY MADE BETTER
"A Day Made Better" is a national cause founded by OfficeMax and
nonprofit Adopt-A-Classroom to help lead the fight to end
teacher-funded classrooms. Throughout the year, 3,500 OfficeMax
associates surprise and honor more than 1,000 teachers at Title 1
schools across the country each with an award and $1000 in classroom supplies. Nominated by their
principals, teachers recipients receive this honor for their
exceptional contributions as educators. By recognizing and
rewarding some of the nation's most dedicated teachers, the cause
seeks to call attention to the issue of teacher out-of-pocket
spending and motivate widespread support for teachers nationwide.
"A Day Made Better" was first conducted in October 2007 and has since funded over 3,500
classrooms and attracted donations for more than 10,000 classrooms
through Adopt-A-Classroom.
SOURCE Paramount Pictures Corporation
Copyright . 23 PR Newswire