Will you be in the seats for the next Seattle Surprise - S19/08?
In February 1999, an email spread like wildfire around the country: "Come to the Battle in Seattle - N30!" Were you on the streets? Do you wish you were?
When 50,000 union members, environmentalists, students and more converged on a rainy November 30 in Seattle to speak truth to the power of the world's biggest corporations, history was made. A devastating plan to expand the WTO's powers and the reign of corporate globalization over our lives was derailed. The WTO has never recovered from its Seattle encounter with democracy. On September 19, an entertaining and inspiring new feature film, Battle In Seattle, opens in select cities. The film is a full-length dramatic feature starring Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, Ray Liotta, Michelle Rodriguez and other well-known actors. Similar to the Academy Award-winning film Crash, it tells the story of a dozen fictional characters during those five days in Seattle that rocked the world. This film is not a documentary, but writer and director Stuart Townsend blends in archival footage and audio with a narrative he created after studying the event for years. The result is a multi-layered story conveyed with great visuals and a sound track that is enormously fun. Before you know what hit you, you’re captured by the power and hope of people united by a commitment to justice and democracy. You’re outraged when the police and National Guard use tear gas and rubber bullets against thousands of people peacefully exercising their right to freedom of speech and assembly. You sigh in relief when the protestors succeed, proving once again that united in action working people can change the world.
Battle in Seattle is the film Big Hollywood does not want you to see.
Even after receiving great reviews, no big movie corporation would distribute this film. An independent studio, Redwood Palms Pictures, picked up the film and is working hard to get it seen broadly.
Help Create Another Seattle Surprise!
You can help deliver the Seattle Surprise Round 2! Hit the seats! Battle In Seattle is now scheduled to open in select cities on September 19. If the opening theaters are packed for the film's first two weeks, it will get a national distribution - turning on a new generation to the joy, fun and power of the Seattle Spirit through the pleasures of a great film. You can show Hollywood that there is a real interest in films that celebrate the fighting spirit of working people.
Here’s how:
• Organize your union to purchase tickets to a screening as a group • Purchase advance tickets • Include an article about the film in your union’s newsletter and e-newsletter • Include a blurb about the film on your website • Demand the movie show in your city! Go to www.battleinseattlemovie.com/labor
Groups of 25 or more receive discount tickets.
To find a theater near you call (866) 758-1258 or visit battleinseattlemovie.com/labor To organize an event around the film's release, contact Michael Crawford at 202-546-4996 or mcrawford@citizen.org
opens in the following cities: September 19th: New York San Francisco Seattle September 26th: Atlanta Boston Chicago Detroit Los Angeles Minneapolis Sacramento Washington, DC
More information on the film can be found at www.battleinseattlemovie.com/labor More information on the WTO can be found at www.citizen.org/trade/wto/