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The Eyes Of Christmas... Monday December 10, 5:17 pm Eastern Time Press Release Former President George Bush Describes the Holiday Movie Classic 'It's a Wonderful Life' for the Blind December 16 Screening for the Blind Coincides With All-Star Taping Of 'The Eyes of Christmas' at Universal Studios, Telecast to Air Christmas Eve 50 Governors Declare Dec. 24 'TheatreVision(TM) Eyes of Christmas Day' LOS ANGELES, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Former President George Bush describes the holiday Christmas classic, ``It's a Wonderful Life,'' for the blind via an innovative new technology, entitled TheatreVision(TM), which allows the visually challenged to experience the magic of motion pictures. The newly described version of this classic film will premiere at a special screening at Universal Studios on Sunday, December 16, at 12:30 p.m. Simultaneously, an all-star annual holiday telecast for the blind, ``The Eyes of Christmas,'' will be taping in a building adjacent to the screening. Celebrities participating will describe their personal memories of the holidays on camera and are also invited to experience the special screening. This first-time-ever special unveiling of ``It's a Wonderful Life'' will be presented in its entirety, followed by a champagne reception at 2:30 p.m. and an encore film screening at 3:30 p.m. The television taping will be ongoing throughout the afternoon until 5:30 p.m. Celebrities will join noted Hollywood columnist Army Archerd for the recording of audio-greeting cards for the blind to be sent out in time for the holiday season. In this special version of the holiday classic, former President George Bush describes ``It's a Wonderful Life'' for the nation's 31,000,000 blind and vision impaired who cannot read ordinary print or see motion picture or television screens. The film will tour America in private theaters in 2002. In addition to such stars as, Jay Leno, Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Celine Dion, Pierce Brosnan, Tim Allen, Brooke Shields, Bob Hope, Sandra Bullock, David Hyde Pierce, Faith Hill, Whitney Houston, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Charlton Heston, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Dan Aykroyd, Samuel L. Jackson, Drew Barrymore, John Travolta, Michael J. Fox and Natalie Cole, who are participating via prerecorded audio describing their memories of Christmas past for ``The Eyes of Christmas'' telecast, governors from 50 states have declared December 24 ``TheatreVision(TM) Eyes of Christmas Day.'' The former president joins a cadre of Hollywood's top celebrities, film directors, producers, corporate individuals, children and volunteers who have made a dedicated effort to have ``Sight ... a Right for Life.'' TheatreVision(TM) founder, Helen Harris noted, ``The power of the word is simply unknown to those who are not able to read it. The printed word can take us anywhere in the world.'' Fifty governors will join the president by declaring ``TheatreVision(TM) Eyes of Christmas Day'' on December 24, 2001, in conjunction with ``The Eyes of Christmas'' telecast, which will include portions of another holiday classic, Charles Dickens' ``Scrooge,'' described for the blind as part of the telecast on Fox/KCOP-UPN13 and other network and cable television stations across the country. ``The Eyes of Christmas'' will also be broadcast via radio, satellite, and on hundreds of other stations nationwide for the blind and vision impaired. TheatreVision is a process allowing the blind to experience motion pictures via a special descriptive track added in between the dialog of a film describing the on-screen action of the picture. The process was pioneered by blind artist, Helen Harris, founding President of Retinitis Pigmentosa International (RPI), the leading non-profit organization fighting Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and other blinding degenerative eye diseases. Harris' love of movies inspired her to create TheatreVision, which made its debut in 1994 with the first-ever delivery of a motion picture, Forrest Gump, to blind audiences in a movie theater, allowing them to once again enjoy the ``going to the movies'' experience. Since then, over 150 different projects, including films, television shows and live stage presentations, have been presented to audiences around the world in TheatreVision description. The telecast also includes descriptions of scenes around the world, including the changing of the guard in England and the lighting of the White House tree by Laura Bush. SOURCE: Retinitis Pigmentosa International NEWSFILE: 10 DECEMBER 2001 |