On the heels of this year's Academy Awards show and in anticipation of WWMPC’s release of The Road to Mother this Spring, we look back and think the potential history that would have been. Never has a film won both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture at the same time. We witnessed Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma taking home the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and being nominated for Best Picture. In a lineup which had no clear front-runner, the surprise winner, Peter Farrelly’s Green Book, took home the gold, in what could have been a monumental moment in Academy Award history. We would have to go back six years at the 85th Academy Awards when Michael Haneke’s Amour, from Austria, was nominated for both categories, winning Best Foreign Language Film, and twelve years before that with Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon receiving the same accolades. In the history of the Academy Awards, only eleven films have accomplished the feat of being nominated for both categories. Roma came very close in what many thought would be the first film to do so. Will we see history made soon? With the success of Roma, American audiences, who have not given foreign language films a chance, may finally give in to reading subtitles. The quality of this past year’s foreign films like Roma and Cold War have hopefully opened the eyes of American audiences on true art and cinematic wonders. We could only hope because film is still an art form, and many of these foreign films are masterpieces. Be sure to check out other Award-Winning Foreign Language Films like The Nightingale and Applause at indiemoviestore.com.

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The World Wide team was pleased to be in attendance at the 71^st DGA awards held at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood this past Sunday (Feb 3^rd). Despite the rainy weather which soaked the red carpet, the stars were in attendance to show their support for the nominated directors. There was another win for Alfonso Cuaron, director of ROMA which is a good thing for Foreign Language Films like the upcoming release of WWMPC’s THE ROAD TO MOTHER!

As the ceremony commenced, it was clear that this year’s DGA Awards were especially friendly to independent-leaning films like Alfonso Cuaron's ROMA, Peter Farrelly’s GREEN BOOK, and Bo Burnham’s EIGHTH GRADE. With recognition going to veterans like Spike Lee for BLACKKKLANSMAN and new directors like Bradley Cooper for A STAR IS BORN, the nominations for a wide variety of feature film and television projects appear to be becoming more diverse in both genre and story.

Diversity was a major theme of this year’s awards for both in front of and behind the camera, and was well-served with the wide variety of artists and filmmakers both new and old in attendance.

A few of the evenings highlights were:

Further recognition was afforded the UPM department (Unit Production Manager) for Kathleen McGill as well as the Directing teams including 1^st and 2^nd AD’s (Assistant Director) like Michael “Shelley” Ziegler (A STAR IS BORN) and Matt Rebenkoff (VICE).

All of the feature film directors were recognized, most being introduced by the stars of their films like John David Washington, Laura Harrier and Topher Grace for BLACKKKLANSMAN, Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira for ROMA, Christian Bale for VICE, as well as a touching introduction from Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali and Linda Cardellini for GREEN BOOK director Peter Farrelly.

Jordan Peele humorously delighted the crowd as he presented the award for First-Time Feature Film Director which went to 24-year-old Bo Burnham for the film EIGHTH GRADE. In his speech Burnham claimed that he didn’t see this as “a room of his peers, but rather a room full of people he admired”

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Also spotlighted at this year’s awards were documentaries like THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS, directed by Tim Wardle.

We hope the momentum for recognizing foreign language films continues into the 91^st Academy Awards later this month and beyond.

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Awards Season is upon us, including the upcoming DGA Awards on February 2, 2019, and It looks as though foreign language films like Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma and Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War are receiving more recognition this year at awards ceremonies than in past years. Hopefully this will start a trend with American cinema because, as we all know, some of the best quality films are from different parts of the world, which has always been a challenge for American audiences. “We just don’t like to read subtitles,” but the stories and production value can be exceptional. The World Wide Motion Pictures team will be attending this year’s Director’s Guild of America (DGA) Awards ceremony in Los Angeles and we’ll be excited to see if this shift towards foreign language films continues.

With World Wide's upcoming release of the epic film The Road to Mother from Kazakhstan, directed by Akan Satayev, we’re hopeful that American audiences will be more willing to give these foreign language films a chance when competing against the big studio superhero productions like The Avengers, Wonder Woman and Black Panther. Although popcorn movies are crowd pleasers, it’’s refreshing to see the change going on in the US market. This shift gives the impression that The Road to Mother, with its wonderful acting, direction, writing and overall great family story will be a success in theaters this Spring!

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by Brian Fee

The infamous baby-sitter slasher film, “Halloween”, created by John Carpenter is widely regarded as a classic horror movie and has been known to influence several proceeding slasher pictures. The “Halloween” franchise consists of 11 films ranging from the original, which was released in 1978, to today with the newest adaptation which was released this Halloween season. The original, being an independent film, did not stop the series from ranking 4^th in gross sales out of all horror movie franchises. During the making of the original film and being on a tight budget, Carpenter decided to compose the soundtrack himself because he believed he could do it the fastest and cheapest. That ended being a great decision because the final product, “Halloween Theme”, ended up becoming one of the most famous movie soundtracks of all time. Through the use of high pitched sounds and rumbling bass, Carpenter created an instant classic inspired by Bernard Herrman’s score from “Psycho”. With the making of this film and score, Carpenter changed the course of low-budget, independent films. Here at WWMPC, we are proud to have worked with Malcolm McDowell who played Michael Myer’s psychiatrist, Dr. Samuel Loomis in the 2007 adaptation of “Halloween”. McDowell starred in one of our feature films, “Red Roses and Petrol”.

The most recent in the famed Halloween slasher series has arrived in theaters this October. This time directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle. The film follows Laurie Strode (Curtis) after she narrowly escaped a small-town Halloween tragedy four decades ago. There have been many spinoffs or remakes of John Carpenters “Halloween”, but the 2018 adaptation serves as a direct sequel to the original 1978 film.

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by Cecilia Farmer

Big, brown eyes. There are few actresses who can pull a viewer in with her gaze alone, but it is the first thing you notice about Ella Purnell in all her films. There’s a child-like innocence that comes through her face which is often juxtaposed with serious, dramatic turns in such notable films as Ways to Live Forever, Maleficent, and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It doesn’t seem altogether long ago she was charming audiences with her alluring, somber performances as a young child actress, but Ms. Purnell is taking on more mature, coming-of-age roles.

This year, Ella Purnell is gathering national attention on the new Starz series Sweetbitter, a show about a naïve, young woman, Tess, who enters New York’s hedonistic, fast-paced restaurant scene as a waitress, unprepared for the behind-the-scenes intrigue and sexual politics. In an interview with Variety, Purnell shared that she identified with Tess because of her transition from child to adult, particularly in the past two years. She feels a duty to faithfully represent a coming-of-age story for a female protagonist that doesn’t involve a love story, “Everything seems to be about love when it comes to coming of age, and it’s not. . . . realizing that you’re an adult and you’re breaking authority, or learning how to trust yourself rather than [being] the adaptive child who does what she’s told; that’s much more of an interesting story to watch.”

We look forward to new developments in Ms. Purnell’s career as she continues to grow in to a seasoned actress and an inspiration for young woman – Happy 22^nd birthday! 

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By Ashley Callahan

Talented actor, Robbie Kay, celebrates his twenty-third birthday today. From sweet, boyish characters to action and science fiction, the young star has grown up in the spotlight. He has appeared in major feature films such as World Wide Motion Pictures’, Ways to Live Forever (2010) and Griff Furst’s Cold Moon (2016). With work that has been notably well received by critics, Alicia Cox of the magazine, Chatelaine, commented on his work in Fugitive Pieces (2007). She states, “Robbie Kay, who plays the young Jakob, gives a remarkable performance with little words and a lot of emotion. When he smiles, you can’t help but to be affected.”

Kay was born in Lymington, Hampshire, England although he moved to Brussels, Belgium at an early age. In 2006, the family moved to Prague where he attended the International School of Prague. After having traveled for much of his early life, he now resides in Houston, Texas, which he relocated to in 2011. His first role was in Peter Webber’s Hannibal Rising (2007). Since then, he has worked with actors such as Christopher Lloyd and Ella Purnell. In 2009, he was nominated for the Young Artist Award for best performance in both Fugitive Pieces (2007) and Pinocchio (2008). He was nominated again in 2014 for a Teen Choice Award for “Choice TV: Villain” for his performance as the sinister Peter-Pan in the Once Upon a Time series. Robbie Kay’s most recent projects have included the independent romantic comedy, No Postage Necessary (2018), and the comedy-horror flick, Blood Fest (2018). We look forward to see where the young star’s career takes him next and wish him well this upcoming year. Happy Birthday, Robbie Kay!

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By Ashley Callahan

For over four decades, Women’s Equality Day has been celebrated every year on August 26^th. It was originally celebrated in 1973 to commemorate the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment into the US Constitution in 1920. It was this Amendment that granted women the right to vote. Women continue to make significant strides socially and politically. Today, a profound movement of women in the entertainment industry has been catching Hollywood and the rest of the world by storm. In addition, the trademark of a strong, female hero archetype has become a staple in a number of blockbuster films. From Gal Gadot’s character in Wonder Woman (2017) to Julie Andrew’s Maria The Sound of Music (1965), the narrative of a female hero has shown over and over again how courageous and strong women are.

            Within the past few years alone, we have seen the first female Jedi in The Force Awakens (2015), the resilient hero Katniss in The Hunger Games (2012), and the wit and clarity of Hermoine in the Harry Potter films (2001-2011). To go back even further, we must also recognize the impact female heroes have had throughout cinematic history. In Gone with the Wind (1939), Scarlett O’Hara faces an unrequited love and difficulties brought on by the Civil War. Audrey Hepburn showed us the feisty, independent spirit of Holly Golightly in the classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Jodie Foster portrayed the incredibly brave detective, Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and the strong-willed Elizabeth Bennett has been exhibited in several adaptations of Pride and Prejudice over the years. This Women’s Equality Day, we recognize and celebrate the impact women continue to have socially as well as in entertainment!  

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By Mia Miller

From paper, to hardcover, to script to film celebrating books on National Book Lovers Day - we recognize the international best-selling books that made it to the big screen by being international best-sellers. One international best-seller dating back to the 1800s was Jane Austen’s, Pride and Prejudice, which most recently was adapted to film in 2005, starring Keira Knightly. This internationally-acclaimed book is widely-known and recognizable with over 20 million copies sold, and is favored among scholars and general audiences as a classic. The romantic novel as been adapted into movies, televeision shows, and sequels, and it itself has been transformed in the past 200 years into one of the most popular novels in English literature.

In modern times, a more recent international best-selling book was a novel by author Stieg Larsson, who wrote the Swedish crime novel, The Girl with Dragon Tattoo in 2005. After being translated to English, the Swedish book was internationally sold and became a popular topic throughout the reading community. The Swedish book then became a Hollywood movie in 2009 and opened at United States box office at number three, grossing $102,514,793 domestically.

On the other hand, the Swedish crime novel Män som hatar kvinnor (English title: Men Who Hate Women), had many mixed reviews. The psychological thriller addressed political issues, the darkness in human nature, and sexual politics that provoked and angered many audiences in the way Swedish men treat women. Despite it’s themes, the crime novel captured audiences with characterization, plot, and despicable human nature.

One of our own past releases, Ways to Live Forever (2010), was turned into a movie from a book, written by award-winning author Sally Nicholls. Written and produced in the United Kingdom, Ways to Live Forever is about a young pre-teen living with the final stages of cancer and figure out life before it ends. We here at World Wide fell in love with the film and the book.

Celebrating Book Lovers Day, we have to recognize the most popular and most well-known international book sold to date, and that would be J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. This international best-seller turned into a huge franchise and a world-wide film series that influenced the 21st century and mainstreamed pop culture. The first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, was first released in 1997 and was almost immediately picked up to be produced into a film. The Harry Potter book and movie series earned over $25 billion dollars and over the course of twenty years it is known as a classic and a must read for younger generations to come. Even as the books have ended and the movies concluded, Harry Potter fans are still strong and are still Potterheads*. Spin offs have been created with films like Fantastic Beasts and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2016. To those who have not read these inspiring books or have not seen the movies, these are classics that we recommend and hope you enjoy.

From all of us at World Wide Motion Pictures happy reading and happy Book Lovers Day!

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By Ashley Callahan

On August 7th, 2011, National Sisters’ day became an unofficial holiday and was celebrated for the first time. It has been recognized annually ever since. The day acknowledges the strong bond people share with their sisters and encourages them to celebrate the special relationship. Studies from Brigham Young University actually show that sisters give siblings better mental health. In the film, Red Roses and Petrol, younger sister Medbh (Heather Juergensen) can be seen as a caretaker for her mother as well as an anchor that keeps her siblings together. Her brother, Johnny is an out of control playboy who spends his time drinking and doing as he pleases. However, with Medbh, Johnny is a loving, wise individual who cares deeply for his family. When older sister, Catherine (Susan Lynch), returns home with her new fiancé Tom, Medbh is reminded of her position and that she has not yet experienced the world in the same way. This shows the sacrifice she makes for her family. It also proves her ability to bring independent Catherine back home after years of being away. A day like Sisters’ day encourages us to show appreciation for the strength and compassion our own sisters give us. It is a “thank you” for those like the character Medbh who strive to show their families why they need to depend on each other. It is a celebration of a very integral part of family.

Although there are deeply rooted issues in the Doyle family, the importance of a sister like Medbh is easy to recognize. There may be some jealousy with her sister, Catherine, but she loves her regardless and would clearly do anything for her. It is often those who are closest to us and challenge us the most will become a source of tension at times. Still, there is nothing like a bond between siblings. Many of us have sisters who know us better than anyone. This year, National Sisters’ Day will be held on August 5th, as it is celebrated the first Sunday of every August. Don’t forget to express your appreciation for your sister this Sister’s Day!

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Los Angeles, CA, July 10, 2018 -- World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation (formerly OTCBB:WWMO) announced today that it has acquired North American distribution rights to THE ROAD TO MOTHER (theroadtomother.com), Kazakhstan’s official submission for the 2017 Academy Awards in the category of Best Foreign Language Film and the previous 74th Golden Globe Awards in the same category.

Executive Produced by Aliya Nazarbayeva, directed by Akan Sateyev (also known for Strayed, Zhauzhurek Myng Bala ), and starring internationally acclaimed Central Asia actors Bolat Abdilmanov, Aruzhan Jazilbekova, and Berik Aitzhanov, THE ROAD TO MOTHER was produced by KazakhFilm JSC. Inspired by true events and spanning nearly a century, the epic drama follows the journey of a young Kazakh family from the 1930s to present day and explores the history of Kazakhstan through war, famine, collectivization, and the determination of the clan to remain united.

“The film’s producers and I are honored to finally have THE ROAD TO MOTHER opening theatrically in the United States. I’m very happy that the World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation’s marketing and distribution team could see that the film’s heartwarming story was truly universal and could be enjoyed by audiences anywhere in the world,” states the film’s director, Akan Satayev.

THE ROAD TO MOTHER premiered at the 38th Moscow International Film Festival to critical acclaim and has been showcased at numerous other festivals, including: the New York Eurasian Film Festival (USA) – Winner: Best Foreign Film; the Marco Polo Film Festival (Croatia) – Winner: Best Film; WeLink International Film Festival (USA) – Winner: Best Feature Film; the Eurasian Bridge International Film Festival (Yalta) – Winner: Grand Prix and Best Actress for Altynai Nogherbek; and the Almaty Independent Film Festival (Kazakhstan) – Winner: Tulpar Prize. Additionally, THE ROAD TO MOTHER was recognized by the Ak Ilbirs National Film Awards (Kyrgyzstan) in the category of Best Central Asia Film.

“World Wide is very proud to be releasing a meaningful multigenerational drama that also carries with it the high prestige of being Kazakhstan’s official foreign language entry for the Oscars,” states CEO Paul D. Hancock. “Families throughout the United States, especially mothers, will surely embrace this heartwarming story.”

THE ROAD TO MOTHER will be released in select theaters throughout the US in fall 2018, including major metropolitan areas, with many Kazakhstani and Asian American organizations offering their support.

Founded in 1977, World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation (www.wwmpc.com) is a diversified company with shareholders throughout the world, primarily involved in the development, financing, production, and distribution of feature films, documentaries, short subjects, industrials and television productions. World Wide’s industry executives and board members have produced, distributed, and consulted on a wide variety of film and television products, earning Academy awards, Emmy awards, and prizes from international film festivals.

Media Contacts:
Farid Hameditoloui
World Wide Motion Pictures Corporation
wwmpc@wwmpc.com
(714) 960-7264

Joshua Jason, Founder/President
JJPR
joshua@joshuajasonpr.com
(323) 933-5716

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