Press Release Major League Baseball
Clubs to Select Local Group of Students in Grades 8-12 for Private Theater Screenings
Commissioner Selig to Host the First Screening of The Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures Film in Milwaukee
Major League Baseball, in cooperation with all 30 MLB Clubs, will host private screenings of the film “42” for thousands of teenagers across the country and in Canada. Clubs will select students in grades 8-12 from their respective communities to fill local theaters for the screenings. Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig will personally host the first screening in Milwaukee on Tuesday, April 23rd with Sharon Robinson, daughter of Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson and MLB Educational Programming Consultant. All students participating in the screenings will have access to the movie free of charge and can share their experience online via Iam42.com.
“42 brilliantly depicts not only the proudest and most powerful event in baseball history, but also a watershed moment in American history and the Civil Rights Movement,” said Commissioner Selig. “This film is a profound way for all of us throughout Major League Baseball to educate our next generation about Jackie Robinson’s vital impact on our nation. I thank Thomas Tull and his colleagues for working with the Robinson family and allowing this enduring American story to be told to a worldwide audience. With our annual April 15th celebration, the wide-ranging efforts of all 30 Clubs and now this inspirational film, it is an honor for our industry to continue to shine a light on the vibrant legacy of Jackie Robinson.”
The film is currently in theaters and stars Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson and Academy Award® nominee Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey, the Brooklyn Dodgers executive who signed Jackie to the team. Presented by Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, “42” is written and directed by Academy Award® winner Brian Helgeland and is a Legendary Pictures Production. In its opening weekend, “42,” which is available in more than 3,000 theaters nationwide, took in $27.5 million, marking the best opening weekend ever for a baseball movie according to multiple industry references.
During Spring Training and the opening weeks of the Regular Season, MLB Clubs and players were given the opportunity to see advanced screenings of “42,” and during Jackie Robinson Day weekend in the Greater Los Angeles area, Major League Baseball presented two private screenings of “42” for participants of several Los Angeles-area Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) and Angels RBI programs.
