New Line Cinema's "The Nativity Story" will be the first Hollywood movie ever to have its premiere at the Vatican which is set to be held on November 26 this year.
- November 10, 2006
AceShowbiz -
Seems that the gap between Hollywood and Vatican is getting narrowed as for the first time a Hollywood feature is allowed to have its premiere at the governmental capital of the Catholic Church.
New Line Cinema's President and COO of Worldwide Distribution and Marketing Rolf Mittweg has officially announced yesterday, November 9, that the company's latest drama picture "The Nativity Story" will be the one received the honor prior to its theatrical release on December 1 in USA.
"We are very proud of 'The Nativity Story' and extremely grateful that the Vatican has embraced the film in this way," Mittweg remarked. "We believe it is the perfect venue to present the film's universal message of hope and faith, a message we are sure will resonate around the world."
Set to be screened in the city on November 26 at the Vatican's Aulo Paolo VI (Pope Paul VI Hall), the movie's premiere will serve as a benefit with contributions going toward construction of a school in the village of Mughar, Israel located approximately 40 kilometers from Nazareth.
The third directorial effort of Texas-born filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke, "Nativity" centers on the period in Mary and Joseph's life where they journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus and features Keisha Castle-Hughes as Mary, Oscar Isaac as Joseph, and Shoreh Aghdashloo as Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Hardwicke, Aghdashloo, and Isaac will all attend the premiere along with producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, screenwriter Mike Rich, and other 7,000 invited guests of the Vatican.
