Landmark Film to Be Shown in Conjunction With ONE OF THE HOLLYWOOD TEN
STARZ! Pictures Exclusive World Premiere Drama About Blacklisted Herbert
Biberman and the Making of His Historic Film
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- In June, STARZ! Cinema presents
the landmark independently produced 1953 drama SALT OF THE EARTH from
blacklisted "Hollywood Ten" writer/director Herbert Biberman, who was jailed
in 1950 for refusing to answer questions before the House Un-American
Activities Committee (HUAC). The groundbreaking movie, made with blacklisted
Independent Productions Corporation (IPC) partners -- Paul Jarrico and Michael
Wilson -- was produced outside of the Hollywood studio system during the
hysteria of the Cold War and the height of McCarthyism. As a result, the film
was virtually banned from ever being shown in the U.S. for twelve years. SALT
OF THE EARTH was the only project of the IPC, and was a progenitor of today's
American independent film movement. In addition to playing throughout the
month, STARZ! Cinema will present the film at 9:50 p.m. on Sunday, June 24,
immediately following the 8:00 p.m. ET/PT world premiere on STARZ! of ONE OF
THE HOLLYWOOD TEN, the inspiring real-life drama from STARZ! Pictures(R) about
blacklisted Herbert Biberman's courageous and triumphant struggle to make SALT
OF THE EARTH. The film stars acclaimed actor Jeff Goldblum as Biberman and
Greta Scacchi as Biberman's wife, Academy Award(R)-winning actress Gale
Sondergaard.
In 1992, SALT OF THE EARTH was among the first 100 films to be placed on
the Library of Congress' National Registry of culturally and historically
significant motion pictures made in America. The film never received wide
release, but did manage to play briefly in New York and San Francisco in 1954
to critical acclaim before being banned in the U.S. It was released in Canada
and in Europe to widespread acclaim, and was briefly reissued in the U.S. in
1965.
SALT OF THE EARTH was directed by Biberman, produced by Paul Jarrico and
written by Academy Award(R)-winner Michael Wilson (A PLACE IN THE SUN).
Wilson, who would later gain fame for LAWRENCE OF ARABIA and THE BRIDGE ON THE
RIVER KWAI, had to write using pseudonyms for many years in order to work.
The uplifting story is based on the successful 1950 year-long strike by
Mexican American miners from Mine-Mill Local 890 in Silver City, New Mexico
against the Jersey Zinc Company. Spurned by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG),
only two professional actors appeared in the film: blacklisted Will Geer (who
later went on to play Grandpa on "The Waltons") and, in a defiant break from
Hollywood tradition, Mexican actress Rosaura Revueltas as the Hispanic lead.
Out of necessity, the miners and their wives play themselves and the crew is
made up of blacklisted technicians. Biberman and his IPC partners completed
production in 1953 despite the entire Hollywood establishment and Federal
government's attempts to destroy the IPC and the film by any means necessary.
The FBI directed a wave of anti-Red hysteria that culminated with the
Immigration Service deporting Ms. Revueltas, and bribed, gun-toting vigilante
thugs torching the sets in an attempt to terrorize the filmmakers.
For more information on Herbert Biberman, the 1947 HUAC hearings and the
"Hollywood Ten" visit http://www.hollywood10.com.
About STARZ! Pictures and Starz Encore Group LLC
STARZ!(SM) regularly plays never-before-seen STARZ! Pictures(R) films that
feature some of Hollywood's most outstanding talent. Recent STARZ! Pictures
include: MAZE directed by and starring Rob Morrow and Laura Linney; FOREVER
LULU starring Melanie Griffith, Patrick Swayze and Penelope Ann Miller; BRUNO
directed by and starring Shirley MacLaine, Kathy Bates and Gary Sinise and
RELATIVE VALUES starring Julie Andrews.
Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz Encore), currently celebrating its 10th
anniversary, is the largest provider of cable and satellite-delivered premium
movie channels in the United States. Starz Encore owns 15 domestic channels
and currently counts approximately 95 million pay units. Starz Encore offers
up to 14 channels of the Starz Super Pak(SM), which comprises STARZ!(R),
Encore(SM), Action(SM), Mystery(SM), BLACK STARZ!(R), Westerns(SM), STARZ!
Family(R), Love Stories(SM), True Stories(SM), STARZ! Theater(R), WAM!(R),
STARZ!(R) Cinema(SM) and, to be offered in 2002, STARZ!(R) Comedy(SM) and
STARZ!(R) Kidz(SM). Additionally, Starz Encore has the only low priced movie
pak for price-sensitive consumers, the Encore Movie Pak(SM), featuring up to
seven theme channels. Find programming information on the Web at
http://www.starzencore.com and archived press releases at
http://www.prnewswire.com/micro/NCOR. Starz Encore is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Liberty Media Group (NYSE: LMGa and LMGb).
For further information, please contact Marc McCarthy of STARZ! Pictures,
303-267-5851, marc.mccarthy@starzencore.com; or Richard Hoffman of Warren
Cowan & Associates, 310-275-0777, rhhoffman@warrencowan.com, for STARZ!
Pictures.
SOURCE STARZ! Cinema
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Related links:
http://www.starzencore.com
CONTACT:
Marc McCarthy of STARZ! Pictures,
303-267-5851, marc.mccarthy@starzencore.com; or Richard Hoffman
of Warren Cowan & Associates, 310-275-0777,
rhhoffman@warrencowan.com, for STARZ! Pictures
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