Turner Classic Movies Donates $100,000 to the Magic Johnson Foundation for New State-of-the-Art Screening Room

Turner Classic Movies Donates $100,000 to the Magic Johnson Foundation for New State-of-the-Art Screening Room

Gift Coincides with Race & Hollywood: Black Images on Film Airing on TCM in May

ATLANTA, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has donated $100,000 to the Magic Johnson Foundation towards the implementation of a state-of-the-art TCM Screening Room, it was announced today by Tom Karsch, executive vice president and general manager of TCM. The venture coincides with Race & Hollywood: Black Images on Film, an on-air and online event in May that chronicles the varied concepts, stereotypes and imagery of African Americans as represented in classic Hollywood cinema.

Magic Johnson Empowerment Centers serve as comprehensive, one-stop facilities to provide youth and adults access to technology and educational resources that will improve academic performance and prepare them for the emerging job market. The TCM Screening Room in the Atlanta facility will provide a safe environment for underserved youth and adults to gather to watch movies. As part of the donation, TCM will provide equipment, furniture and DVDs in addition to consulting on the high-tech screening room.

In addition, TCM provided enrichment materials to Magic Johnson Empowerment Centers around the country on the TCM film series Race & Hollywood: Black Images on Film to spark thoughtful discussion and debate on the subject of African American roles in Hollywood and the cultural impact of those depictions upon American society.

"TCM is honored to assist with the empowerment center's efforts to improve the quality of life for so many people in Atlanta," Karsch said. "We hope the new screening room will serve families throughout the community."

"These empowerment centers are meant to provide kids with a safe place to go," said Earvin "Magic" Johnson, founder of the Magic Johnson Foundation. "The screening room is an excellent venue for providing them with quality entertainment and a secure environment where they can watch movies."

TCM's Race & Hollywood: Black Image on Film month long film series including Birth of a Nation (1915), The Jazz Singer (1927), Gone with the Wind (1939), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) and Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) airs on Tuesday and Thursday primetime evenings. TCM will look at not only the more controversial or striking films but also the evolution of Hollywood's relationship with black characters as well as details regarding the climate today. Noted film historian Donald Bogle and TCM's primetime host Robert Osborne will help viewers put in context a full slate of films, and several prominent African Americans will provide further commentary and retrospective, including Eva and Evangela Anderson, Lenny Bluett, Bill Cosby, Charles Dutton, William Greaves, James Earl Jones, Rigmor Nicholas, Bill Nunn, Richard Roundtree, Cicely Tyson, Richard Wesley and Forest Whitaker.

The Magic Johnson Foundation, which was founded in 1991, is committed to improving the quality of life for people residing in underserved communities. They serve as the facilitator to deliver the much-needed programs and resources that others can't or won't deliver to these communities including access, education and information. It is their hope that their efforts will serve as a call to action to encourage other foundations, corporations, civic organizations and individuals to join them in this most worthy cause. The Magic Johnson Foundation is committed to making a positive impact on families, one child at a time.

Turner Classic Movies, currently seen in more than 70 million homes, is a 24-hour cable network from Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. TCM presents the greatest motion pictures of all time from the largest film library in the world, the combined Time Warner and Turner film libraries, from the '20s through the '90s, commercial-free and without interruption. More information is available at the TCM Web site at www.tcm.tv.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.

Source: Turner Classic Movies

CONTACT: Gina McKenzie of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., +1-404-885-4315, or gina.mckenzie@turner.com

Web site: http://www.tcm.tv/ http://www.turner.com/

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