The 2014 Milwaukee Film Festival is still four months away, which raises an important question: What are we supposed to do for four months? Sure, there’s the monthly Milwaukee Film members screening at the Oriental, but wouldn’t it be nice if Milwaukee Film somehow partnered with HBO to premiere an original HBO film here later this month? And wouldn’t it be swell if Milwaukee was one of only five cities to premiere this film? Yeah, that would hold us over nicely.
So that’s exactly what has happened. Today, Milwaukee Film announced that it is partnering with HBO to bring The Normal Heart to the Landmark Oriental Theatre Wednesday, May 21 at 7 p.m., four days ahead of its airing on HBO. What’s more, Milwaukee is among only five cities to premiere the film, joining Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco. So who do we have to thank for this honor, other than the aforementioned parties? People who can’t stop watching Game Of Thrones, of course.
“Milwaukee has been identified as one of the top markets for Game Of Thrones viewership, so we felt it was only logical to bring a film like The Normal Heart to a market with a proven following,” says HBO Director of Corporate Affairs Mike Hopper in a statement released by Milwaukee Film. “We are excited to be partnering with Milwaukee Film for the Wisconsin premiere and look forward to a continued relationship to feature our programming in front of a savvy film community.”
The Normal Heart is based on the Tony Award-winning play of the same name, and tells the story of the AIDS-ravaged New York gay community of the early ’80s and its efforts to bring the AIDS crisis to light. Mark Ruffalo, Taylor Kitsch, Jim Parsons, Alfred Molina, and Julia Roberts are among the film’s stars. Ryan Murphy—of Glee and American Horror Story—directs.
Tickets to the screening will be available to Milwaukee Film members only, though a limited number will be made available to the general public soon. More information can be found at mkefilm.org.