the ultimate gift

This is the official site of the movie “The Ultimate Gift” and the grass-roots movement its starting to help charities and give to others. Why can’t all movies do this?

I like to think that I’m pretty up to speed when it comes to movies and all that Hollywood gossipy crap that I read way too much of every day, but today is the first time I’d heard about “The Ultimate Gift”. The movie, which opens March 9th on a limited release, is giving one dollar from every ticket purchased to the charitable group of your choice. The Fox Film Fund is making this possible.

They’re referring to the first weekend the movie is open as the “Weekend of Giving”, and all movie tickets purchased for viewing from March 9 through March 11 will qualify for the donation to charity.

You guys all know how much I love charity. And you also know how much I love movies. Combining two of my favorite things together is incredible. The only thing that would make me happier is if there was an awesome way to combine brownies and bench pressing, too.

The movie is based on a book written by Jim Stovall, who has overcome blindness to achieve such goals as becoming a success investment broker and even a national champion Olympic weightlifter. The movie itself has a great list of actors – Abigail Breslin (the adorable little girl from Little Miss Sunshine), James Garner (the old guy that made you cry in The Notebook), and Brian Dennehy (Chris Farley’s dad in Tommy Boy) just to name a few.
According to the movie’s website, “more than 300 pre-screenings have already resulted in over $5 million in donations to charity.” How awesome is that? I know it’s just a grass-roots movement and I know it’s not a huge film, but how great is it to know that just by going and doing something like watching a movie in the theater, you’re going to be able to donate money to a cause you support? I hope to see more of this in the future!