USA Network Partners With Weinstein Company to Promote BULLY

USA Network and The Weinstein Company announced today that it has partnered to promote the new feature film "BULLY" and the Characters Unite public service campaign, in an effort to highlight the importance of combating hate and discrimination.

USA will raise awareness of "BULLY"on-air throughout the month of April with a special tagged version of the CHARACTERS UNITE "I Won't Stand For..." PSA with an adjacent commercial for the film. The Weinstein Company began showing the "I Won't Stand For..." PSA in conjunction with the film in theatres, in Los Angeles and New York City, on Friday, March 30, and will expand to cities across the country throughout the run of the film. In addition, USA will publicize "BULLY" on its CHARACTERS UNITE Facebook page and Twitter handle [#charactersunite].

The powerful "I Won't Stand For..." PSAs were introduced during the second CHARACTERS UNITE MONTH in February, sending a message that people from all walks of life will no longer stand idly by in the face of prejudice and discrimination. Directed by commercial director Phil Griffin of Radical Media, the spots feature hundreds of diverse characters - including USA stars SAG Award nominee Patrick J. Adams and Meghan Markle of SUITS, Christopher Gorham of COVERT AFFAIRS, Reshma Shetty of ROYAL PAINS, and Marsha Thomason of WHITE COLLAR - all conveying a shared commitment to fight social injustice by sitting down wherever they are all across the country, from a busy New York City street corner to an iconic Bourbon Street storefront to a virtually empty Santa Monica beach. Everyone proudly wears special t-shirts expressing what they won't stand for, including bullying and harassment, as well as racism, religious intolerance, ableism, homophobia, sexism and more.

Directed by Sundance and Emmy-award winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, "BULLY" is a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary. At its heart are those with huge stakes in this issue whose stories each represent a different facet of America's bullying crisis. BULLY follows five kids and families over the course of a school year. Stories include two families who have lost children to suicide and a mother awaiting the fate of her 14-year-old daughter who has been incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With an intimate glimpse into homes, classrooms, cafeterias and principals' offices, the film offers insight into the often cruel world of the lives of bullied children. As teachers, administrators, kids and parents struggle to find answers, BULLY examines the dire consequences of bullying through the testimony of strong and courageous youth. Through the power of their stories, the film aims to be a catalyst for change in the way we deal with bullying as parents, teachers, children and society as a whole.

Please log on to http://www.charactersunite.com/ for more information on the initiative and what you can do to make a difference.

The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE. Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes. TWC releases took home eight 2012 Academy Awards(R), the most wins in the studio's history. The tally included Best Picture for Michel Hazanavicius's THE ARTIST and Best Documentary Feature for TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay's UNDEFEATED. THE ARTIST brought TWC its second consecutive Best Picture statuette following the 2011 win for Tom Hooper's THE KING'S SPEECH.