AMC Theatres Team With Color of Change to Get Underprivileged Kids Into 'A Wrinkle in Time' for Free

'A Wrinkle In Time' is directed by Ava DuVernay, stars Oprah, and will include a new, original Sade song in its soundtrack.

'A Wrinkle in Time' director Ava DuVernay and cast members.
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Image via Getty/Alberto E. Rodriguez

'A Wrinkle in Time' director Ava DuVernay and cast members.

Following in the footsteps of Octavia Spencer, Lupita Nyong’o, Serena Williams, TDE label boss Top Dawg, and more who helped young children of color see the groundbreaking movie Black Panther, racial justice organization Color of Change has partnered with AMC Theatres to send children in need to seeA Wrinkle in Timefor free. The Ava DuVernay-directed sci-fi movie stars Oprah, Mindy Kaling, Reese Witherspoon and the teenage Storm Reid and will premiere nationwide on March 9.

Color of Change and AMC call the community-driven initiative Give a Child the Universe, which will be powered by people and local communities. The campaign encourages people to purchase and donate tickets to the movie in name of underprivileged children. Color of Change will then distribute the tickets “to a passionate network of local partners, schools and community-based organizations, allowing children to enjoy this highly anticipated title regardless of economic challenges,” per a press release.

“Color Of Change believes in the power of images and supports those working to change the rules in Hollywood so that inclusive, empathetic and human portrayals of Black people and people of color are prominent on the screen,” said Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color Of Change. “By casting a black teenage actress Storm Reid as the heroine at the center of this story, the filmmakers and the studio send a powerful message to millions of young people who will see someone like them embracing their individuality and strength to save the world.”

Color Of Change works to “[amplify] the voices of Black folks and our allies, building power and delivering meaningful wins that create consequences for racial injustice and build momentum for implementing solutions that move Black people and all people forward.”

“The Wrinkle in Time story is one that children from all backgrounds and walks of life can identify with and draw inspiration from, and we are thrilled to celebrate this film in a meaningful way, through the vision of Ava DuVernay and in partnership with Color Of Change,” said Nikkole Denson-Randolph, vice president of special content at AMC.

The initiative also echoes 14-year-old Taylor Richardson’s amazing efforts to get 1,000 girls to go see A Wrinkle in Time for free via a GoFundMe campaign. “I wanted all girls, especially girls of color, to know they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up and also can struggle and have flaws and still be successful in life,” Richardson said. 

A Wrinkle in Time, which will adapt Madeleine L'Engle's 1963 novel of the same name, is already shaping up to be a powerful movie. Besides the stacked cast, Sade has blessed the movie’s soundtrack with a new original song titled “Flower of the Universe.” With the movie, DuVernay has become the first woman of color to direct a live-action film with a budget of over $100 million. She has spoken at length about the importance of the opportunity and the impact the result could have not just on the filmmaking industry but on all audiences and aspiring filmmakers of color who can now dream that much higher.

"I know that who I am has not been brought to studio films before because no one’s done [it] who looks like me, who is like me, [or] who has my perspective as a black woman filmmaker," the Selma director said during a press day at the New York Film Festival last October. "Whatever filmmaker you want to name—I’ll name my good friend J.J. Abrams. The way he’s going to shoot the very same script and I’m going to shoot the script are going to be different because we come from different places, and we’re interested in maybe the same thing, but our eyes are different. Our memories in our own head are different."

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