Kino Lorber announced today that the Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway in conjunction with Keith Maitland's award-winning film TOWER, will freeze the iconic three clocks at 11:48am until Wednesday, October 13th, 2016. This is the first time the clock has been frozen since the end of WWII.
50 years ago on August 1st, 1966, a sniper rode the elevator to the top floor of the University of Texas, Austin, Tower, and opened fire at 11:48am, holding the campus hostage for 96 minutes. When the gunshots finally ceased, the toll included 16 dead, three dozen wounded, and a shaken nation left trying to understand. In Keith Maitland's critically acclaimed documentary TOWER, the film's subject, 18-year-old freshman, Claire Wilson was the first person shot from the Tower. Claire, who was eight months pregnant, was walking with her boyfriend Tom, who reached down to help her; he was struck down as well. For over an hour of the siege, Claire remained exposed to the shooter, conscious and steadily losing blood, while knowing that her boyfriend had been killed and that she lost her baby. After 90 minutes losing blood and laying on the hot Texas pavement, Claire was saved by a fellow 17-year-old student, John Fox, who rushed into the line of fire to pull her to safety.
"I am honored that they have chosen to remember the events of the Tower shooting in this remarkable way. Drawing attention to this memory is a way to learn from our past, and focus on our present and future together", said Claire Wilson.
TOWER is executive produced by Meredith Vieira and Luke Wilson and won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at SXSW 2016. TOWER combines archival footage with rotoscopic animation of the dramatic day, based entirely on first person testimonies from witnesses, heroes and survivors of America's first documented mass school shooting, in a seamless and suspenseful retelling of the unfolding tragedy. The film highlights the fear, confusion, and visceral realities that changed the lives of those present, and the rest of us, forever - a day when the worst in one man brought out the best in so many others.
Killer Impact, a Killer Content company, is a producing partner on TOWER, and facilitated the participation of the Paramount Building and The Edition Hotel premiere events. Impact supports ambitious filmmaking of consequence, in this case, as a way of reminding the world that victims of violent crime must neither be forgotten nor should we ignore the takeaways. Impact will continue to amplify the #getanimated about gun violence messaging as a critical issue of our times, and along with Keith Maitland, Meredith Vieira Productions and Kino Lorber, is grateful to the Paramount Building, The Edition Hotel and everyone out there who spreads the word about standing up against senseless violence on behalf of victims, their families and the world. "TOWER's timely, artistic and insightful retelling reminds us all of an event that has only become more meaningful in our communities and the amazing way in which people have the capacity to rise up as a result," said Duane McLaughlin, President, Killer Impact.
The Paramount Building once housed the Paramount Theatre. The structure is currently the 360th tallest building in New York City. It was designated a New York City Landmark in 1988. Today, the Paramount Building is known for its large four-faced clock near the top of the pyramidal architectural feature, with the hours denoted by five-pointed stars (forming a circle of stars as used in the Paramount Pictures logo), topped by an ornamental glass globe. At the outset of World War II, the globe and clock were painted black to maintain blackout conditions for fear of an enemy invasion; they were restored in 1996.
FOR CALL TO ACTION:
Twitter Handle: @TOWERfilm
Hashtag: #TOWERtogether
Hashtag: #GetAnimated
Kino Lorber suggests a call to action, get involved by snapping a photo of clocks stopped at 11:48am and spread on social. Kino Lorber will release TOWER nationwide starting 10/12/16.
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