A new animated film created to honor “America’s Favorite Pastime” and several of America’s charities will have its debut in New York City.
The world debut of “Henry & Me” will take place at the Ziegfeld Theatre Monday night. The film will have a limited theatrical engagement in partnership with New York City’s Bow Tie Cinemas. It will be released worldwide on DVD and through digital services such as Video On Demand, Amazon, iTunes and others Sept. 9. The film will also be sold at Yankee Stadium during all home games following the home release. The film has an all-star cast including Richard Gere, Cyndi Lauper, Chazz Palminteri, Lucie Arnaz, Paul Simon, Yankee players such as Mariano Rivera, Reggie Jackson, Hideki Matsui, Yogi Berra, Jorge Posada, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and others and current Yankees manager Joe Girardi and co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner.
The film is inspired by the best-selling children’s books by Ray Negron. The film was written by screenwriter David I. Stern, who has written screenplays for “Open Season 2,” “Open Season 3” and the Annie Award-nominated “Free Birds.” The director is Barrett Esposito, winner of the Best Directorial Debut prize at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival for his 2001 feature “Mourning Glory.”
A portion of the proceeds from DVD and digital sales go towards several participating charities including Lauper’s True Colors Fund, St. Jude’s, Lou Gehrig Society, Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, Yankees Foundation, Jason Mraz Foundation, International Campaign for Tibet, Children’s Health Fund, NIMBY, The Max Cure Foundation, CC Sabathia’s PitCCh In Foundation, Girardi’s Catch 25 Foundation, Harlem RBI, Leukemia Society, Curtis Granderson’s Grand Kids Foundation, Sarah McLachlan’s Sarah School of Music, Pitch for a Cure, American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge and others.
The trailer for the film is below. You can also learn more about the film and the charities involved by visiting the film’s website. Here’s more about the film.
“Henry & Me tells the heart-warming story of Jack, an 11 year-old baseball fan who finds himself magically transported from his hospital bed to an amazing world where he meets Yankee legends old and new (including , Babe Ruth, Lefty Gomez, Thurman Munson, and Mickey Mantle), and learns valuable lessons about baseball and the curveballs that life throws you.
The film stars Richard Gere in the title role of ‘Henry’ with Chazz Palminteri as ‘Babe Ruth’ and Austin Williams as ‘Jack.’ The film also stars Cyndi Lauper, Danny Aiello, Paul Simon, Lucie Arnaz, Joseph Gian, and Luis Guzman. Hank Steinbrenner, the co-chairman of the Yankees organization, voices the role of his father, George Steinbrenner. Present and former Yankees figures portray themselves in the film: Hideki Matsui, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, Reggie Jackson, Yogi Berra, Bernie Williams, Goose Gossage, Willie Randolph, John Sterling, Michael Kay, Joe Girardi, and Brian Cashman.”
