Writer/Director Shriner Presents Deland Student with Movie Role in Hiaasen's Hoot, Being Filmed in Florida

Writer/Director Shriner Presents Deland Student with Movie Role in Hiaasen's Hoot, Being Filmed in Florida

- Part of Governor Bush's Read Together, Florida Essay Contest -

- Second-place Winner from Tampa Bay, Third-place from the Keys -

ORLANDO, May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Writer/Director Wil Shriner (Frasier, Becker) presented sixth-grader Zak Dahlheimer of Deland with a walk-on movie role in the screen adaptation of Hoot, an award for winning first place in the Read Together, Florida essay contest, part of Governor Jeb Bush's Family Literacy Initiative. The movie will be filmed in Florida this summer. Dahlheimer also received a $1,000 scholarship from the reading promotion's corporate sponsor Washington Mutual, represented by Frank Karwoski. Dahlheimer's school, St. Peter Catholic School, received a $1,000 award from Washington Mutual. The student's essay will appear in this year's edition of Beginnings, a journal for first-time writers, published by the Center for the Literary Arts at Miami Dade College. Dahlheimer also will visit Governor Jeb Bush in Tallahassee in June. The presentation took place at the Orlando Public Library, a participant in the Read Together, Florida promotion.

Liza McFadden, President of the nonprofit Volunteer Florida Foundation, which manages Governor Bush's Family Literacy Initiative and the Read Together, Florida literacy promotion, also announced that second-place winner is Chase Cicale, sixth-grader at Rodgers Middle School in Riverview (Tampa Bay). Placing third in the contest is Amber Zarichniak, an eighth-grader at Sugarloaf Elementary Middle School on Summerland Key. Both students have received scholarships from Washington Mutual and their schools received cash awards.

The contest was open to all middle school students in Florida and was part of the one book/one state reading promotion Read Together, Florida, which is designed to enhance the love of reading. More than 1,200 essays were submitted across Florida. The contest invited students to create a new ending to Carl Hiaasen's award-winning book Hoot. Each of the three winners received a personally inscribed copy of Hoot from Hiaasen. The competition and final judging were managed by Just Read, Florida! of the Florida Department of Education.

"The imagination and creativity of Florida students is astounding, and is magnified in the writing of these students," said McFadden. "Read Together, Florida is designed to get everyone excited about reading. With the assistance of our partners this year, and with the engagement of students from around our state, the promotion has been even better than we dreamed."

Involvement with the movie, which will be filmed in Florida this summer, is made possible by New Line Cinema, Walden Media and The Kennedy/Marshall Company. The film is being produced by Walden Media (Holes, Because of Winn Dixie), Frank Marshall (The Bourne Supremacy, Seabiscuit) and Jimmy Buffet. The Hoot movie script was written and will be directed by Shriner. New Line Cinema will distribute the film. Zak Dahlheimer's teacher and parents also will be invited to the movie set at that time. Walden Media will also be developing a broad educational offering of classroom and library materials for teachers, librarians and after-school leaders nationwide.

Preliminary essay contest judging was performed by representatives from Washington Mutual, Starbucks Coffee Company and Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble also will give the second-place winner a gift certificate to the bookstore. Final selection was made by Just Read, Florida!/Florida Department of Education, which managed the essay contest.

Read Together, Florida, the one state/one book literacy promotion, is a project of the Governor's Family Literacy Initiative, managed by the nonprofit Volunteer Florida Foundation. The annual project is sponsored by Washington Mutual. Participating organizations include the State Library and Archives of Florida, the Department of Education's Office of Just Read, Florida!, the Florida Center for the Literary Arts at Miami Dade College, Starbucks Coffee Company, Random House Children's Books, Comcast, Barnes & Noble, Florida Press Association and local libraries and bookstores across the state. Corporate partners helped spread the word about the promotion in the media, at office locations and at libraries and bookstores across Florida.

This year's selection, Hoot, is appropriate for family reading. Hoot tells the fictional story of young Floridians who choose to take a stand when environmental and growth issues arise in their small town. Read Together, Florida ran from March 1 to April 30. Community activities tied to the book took place across the state for readers of all ages. For more information, go to www.VolunteerFloridaFoundation.org .

Contact:
Fonda Anderson, Volunteer Florida Foundation
727-821-2056, FondaAnderson@aol.com

Source: Volunteer Florida Foundation

CONTACT: Fonda Anderson of Volunteer Florida Foundation,
+1-727-821-2056, or FondaAnderson@aol.com

Web site: http://www.volunteerfloridafoundation.org/

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