THELMA & LOUISE Ride Back into Cinemas August 21st and 24th

“You’ve always been crazy, this is just the first chance you’ve had to express yourself.”

Twenty-five years ago, in one of the greatest road movies of all time, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon rode to everlasting fame as two women who embark on a crime spree across the American southwest in THELMA & LOUISE – and on Aug. 21 and 24, they’re journeying back to more than 500 movie theaters across the country.

For two days only at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time, audiences can take the wild ride with Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) all over again in a special THELMA & LOUISE 25th Anniversary celebration, presented by Fathom Events, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Park Circus. This special two-day-only event also includes an exclusive all-new introduction from movie critic Ben Lyons.

Tickets for the THELMA & LOUISE 25th Anniversary can be purchased online beginning Friday (July 22) by visiting www.FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices. Fans throughout the U.S. will be able to enjoy this eventin more than 500 select movie theaters through Fathom’s Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations, visit the Fathom Events website. (Note that theaters and participants are subject to change.)

Directed by action master Ridley Scott (The Martian, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator) from an Oscar-winning screenplay by Callie Khouri, THELMA & LOUISE is an exhilarating, full-throttle adventure hailed as one of the best road movies of all time. Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis star as accidental outlaws on a desperate flight across the Southwest after a tragic incident at a roadside bar. With a determined detective (Harvey Keitel) on their trail, a sweet-talking hitchhiker (Brad Pitt) in their path and a string of crimes in their wake, their journey alternates between hilarious, high-speed thrill ride and empowering personal odyssey … even as the law closes in.

“There’s never been an on-screen pair quite like Thelma and Louise, and there’s never been a movie as fearless, exciting and provocative. Thelma & Louise is as stunning, powerful and downright entertaining as it was when it was released 25 years ago,” Fathom Events Vice President of Studio Relations Tom Lucas said.

Originally released on May 24, 1991, THELMA & LOUISE received six Academy Award nominations, including Best Director (Ridley Scott); Best Actress in a Leading Role for both Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis; Best Cinematography (Adrian Biddle); and Best Editing (Thom Noble), with Callie Khouri winning an Oscar for her memorable screenplay.

Movie fans also have the chance to win the Ultimate Road Trip adventure by posting a selfie with THELMA & LOUISE using the hashtag #ThelmaAndLouise25. Visit the THELMA & LOUISE “selfie-standee” in select movie theaters, and read the full contest details at FathomEvents.com/event/thelma-and-louise/more-info/sweepstakes.

Here are 25 facts for 25 years of THELMA AND LOUISE

1.     Oscar-winning screenwriter Callie Khouri says the story came to her “in a flash” and she saw that, “through a series of accidents, they would go from being invisible to being too big for their world to contain”

2.     Thelma & Louise was Callie Khouri’s first produced screenplay

3.     George Clooney auditioned for the role of J.D. five times 

4.     Brad Pitt had unsuccessfully auditioned for Backdraft before Ridley Scott saw him audition for J.D. 

5.     Brad Pitt said he first became familiar with Ridley Scott when he was 15 years old and snuck in to a movie theater to see Alien

6.     Geena Davis says that she had her agent call Ridley Scott every week for a year before he agreed to consider her for one of the leading roles

7.     Initially, Geena Davis wanted to play the role of Louise, and had prepared for it – but in their first meeting with Susan Sarandon, both Davis and Ridley Scott say they knew she was Louise

8.     Thelma & Louise takes place on the road from Arkansas to the Grand Canyon – but was filmed entirely in California and Utah

9.     The “Grand Canyon” in the movie is actually Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah

10.  The Oklahoma City motel where Thelma and Louise encounter J.D. still stands – in downtown Los Angeles: It’s the Vagabond Inn at 3101 S. Figueroa St.

11.  Five identical 1966 Thunderbirds were used in production

12.  Ridley Scott says the visual style of the film was strongly influenced by the still-life paintings of John Register

13.  Thelma Dickerson’s birthday is November 27, 1956 – while screenwriter Callie Khouri’s real birthdate is November 27, 1957 

14.  Charlie Sexton performs two songs in the film, “Tennessee Plates” and “Badlands,” and has a cameo as the lead singer in the band playing in the bar

15.  Geena Davis planned to use a body double for her sex scene with Brad Pitt, but when she saw models being interviewed, she decided to do the scene herself

16.  Susan Sarandon says of her driving experience: “I got so sick of that car – it took me weeks to stop driving like a maniac!” 

17.  Although the film was shot out of order (as are most films), the final scene shot was the final scene in the movie: the car going off the cliff

18.  Producer Mimi Polk Gitlin said that the agreement with the film’s distributor specifically forbade changing the script’s ending 

19.  In addition to Callie Khouri’s Oscar-winning screenplay and nominations for Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, Thelma & Louise was nominated for Best Director, Best Editing and Best Cinematography

20.  Although he had directed such classics as Alien and Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise marked the first Oscar nomination for Ridley Scott 

21.  Thelma & Louise is one of only four films in which two lead performers were nominated as Best Actress; the others are All About Eve (1950), Suddenly Last Summer (1959), and Terms of Endearment (1983) 

22.  Thelma & Louise was a box-office hit, grossing $45 million in the U.S. (on a budget of $16.5 million)

23.  Thelma & Louise has become a pop-culture touchstone, and the countless references to it include lyrics in the song “Today 4 U” in the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent

24.  Thelma & Louise was featured on the cover of Time Magazine on June 24, 1991 – exactly one month after its release

25.  The American Film Institute has named Thelma Dickerson and Louise Sawyer to the list of 100 top film heroes.  Together, they rank 24 … two spots above Superman

Fathom Events, MGM and Park Circus present Thelma & Louise 25th Anniversary, coming to more than 400 select movie theaters nationwide for two days only: Aug. 21 and 24, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (local time) daily.  For tickets, information and a full list of participating theaters, visit www.fathomevents.com.