Benefit Screening of Taymor's Across the Universe Planned for BC/EFA

A benefit screening of Julie Taymor's upcoming feature film Across the Universe has been set for September 3 at the Sony Building Screening Room followed by a conversation with Taymor. Proceeds from the event will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

A musical love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, Across the Universe moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. Star-crossed lovers Jude Jim Sturgess and Lucy Evan Rachel Wood, along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr. Robert" Bono and "Mr. Kite" Eddie Izzard as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy against all odds to find their own way back to each other.

Across the Universe teams Taymor, the Tony Award-winning director of The Lion King and films including Frida and Titus, and writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais The Commitments. The film includes 30 Beatles songs, such as "Hey Jude," "I Am the Walrus" and "All You Need Is Love."

Tickets are $100 for the screening, talkback with Taymor and cocktail reception; or $250, which includes a personalized signed copy of the book Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire. For more information, go to broadwaycares.org.