Emmy Winner, TU Alumnus to Screen Film March 12

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Paul Cooper, a three-time Emmy award winner and TU alumnus, will conduct a screening and discussion of his film, "The Maldonado Miracle," at 7:30 p.m. on March 12 in Room 207 of Lorton Hall on The University of Tulsa campus.

"The Maldonado Miracle," teleplay by Cooper, directed by Salma Hayek and produced by Hallmark Productions and Showtime, depicts events in a small town where a statue of Jesus seems to be shedding real tears of blood. The film is a journey of faith, hope and inspiration for a struggling community searching for something to renew their spirits. The telefilm features Peter Fonda as the parish priest and Mare Winningham as a local cafe owner who knows the secret behind the miracle.

"Maldonado Miracle" received six Emmy nominations and won in outstanding directing in a family film. Cooper took home the Writers Guild Award for best children’s script for his contribution to the telefilm’s success.

Cooper’s family-friendly television writing spans three decades of hits including "Murder, She Wrote," "Highway to Heaven," "Little House of the Prairie" and "The Waltons." He has won three Emmys (five nominations), a Humanitas Prize (two nominations), a Writers Guild Award (four nominations), Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, Epiphany Prize nomination and a Movieguide Award.

The March 12th event is sponsored by TU’s Creative Writing Program and is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Michael Wright, director of TU’s creative writing program, at (918) 631-3174.