By Dylan Tracy
Wild About Movies was on hand tonight where Studio Movie Grill presented its fourth annual Opening Hearts and Minds Award to Pat Gonzalez, Sr. Vice President, In-Theatre Marketing, at Paramount Pictures for her tireless work in the community, most especially with Variety, the Children’s Charity of Southern California, and more recently with the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Boyle Heights.
The award is given to innovative leaders who have impacted their communities in a meaningful way by going above and beyond to create a positive vibe in their neighborhoods. Gonzalez, the first entertainment industry recipient, was honored at a special ceremony at Studio Movie Grill in Monrovia, CA. The program celebrated her years of service to further the efforts of children’s charities and support non-profit organizations and included a special screening of the Paramount Pictures film Dora and the Lost City of Gold that opens nationwide on August 9, 2019.
Kyle Davies, President of Paramount Domestic Distribution, and Pat Gonzalez.
“One of the most important decisions we make each year is selecting our ‘Opening Hearts and Minds Award’ recipient,” said Brian Schultz, Founder & CEO, Studio Movie Grill. “Candidates are thoughtfully chosen based on their dedication to helping others and the positive impact they have made in the world. This year we unanimously agreed the recipient should be Pat Gonzalez. Her work at Paramount, is admirable, as is her tireless commitment, for over 20 years, to empowering young people particularly and personally in Southern California.”
Gonzalez’s grew up in Los Angeles. Her experiences as a hard-working kid who made her own way is why, as an adult, her philanthropic work has always focused on building up children and nurturing their potential. She’s committed to and passionate about shaping the futures of young individuals, and that is reflected in every aspect of the work she does for her community. Ms. Gonzalez has been involved with Variety, The Children’s Charity for over 20 years and was integral to launching the first ever chapter of its youth group: Jr. Variety. She joined the executive board of Variety, The Children’s Charity of Southern California in 2002 and currently serves as co-chairperson for Variety’s Kids, the charity’s online and silent auction philanthropic endeavors, which has raised more than $2 million to support Variety’s children’s causes since its launch in 2005. Ms. Gonzalez also chairs the charity’s annual Poker Night Tournament which has raised over $1 million in support for Variety in Southern California since its inception eight years ago.
Most recently, Gonzalez joined the Board of Directors of the Variety Boys and Girls Club of Boyle Heights. Since 1949, the organization has responded to the needs of children in the Boyle Heights/East Los Angeles community offering academic and leadership development programs, tutoring and mentoring, sports and aquatics programs, arts and crafts, a computer learning center and library, social recreation, college scholarships, and special events to award members’ achievements.
At Paramount Pictures, Gonzalez is responsible for securing placement of a broad range of in-theatre materials and driving national film marketing and promotions in the U.S. and Canada, for the theatrical titles. Her leadership encompasses a wide range of areas including the programming of trailers, on-screen custom and special content, circuit-specific online and social media strategies, movie fan events, value-add movie offers and collaborating on studio life-cycle marketing initiatives within the cinema space.
Gonzalez was honored by Kyle Davies, President of Domestic Distribution for Paramount Pictures, Scott Forman, Executive Vice President of Warner Bros. Pictures, along with an auditorium full of friends, family, colleagues, and children whom Pat has worked with through the Variety charities.
