hollywood to the rescue?
Posted by admin on August 1st, 2009
My daughter and I love movies and certain television shows, as do many of our friends. We developed a list of individuals who obviously care about our world and who have reached out in many ways to make a difference.
With “nothing ventured, nothing gained,” along with “desperate measures for desperate times” and “feel the fear and do it anyway” to push me along, I began this project by eMaililng Erin Brockovich . . .
Speaking of movies, we have just been invited to “The Ugly Truth” and I have to run out the door . . .
The list will go up when we return.
We’re back . . . Following is the start of a list. I will begin contacting everyone I can find immediately, sometimes with pleas for assistance, sometimes with specific reqeusts for types of visibility/coverage. I have worked with a few of these fine people and am hopeful that some will have the time and the desire in helping save homes.
Some years ago, I played a tiny part in getting visibility for a media conference staged at San Francisco’s Fort Mason by The North Face. It was designed to bring attention to the plight of the Tatshenshini River in British Columbia. A copper mining operation proposed building its plant on a site that happened to be an earthquake faultline. Trailings from the mine would have killed all life downstream, including rare glacier blue bears. Because of an article written by Paul McHugh of The San Francisco Chronicle, Al Gore unexpectedly attended the conference. For years, efforts to stop the mining operation had been spearheaded by Ric Careless and Donna Real of British Columbia; this was their last-ditch effort to gain visibility. After the event, within months, Gore met with the appropriate people and the Tatshenshini River is protected.
- Dr. Phil: Obvious reasons
- Erin Brockovich: Subject of the movie
- Don Cheadle: Human rights activist
- Sean Combs: Community activist, excellent businessman (and he dresses SO well)
- Russell Crowe: Social activist
- Danny Devito: Producer of “Erin Brokovich”
- Leonardo deCaprio: Environmental activist. May be a stretch, but tent cities are ugly and unsanitary, so perhaps this will interest him
- Dave Eggers, Author, and a fabulous person
- Al Gore, Activist who has effected change
- Michael Moore: Activist and documentary filmmaker
- Sean Penn: Activist . . . and showed in a rowboat with a rifle during Katrina
- Brad Pitt: Democratic candidates and causes
- Robert Redford: Devoted activist and filmmaker
- Steven Segal: Environmental and animal rights activist. “Above the Law” and other movies that make a point
- Rick Smollens: “Day In The Life” book series. Imagine someone of his caliber pulling together photo images of people around the U.S. being forced out of their homes . . . and naming the mortgage companies/banks responsible for each . . . perhaps with images of the bank executives that received bonuses
- Kanye West: Political activist with millions of followers
- Producers/cast of “Leverage,” “Lie to Me,” etc. (All of these are listed under the “Scripts” category)
- Bite Back Productions: Don’t know who they are. Love the name. I tried to register BiteBack.com and found their site
Tags: change, fundraising, hollywood makes a difference, media, movie star activists, movies, stars
