Look To The Stars News: Joaquin Phoenix

M.I.A. Builds School In Liberia

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0000

Rapper M.I.A. is currently looking for support to help build a school in Liberia.

The 31-year-old British-born Paper Planes hit maker visited Liberia with 4REAL, a humanitarian-based TV show that features stars such as Cameron Diaz, Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes, Casey Affleck, and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers as they undertake adventures around the world to connect with young leaders who, under extreme circumstances, are affecting real change on some of the most pressing issues of our time.

M.I.A., who is currently pregnant with her first baby, used $100,000 she was paid for a show earlier this year to kickstart her Liberian school project.

“It costs $52k to build a school for 1,000 in Liberia,“ she said.

The school is now starting to take shape, and M.I.A. is asking for help with books and ideas for the school.

“Maybe you have ideas to make this school more eco-friendly,“ she said in her latest blog. “Your school might have books and stuff to donate etc let us know. And if you have interest in going to Liberia to do exchange programs at a school or help out in anyway, let us know.”

More info about 4REAL and the 4REAL Foundation can be found at their website.

Stars Are 4Real In New TV Show

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:00:00 -0000

A new humanitarian-based TV show debuts in the US this weekend, featuring Cameron Diaz and K’NAAN.

4REAL is a project that began as a documentary television series and has expanded to include an online global community, a provider of educational materials (4REAL School), and the non-profit 4REAL Foundation.

The television show, 4REAL, is a series of half-hour episodes hosted by Sol Guy that takes celebrity guests on adventures around the world to connect with young leaders who, under extreme circumstances, are affecting real change on some of the most pressing issues of our time.

Celebrity guests for Season One are Cameron Diaz, Mos Def, Joaquin Phoenix, Eva Mendes, Casey Affleck, K’NAAN, M.I.A., and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The shows take you on unique adventures with these celebrities, but ultimately it’s the young leaders who emerge as the stars. 4REAL inspires viewers with stories of their courage, creativity and dedication to tackling issues such as poverty, environment, health, children’s and indigenous rights, drugs and violence in their communities and beyond.

Beyond the exposure that 4REAL provides, these young leaders are partners in the show, with 50 per cent of the show’s profits going directly to their initiatives.

4REAL is airing globally on National Geographic Channels International (not including Canada, U.S., and U.K.) in 166 countries and 35 languages, as well as on The CW channel in the U.S. and on CTV and MTV in Canada.

4REAL premieres in the U.S. on The CW this Sunday October 5 at 5pm. Two episodes will air back to back every Sunday for the next five months.

Stars Record Public Service Announcement

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:44:27 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Ben Affleck, Dakota Fanning, Eva Mendes, Garth Brooks, Jeremy Piven, Joaquin Phoenix, Morgan Freeman, and Reese Witherspoon have filmed a Public Service Announcement for all Americans, stating that the country’s health care and financial security crisis is about to explode. But if people on both sides of the issue would start a dialogue, the problems are not insurmountable.

The video is part of the American Association of Retired Persons’ (AARP) “Divided We Fail” project, an initiative that has just garnered support from the Entertainment Industry Foundation and the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF).

“We need to build a national conversation around these issues,” said AARP CEO Bill Novelli, who is more than happy with the union. “The entertainment industry is uniquely suited to help us do that.”

It is a view shared by MPTF Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. “Hollywood can call attention to these problems and help galvanize the public into taking action,” said the producer of Shrek and head of the organization of entertainment industry leaders dedicated to supporting health and human service needs. “[This] is a key first step in solving them.”

The director of the video, Tony Goldwyn, had a very specific message to get across: “People wind up feeling that the two sides are just too far apart; that these problems are so big and complex that we can’t fix them. What we’re saying is, if we all get together and start talking, we can.”

Americans struggling with financial and health care problems are invited to share their stories at www.aarp.org, and their experiences may be used for the Divided We Fail project. The PSA video can also be viewed on the site. The AARP organization is dedicated to enhancing the experience of aging through advocacy, information, and service, with a focus on the needs for health, financial security, giving back to society, family and social connectedness, and joy in life.

Lunchbox Auction Will Help Feed Hungry Children

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 14:49:04 -0000

Written by Crystal A. Johnson

Forget what they say about good things coming in small boxes, better things come in lunch-boxes created by artists, actors, chefs, musicians, photographer, politicians, and fashion designers to shed light on the plight of hungry children in New York City and South Africa. These original artistic efforts are for the Lunchbox Auction.

The artistry is often unique and often indicative of the personality behind the work. World renown chef Bobby Flay’s 2005 lunchbox was decorated with spices. Bono’s lunchbox was simply red signifying his (RED) campaign. The bidding for lunchbox items will commence online on December 6, 2007

Among the other contributors of lunch-boxes for the first online auction included Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, David Bowie and Iman among other famous people. The proceeds help the Food Bank For New York City provide food to more than 1,000 emergency and community food programs throughout the five boroughs.

One in five children in NYC rely on emergency food. Thousands of miles away in South Africa, children face similar hunger oriented plights. Fledgling school programs do not subsidize pre- and high schools, so for many of these children the Lunch box fund feed them their only meal of the day. Moreover, many of the children are AIDS orphans running child-headed households.

To see the full list of lunch-boxes, visit the Charity Folks Website.

Lowes Fight For Eco Causes

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:58:20 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Rob Lowe and his brother Chad Lowe have recently been travelling on independent missions to tackle environmental issues.

Rob Lowe testified in Washington last week to ask the American government to give tax credits to people who make their hybrid cars and trucks even more environmentally friendly.

By adding a plug-in feature, drivers of hybrids, which have both a gasoline motor and an electric one, can charge the battery pack for the electric motor at home. Rob has already converted his own Toyota Prius. ‘Like a lot of Americans, I’ve been watching as the climate changes and as we are in a war on terror where our oil addiction helps fund people that want to kill us. It’s gotten my attention,” he says.

Meanwhile, Chad Lowe has been driving around the country in his own hybrid, also raising awareness about the climate crisis. The way the world is set up now, he says, “It’s hard for any of us not to be hypocrites,” but asks people to do even little things at home and to start calling their representatives demanding change.

Chad contributed Taking America’s Temperature, one of 50 short films commissioned by the SOS campaign to screen at the Los Angeles Film Festival last month as part of Live Earth Day. The series of films were to be inspiring and provocative, highlight the problems of the climate crisis and offer solutions. Other filmmakers included Madonna, Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck.

“Just like the 150 music artists who have stepped up to play the Live Earth concerts, the world filmmaking community has answered the SOS call in a big way,” says Kevin Wall, founder of SOS and Live Earth.

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