Look To The Stars News: Terry Jones

Jon Lovitz Leads Silly Walks For Charity

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:30:00 -0000

October 2009 marked the beginning of the 40th Anniversary year for the classic comedy team Monty Python, and comedian Jon Lovitz is spearheading a charity event to celebrate.

Fans of spam, dead parrots, lumberjacks and the Spanish Inquisition (“Nobody ever expects the Spanish Inquisition!”) will flock to the first ever Silly Walks For Hunger event on November 19, which will give fans and fun-seekers an opportunity to show off their own “silly walks” while participating in a world-class live production—and all for a good cause: hunger relief.

“I have been a Monty Python fan for years,” said Jon Lovitz, who in May opened his own comedy club in the heart of Universal CityWalk, and who will act as the Minister of SillyWalks for the day. “We’ll be doing good by behaving silly… what a great way to honor their work. It’s perfect!”

SillyWalks for Hunger aims to “raise enough awareness, food and money for 1,000,000 meals to be provided to families, children and elderly in L.A. and across the nation this holiday season.” Supporters can text the word “FEED” to 90999 to make a $5 donation – they will be donating the equivalent of approximately 20 meals towards meeting the goal.

The Monty Python team originally featured John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Graham Chapman.

Beneficiaries of SillyWalks for Hunger will be Feeding America, the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank, and Global FoodBanking Network.

Registration for the event – which starts at the Universal CityWalk on Thursday – starts at 5:30pm. Bring a bag of non-perishable food to enter. For more info, click here.

Stars Pushing the Envelope for Literacy

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:25:00 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Today is the final day to bid on celebrity-designed, one-of-a-kind envelopes while helping to transform lives through literacy.

Over 100 celebrities, including Zoë Wanamaker, Sir Ian McKellen, Sadie Frost, Amir Khan and Dame Shirley Bassey have decorated envelopes for the Pushing the Envelope campaign in association with Pitney Bowes and the National Literacy Trust.

Dame Helen Mirren’s envelope

Over the last six years, the campaign has raised £65,000 ($107,000) to support literacy programs across the UK, helping people with poor reading and writing skills gain confidence and a chance for better employment and opportunities.

Some of the other celebrities taking part this year include Dame Helen Mirren, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Fearne Cotton, Samantha Fox and Frederick Forsyth.

To view the all of the designs, visit the Pushing the Envelope website. The auction is being held on eBay.co.uk.

Monty Python Stars To Attend Charity Screening Of Banned Movie

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Two Monty Python stars are set to attend the first ever screening of one of their classic films in a town in which it was banned 30 years ago.

Michael Palin and Terry Jones will travel to Aberystwyth, Wales, on March 28 for the town’s first ever screening of The Life Of Brian. Proceeds from the screening will go to the British Heart Foundation and to Truthout, a website for ethical news.

The screening is being made possible by Sue Jones-Davies, who played Brian’s girlfriend in the cult movie and is now mayor of the Welsh town.

“It was actually a journalist who pointed out to me that the film had never been shown in Aberystwyth because of the ban,” Jones-Davies told Wales Online. “We decided that we might as well go on with it and see if we could arrange a screening in Aberystwyth.”

The film was first banned because of its comical portrayal of Jesus and alleged blasphemy. It has since gone on to be voted the greatest comedy film of all time by Channel 4, Total Film magazine, Rotten Tomatoes, The Guardian and many other publications.

“I’m pretty sure the event is already a sell-out. Aberystwyth Arts Centre is a beautiful venue and there are only 120 places,” said Jones-Davies. “It will be a great evening and it is about time the film was shown anyway.”

Stars Speak Out About Gaza In New Video

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A group of British stars have appeared in a new video produced by Amnesty International, speaking out against the bloodshed and violence in Gaza.

Annie Lennox, Thandie Newton, former Monty Python star Terry Jones, comedian Alexei Sayle, filmmaker Mike Figgis, designer Katharine Hamnett and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button actor Jason Flemyng all voice their support for Amnesty’s ongoing efforts to secure justice for both Palestinians and Israelis and make an impassioned call for Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza in the video.

“Right now – this very minute – innocent people like you and me, children like mine and yours, are victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza,” said Thandie Newton in the film. “I want the UK government ready to initiate criminal investigations and carry out prosecutions in their own courts.”

“We’ve had a ceasefire in Gaza, a tentative ceasefire, and we now have the opportunity to get access to over 200,000 civilians who have no access to facilities,” adds Annie Lennox. “Their homes have been pulverized, they have no running water, they have no proper access to medicines, to fuel, to foods. They are desperately and urgently in need of these things and it is essential that the international aid agencies get access to the Gazan people now… In a situation like this, there are no victories. Only victims. What’s important is that we try to find a path to peace.”

More than 1,300 Palestinians died during the Israeli military offensive in December and January, but hundreds of thousands remain in desperate need of aid. It is a very real and heartbreaking humanitarian crisis. Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen hopes the film will encourage people to speak out against the war crimes and pressure the British government to make a stand.

“There’s almost a conspiracy of silence over war crimes in Gaza that’s totally unacceptable,” she said. “Speaking out is one way of trying to stop this horrible cycle of violence beginning all over again.”

Benjamin Button star Jason Flemying also appears in the video.

“This humanitarian crisis is not the result of a natural disaster,” he says in the film. “It is entirely manmade, as the result of extremely stringent Israeli blockades and international sanctions. Over 80% of the population of Gaza now relies on international aid. That compares with 10% a decade ago. The blockade guarantees bloodshed and violence.”

To view the film and learn more about the conflict and how you can help, visit the Amnesty International website.

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