Look To The Stars News: Tom Hanks

Stars Pay Tribute To Paul Newman

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:30:00 -0000

An awe-inspiring array of stars paid tribute to Paul Newman at a benefit gala for one of the actor’s summer camps for sick children in California last night.

Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Willis, Danny Glover, Danny DeVito, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening and Billy Crystal were just some of the stars who performed a reading of The World of Nick Adams, an adaptation of a number of Ernest Hemingway’s autobiographical stories at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.

“We expected Paul to be with us and so this kind of turned into kind of a tribute,” said Danny Glover. “This is the first time we are doing this without Paul — there is a void there, without a doubt.”

The event, which attracted over 2,500 people, raised money for the The Painted Turtle, one of Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang camps for ill children.

Founded by Newman and Herb Alpert in 1999, The Painted Turtle provides the 17,000 chronically ill children in California who would otherwise be unable to attend summer camps with an empowering, renewing experience completely free of charge.

“Paul was a member of the ensemble more than anything else,” said Tom Hanks, who starred in Road To Perdition with Newman. “He didn’t care about the hierarchy, but he was a guy, quite frankly, who should have won the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Get Ready For The Carousel Of Hope This Weekend

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The annual Carousel of Hope Gala will take place this weekend to raise money for the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes.

Presented by Jay Leno, the gala will take place at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, October 25, and will honor Denzel Washington for his charity work.

This year celebrates 30 years of helping children with diabetes through the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes. Held every two years, this is the 18th Carousel of Hope. From its inception in 1978, the Ball has raised over $70 million.

The gala will feature performances from Josh Groban, the Jonas Brothers, Katharine McPhee and many more under the music direction of David Foster. The guest list is expected to be huge, with stars such as Tom Arnold, Melanie Griffith & Antonio Banderas, Halle Berry, Valerie Bertinelli, Lara Flynn Boyle, Bo Derek, Geena Davis, Daisy Fuentes, Selena Gomez, Kelsey Grammar, Tom Hanks, Taraji P. Henson, Anjelica Huston, Magic Johnson, Dr. Phil McGraw, Holly Robinson-Peete & Rodney Peete, Nicole Richie, Jane Seymour, Nicollette Sheridan, Forest Whitaker and James Woods all expected to attend. Clive Davis, Quincy Jones and Sidney Poitier will take part in Denzel Washington’s presentation.

The evening will feature a silent auction that includes an array of eco-friendly shirts donated by Guess and signed by Jason Bateman, Halle Berry, Robert DeNiro, Clint Eastwood, Will Ferrell, Harrison Ford, Cuba Gooding Jr., Whitney Houston, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Lee, Jared Leto, Bill Maher, Steve Martin, Jack Nicholson, Ray Romano, Maria Shriver & Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rod Stewart, Usher and many more. There will also be handbags signed by Joan Collins, Courteney Cox, Cindy Crawford, Dakota Fanning, Mariska Hargitay, Fergie, Susan Sarandon, Britney Spears and Racquel Welch, as well as items from Trace Adkins, P. Diddy, Marcia Cross, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Andie MacDowell, Alyssa Milano, Eva Longoria, Dolly Parton, Priscilla Presley, Denise Richards, Joel Madden, Sharon Stone, John Travolta, Carrie Underwood and many more.

Proceeds from the gala will benefit clinical care and research at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes (BDC) where over 5,000 children and young adults receive specialized care.

Celebrities To Pay Tribute To Paul Newman

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

An awe-inspiring array of stars will pay tribute to Paul Newman at a benefit gala for one of the actor’s summer camps for sick children in California next month.

Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, Sean Penn, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Willis, Danny Glover, Danny DeVito, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening and Billy Crystal will perform a stage reading of The World of Nick Adams, an adaptation of a number of Ernest Hemingway’s autobiographical stories, written by Newman’s longtime friend A.E. Hotchner at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco on October 27. Proceeds from the evening will go to the The Painted Turtle, one of Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang camps for ill children.

Tickets for the event are available through the City Box Office website.

Who Wants To Be A Roadie For The Who?

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Following last week’s announcement that they are to donate the proceeds from an upcoming concert to charity, classic British rockers The Who are offering one lucky fan the chance to roadie for them on their new tour in a special online auction to raise money for a charity that inspires at-risk youth with the assistance of homeless shelter dogs.

Fans are already bidding over $20,000 for the opportunity to join the band on the road and hang out with Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend on their US tour. But that’s not all that’s on offer: bidders also have the chance to pick up signed memorabilia from Bob Dylan, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Harrison Ford, David Gray, Robert Plant, Kevin Spacey, Tom Hanks, Hilary Duff, Justin Long, Tori Spelling, and Hayden Panettiere.

The auction, which runs until August 24 and can be accessed through Ebay Giving Works, is raising money for K9 Connection, a charity that allows at-risk 12- to 18-year-old children train homeless shelter dogs in basic obedience, assisting the dogs to develop the skills to become adoptable. The organization aims to empower high-risk youth to apply the lessons they teach the dogs to their own lives: to develop an awareness of the risks of uncontrolled and impulsive behavior, and to believe in the power of positive reinforcement as an alternative to force and violence.

“Be a Who roadie for a day,” said Roger Daltrey, lead singer for The Who, known for their habit of destroying their equipment onstage. “And if you get the job – good luck… you’re gonna need it!”

Toby Keith Raises Cash For Ally's House

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:34:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The annual Toby Keith & Friends Celebrity Golf Classic in Oklahoma last week set a new record by raising $709,000 for Ally’s House, a nonprofit organization that helps families dealing with childhood cancer.

Since establishing the golf tournament five years ago, country music sensation Toby Keith has raised more than $2.3 million for the charity – named after the daughter of one of Keith’s band who died from kidney cancer – and this year was no different, with more than 750 people attending the weekend of sport, music and a celebrity auction.

Auction items were donated by stars such as George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Loretta Lynn, Tom Hanks, Tiger Woods, Brett Favre, LeBron James, Andre Agassi, Tony Stewart, and Peyton Manning, although it was the chance to dine with Toby Keith himself that raised the most cash – a huge $35,000.

“I knew we could make a difference with Ally’s House, but it really is even bigger than I’d hoped,” said Keith. “We’ve helped a ton of families, and we’re proud that we have never had to turn away an Oklahoma family that needs help.”

Eat From Your Favorite Celebrity's Plate!

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 08:35:18 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

“Let them eat cake,” said Marie-Antoinette, the Queen consort of Louis XVI, and now you have the chance to do just that – eat cake from a plate designed and signed by one of Tinsletown’s finest.

The auction, currently underway at the Auction Wire website, features one-of-a-kind plates from stars such as Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, and Carmen Electra, and is raising money for the Parkinson Society Maritime Region – an organization in Canada that aims to be the voice of Maritimers living with Parkinson’s disease. Funds will be used to supply services such as exercise programs, speech therapy, massage therapy, conferences, and workshops, and will also be used towards the National Research Program of the Parkinson Society Canada.

“The Parkinson Society is thrilled that so many celebrities from a variety of backgrounds – movies, television, politics, the arts – have come together to raise awareness of Parkinson’s and raise funds through this auction of celebrity designed plates,” said Paul McNair, executive director of the Parkinson Society Maritime Region.

The auction – which also includes plates from Johnny Depp, Dwayne Johnson, William Shatner, Dakota Fanning, Martha Stewart, Henry Winkler, Jordin Sparks, Stephen Colbert, Sarah McLachlan, Muhammad Ali, Phil Collins, Chris Daughtry, and Rob Lowe – runs until May 11.

Happy Military Mothers' Day From The Stars

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:43:57 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A group of celebrities are marking Mothers’ Day with a new initiative from Hallmark Greeting Cards for military moms deployed overseas.

Stars such as Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Billy Joel, Ben Harper, and Christy Turlington were amongst a group of celebrities who have recorded messages for mothers in the US military currently away on active duty.

“It is an absolute honor and privilege to be able to support the mothers who serve both overseas and on the home front,” said Andre du Broc, editorial director at Hallmark. “At the heart of Hallmark’s brand is a legacy of connecting people. Our cards have been sent with messages of love and support to troops serving around the world for decades, and we treasure our role in helping keep these families connected.”

The messages were recorded using Hallmark’s new Recordable Cards With Music, which allow the sender to record a personal voice message into a card, followed by a pre-recorded song. Hallmark, who are partners with Bono’s (RED) campaign, are also sending the cards with personalized voice messages from the children of the military moms, many of whom have been away from their families for over 15 months.

“With service members away for second, third, and even fourth deployments, it is incredibly important for companies such as Hallmark to continue to send the message to our troops that America Supports You,” said Allison Barber, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense. “I can’t think of a more wonderful gift for a deployed mother than hearing her child’s voice on Mother’s Day.”

More information about the cards can be found at Hallmark’s website.

Hilary Swank Honored For Charity Work

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 10:08:35 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Oscar winning actress Hilary Swank was honored at a special function in Los Angeles last week for her work with cancer charities.

The 33-year-old was presented with the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s 2008 Courage Award, in recognition of her efforts on behalf of the EIF’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund. Past recipients of the award have included Melissa Etheridge, Lance Armstrong, and Nicole Kidman.

Among the stars to pay tribute to Swank at last week’s ceremony, held at the Beverly Wiltshire, were Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Christian Slater.

The award was presented by Swank’s Million Dollar Baby co-star Morgan Freeman, who said “she truly has the heart of a champion.”

In November 2007, Swank chopped off over 9 inches of her hair on Oprah and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a campaign working with the American Cancer Society to provide free wigs to women who have lost their hair after cancer treatment.

Stars Sell Out For Charity

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:18:43 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Celebrities old and new are backing sales to benefit good causes this month, with one young starlet opening her closet for charity in a bid to help save some of the most endangered species on the planet, and a well-known actor auctioning radios for Africa.

18-year-old actress Hayden Panettiere is behind a new website dedicated to selling her clothes to raise money for Save The Whales Again, a organization set up by the founders of the original Save the Whales campaign.

Dresses, hoodies, baseball caps, and watches are just some of the items up for grabs at www.panettierecloset.com, many of which have been worn by Panettiere to award ceremonies and photo shoots. Autographed photos are also available, with the young star writing a personal message on each one.

“Can you look good and help a worthwhile cause at the same time?” asks the website. “Yes, you can! Here at panettierecloset.com, we couple Hayden’s sense of fashion with a fundraising plan to bring you designer items straight from the home of the Heroes star. Many have hailed Hayden Panettiere for her impeccable taste in fashion. Now you can wear what the celebrities wear at a fraction of the cost – while supporting a worthy cause! Looking good never felt so good! By purchasing items from this website, you will be aiding Hayden in her fight to raise awareness about the threats dolphins and other whales face worldwide.”

In October, 2007, Panettiere joined Australian actress Isabel Lucas and other activists in a peaceful protest in Japan, to raise awareness of the 25,000 dolphins slaughtered by the nation every year. The group narrowly avoided arrest over the incident, but succeeded in diverting international media to the abhorrent and barbaric practices used to butcher the animals.

Tom Hanks has also traded in his acting profession for that of a salesman this month, with the launch of an auction on eBay that intends to supply radios to remote areas of Africa. The 51-year-old celebrity has recorded a YouTube video in which he urges people to bid on ten self-powered Freeplay Lifeline radios – each one personally autographed. Proceeds from the sale of the wind-up, solar powered radios will go directly to the Freeplay Foundation, an organization set up to donate the radio sets to villages in Africa.

“The Lifeline radio can change the world,” said Hanks. “One person, one house, one village at a time.”

The Freeplay Foundation was established in 1998, and is committed to providing innovative and practical energy solutions and to ensuring sustained access to information and education via radio. The radios they supply are designed to withstand the harshest conditions, and are often villages only source of communication with the outside world. And because up to 40 people gather in groups to listen to Freeplay Lifeline radios, 100 radios can benefit 4000 people.

The signed radios come with a personal letter and signed photo from Tom Hanks, and can be purchased at eBay for between $600 and $2,000 until February 1.

Julia Roberts - More Than Just A Pretty Woman

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:17:32 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Julia Roberts may be one of the most instantly recognizable actresses in Hollywood, but as a child she suffered from an affliction shared by over 3 million other Americans. Along with her brother, Heroes star Eric Roberts, the actress was a chronic stutterer. But it was a disorder she fought to overcome, and now she is helping others overcome the frustrating complaint.

Born in Smyrna, Georgia, Roberts wanted nothing more than to be a veterinarian when she grew up. Her father, a professional vacuum cleaner salesman, was a keen amateur actor who met his wife, a real estate agent, through a local theater group. Acting and performing was a big part of family life in the Roberts’ household, and thespian pursuits soon rubbed off on the young Roberts children. The two older offspring soon headed to New York to pursue acting careers, but Julia stayed at home to attend university. However, the acting bug could not be suppressed, and upon graduation, Julia headed to the Big Apple to join her sister, actress Lisa Roberts Gillan.

But before she could break into show business, Roberts had to beat her stuttering problem. She did this through the support of her family and friends, and last week, along with her brother, was asked by the Stuttering Foundation of America to be a spokesperson for the group.

“It would be marvelous to have them participate,” said foundation representative Jane Fraser. “They have no doubt inspired young people with the problem.”

The late 80’s were a struggle for the young actress, although she began to build up a profile by appearing in shows such as Miami Vice and Sesame Street. But it was a role as a diabetic in Steel Magnolias that launched Roberts into the public eye and gave her the first of many Oscar nominations.

1990 saw the release of Pretty Woman, alongside Richard Gere, and another Oscar nomination. Her star rose to prominence throughout the next decade with roles in seven high-grossing films, such as Hook, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Notting Hill. But it was her leading role in 2001’s Erin Brockovich that finally won her a Best Actress Oscar.

In 1995, Roberts expressed a desire to make her celebrity status mean something, and approached UNICEF to ask how she could make a difference in the world. The organization sent her to Port-au-Prince, the largest city in Haiti. It was a life-changing experience for the actress, and she found the poverty in the slums overwhelming. She later commented that her “heart was just bursting” at the sight of the children, many off whom were undernourished and homeless. Since then, she has visited many of the world’s poorest countries promoting peace, goodwill, and help for those in need.

In 2000, Roberts narrated a documentary film about Rett Syndrome, a rare disorder that can be fatal in young girls, and also represented the International Rett Syndrome Association in front of Congress in 2002.

“Congress has within its power the ability to provide the accelerated funding needed to increase our understanding of Rett syndrome,” she told a subcommittee of the House of Appropriations. “There is an urgent need now… to redouble the efforts of researchers and capitalize on their important and steadfast work.”

Roberts also sits alongside Paul Newman on the Board of Directors for the Hole in the Wall Gang, the world’s largest network of camps for ill children, and in 2007 she designed bracelets that were sold as part of Bono’s Product (RED) Campaign.

In 2006, Roberts became the Advisory Board Chairperson for Earth Biofuels, a company set up in Mississippi in 2004 to implement clean-burning fuels on a nationwide scale. Her passion for the environment led her to join Board members Morgan Freeman and Willie Nelson in a crusade to encourage the use of biofuels in over 500,000 school buses.

“It’s very important that we expand our use of clean energy and make a long-term commitment to it,” she said. “Biodiesel and ethanol are better for the environment and for the air we breathe.The use of biodiesel is a positive step toward minimizing pollutive emissions and greenhouse gases. By focusing on school buses, we can affect the health and wellbeing of the people most susceptible to that pollution – our children – today.”

Roberts is currently starring in Charlie Wilson’s War alongside Tom Hanks, but perhaps it is a line from Erin Brockovich that best sums up her attitude towards the causes she supports:

“For the first time in my life, I got people respecting me – please don’t ask me to give it up.”

Making Friends With 3 Needles

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 21:31:49 -0000

Written by Jill Marie Elliott

Award-winning independent film director & writer Thom Fitzgerald graciously took the time to share with Look to the Stars his thoughts about his new movie 3 Needles. The film tells three stories from the global AIDS crisis. Like a good friend, he helped me to see movies, storytelling, AIDS and myself differently—much as he hopes his movie 3 Needles will do for you.

The on-line promotion for the new film 3 Needles, written & directed by Thom Fitzgerald and starring Lucy Liu, Chloë Sevigny, Shawn Ashmore, Sandra Oh, Stockard Channing, Olympia Dukakis and Tanabadee Chokpikultong, is reminiscent of gathering ‘round the fireplace to socialize on a winter’s eve – with a few thousand of your friends.

The movie’s message about the global AIDS crisis has been taken to the MySpace.com masses. For every MySpace Friend that joins the 3 Needles MySpace page before midnight December 1st – World AIDS Day – 10¢ will go to fight AIDS in Africa. The donation, offered by the filmmakers and their sponsors, will be given to the Nova Scotia-Gambia Association, a Canadian-based African youth charity endorsed by Nova Scotia resident Thom Fitzgerald.

World AIDS Day will also mark the theatrical release of 3 Needles in select U.S. cities. Many participating theaters will be donating portions of the weekend box office earnings from the film to their local aids charities, including the New York AIDS Coalition, the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the Boston Living Center.

“I wanted to find like-minded people who would be interested in the film – and I really wanted to divert some of our marketing money towards charities. It doesn’t reach as many people as a newspaper ad, but the quality of the relationship is good,” explains Fitzgerald on his decision to use MySpace.com as a means for publicity for 3 Needles.

And the relationship is personal – fewer than a handful of people help to maintain the 3 Needles MySpace page, including Fitzgerald himself. Due to this, their presence on MySpace.com feels much more communal than commercial.

“We’ve tried to find a good balance between the fundraising and promoting the film. We don’t want people to think it is just a shameless way to spread the word about the film. Thom and his colleagues are very passionate about helping to support AIDS relief in any way they can,” said Corey Eubanks, a publicist with Wolfe Releasing, the premier distributor of gay and lesbian feature films. Wolfe representatives were blown away when they saw the film at the Toronto Film Festival and became the U.S. distributor for 3 Needles.

“I think the real people who spend time on MySpace bring a lot of heart and passion,” said Eubanks, who created the 3 Needles MySpace page and continues to commit a great deal of time to the cause. “I want to give them something they can truly get behind. We were brainstorming ways of harnessing the power of MySpace, and I threw out the idea to use it as a fundraising tool, as well. And the wonderful Thom Fitzgerald took it from there.”

The film industry and AIDS are not unfamiliar with one another. In 1985, when the acronym AIDS was still unfamiliar in most households, Hollywood’s Golden Age leading man Rock Hudson became the first celebrity to admit to having the disease. Hudson passed away less than 3 months after his admission. At the time, actress Morgan Fairchild said, “Rock Hudson’s death gave AIDS a face.”

Hudson’s divulgence shortly before his death that he was homosexual fueled the belief that the little-known disease was a “gay cancer.” Due to discrimination, many people – including those in power – alienated themselves from all things AIDS. This falsehood also led to a flawed approach to AIDS prevention. AIDS awareness became Americanized.

Fitzgerald reflects, “Our AIDS prevention strategies grew out of our own miserable mainstream debate in the 1980s about whether AIDS was God’s punishment against gays. We should look back and be very embarrassed. ‘Condoms!” shouted gays, while ‘Abstinence! Faithfulness!’ shouted conservative leaders. To this day our prevention methods are the same. We never stopped to think that what works for us would not work for Africans.” He adds, “If we could just drop our own baggage, maybe we could open our minds to new ideas about prevention.”

Hollywood once again brought AIDS to the attention of the world audience with the 1993 Oscar® winning film, Philadelphia. The movie pulled at our heartstrings, but did it resonate the reality of the disease?

“Philadelphia stands out to me as the only AIDS film that really identified AIDS as threatening the American dream. [Tom Hanks’ character’s] highly paid job was taken from him, so his financial success and lifestyle were under threat,” he says. “Most people with HIV in our world had no job or money to begin with, so that story is less relatable to American audiences.”

With an estimated 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS, can any one movie capture the catastrophes of the pandemic?

“3 Needles aims to offer western viewers a couple of hours of different perspectives. There is no one face of AIDS – that I learned while making this movie,” shares Fitzgerald. “A virus is invisible to the human eye. The face of AIDS is determined by the person looking at it; where they were born, their language, faith, local history—all give shape to the monster.”

Fitzgerald hopes audiences will take from the film the “inspiration to think more broadly and holistically about AIDS, so that a few bright people may have bright ideas.”

At its close, the film ponders the question “When all of mankind has a common enemy in this virus, why have we not joined together at last in order to fight it?”

After watching 3 Needles, I could not help but wonder, with all of mankind’s common threads as our ammunition, how could we lose?

To join the battle against AIDS, visit the 3 Needles MySpace page and the World AIDS Day web site.

Charlize Theron Hosts Children's Benefit Auction

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 13:23:03 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

Charlize Theron hosted an auction on June 27th to raise money for children in her native South Africa. The event in Los Angeles drew the support of other Hollywood celebrities, and raised $140,000 to help families in need.

The auction was attended by stars such as Lindsay Lohan, and items up for auction included a jacket from Will Smith, signed DVDs from Tom Hanks and an original Scarface poster donated by Al Pacino.

The Charlize Theron African Outreach Project benefits Oprah’s Angel Network and helps support vulnerable children in rural South Africa.

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