On Thanksgiving Day (November 22), a group of Writers Guild Of America members will begin posting Public Service Announcements featuring A-list Screen Actors Guild talent as part of the WGA membership's "Speechless" campaign conceived by director/writer George Hickenlooper and writer Alan Sereboff. For the first time in the TV and movie industry, high-profile SAG actors will be taking their talents directly and exclusively to the Internet -- the very medium which is at the center of the current WGA labor strike against the Alliance Of Motion Picture & Television Producers.
The spots will begin appearing on Thursday morning which will begin posting Thanksgiving Day and run exclusively on DeadlineHollywood.com through Sunday night. Beginning Monday, they will be found on SpeechlessWithoutWriters.com with links on UnitedHollywood.com and every day thereafter during the duration of the strike.
Included are SAG talent such as Sean Penn, Holly Hunter, Laura Linney, Alan Cumming, Jay Leno, Harvey Keitel, Kate Beckinsale, Tina Fey, Tim Robbins, Gary Marshall, David Schwimmer, Patricia Clarkson, James Franco, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Martin Sheen, , Josh Brolin, Susan Sarandon, Andre 3000, Chazz Palminteri, Jason Bateman, Christine Lahti, Patricia Arquette, Jenna Elfman, Olivia Wilde, Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss, Eva Longoria, Justine Bateman, Joshua Jackson, Rosanna Arquette, Diane Ladd, Rebecca Romjin, Minnie Driver, Nicollette Sheridan, Robert Patrick, Matthew Perry, Ed Asner, and America Ferrera. Arrangements have been made to also shoot Woody Allen, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Ethan Hawke, Jason Alexander, Charlize Therone, Minnie Driver, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Many, many more are also in the works.
Here's how the PSAs came about: During the first day of the strike, director/writer George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl) and writer Alan Sereboff (The Payback All Star Review) were fulfilling their WGA strike duties by picketing at Universal Studios. By midday, Hickenlooper suggested to Sereboff that, as filmmakers, they perhaps could find a more effective way to contribute to the strike effort. By the end of the evening, they met at WGA Headquarters with writers Ian Deitchman, Justin Zakham (The Bucket List) and director Josh Marston (Maria Full of Grace) who were thinking along the same lines. After conferring, they came to an agreement: What better way to bring attention to the issues regarding the Internet then to use the Internet itself?
Hickenlooper, who had recently completed Factory Girl, suggested shooting Warhol-esque screen tests of major SAG talent not saying anything on camera, thus showing their solidarity with the WGA. Sereboff came up with the name "Speechless," and consequently Hickenlooper and Sereboff joined with actress Kamala Lopez (I Heart Huckabees) and began reaching out to fellow creatives. Within a few days, Hickenlooper had recruited fellow DGA members Wayne Kramer (The Cooler), Paul Haggis (The Valley of Ellah), Rod Lurie (The Contender), WGA writers Steve Pink (Gross Pointe Blank), Jordan Mechner (Prince of Persia) and Jill Kushner (Ellen) in addition to the writing staff of The Tonight Show.
The Warhol screen test idea quickly took off. After a single day of filming, Hickenlooper/Sereboff learned that the support of major A-list SAG talent was so overwhelming that many wanted to do more than just a screen test. So the PSAs were expanded to include improvisational scene work to illustrate to the public humorously (and sometimes dramatically) the importance of the writer.
The result is a unique series of PSAs bringing together talent in solidarity. The "Speechless" campaign has thus far created the first dozen of these creative and innovative spots in black & white, ranging in length from 15 seconds to 4 minutes long.
The "Speechless" campaign support team includes music composer Anthony Marinelli, who is dedicating his time to scoring the spots; Clint Bennett, sound engineer; Joel Marshall, technical advisor; Jill Kushner production manager; Kamala Lopez, editor; and Ian Deitchman who is putting together the website.
For more information regarding the "Speechless" campaign contact SpeechlessWithoutWriters@gmail.com.
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