Hollywood Takes A Stand & Unites For An Unprecedented Television Broadcast
July 29, 2008 – An extraordinary line-up of actors, musicians, athletes and journalists have banded together for Stand Up To Cancer (www.standup2cancer.org) the ground breaking initiative aimed at raising funds to accelerate cancer research and bring new therapies to patients more quickly in order to end cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death. Harnessing the power and influence of the media, many of the world’s most renowned entertainers have pledged their full support for this historic, nationally-televised program, simultaneously broadcast live and commercial-free on ABC, CBS and NBC on September 5, 2008 at 8pm EST and PST. In addition, the Hollywood community has embraced Stand Up To Cancer en masse by supporting a host of creative projects across a wide array of platforms in an effort to ignite passion in the American people so they realize that significant advances in cancer treatment are within reach.
“We’re at the threshold of a great moment in our history,” said award-winning film producer Laura Ziskin, who is the executive producer of the September 5th broadcast. “There’s a perfect storm brewing in the field of cancer research. We have the technology, we have the will. We need the funding. In this political year, it is imperative this issue—which touches us all— remains in spotlight. The support we’ve received from the creative community is remarkable. My phone is constantly ringing with people asking, ‘What can I do and how can I help?’ We hope viewers all over the country will do the same.”
Celebrities confirmed for the September 5th broadcast include:
- Casey Affleck
- Dana Delany
- America Ferrera
- Danica Patrick
- Charlize Theron
- Jennifer Aniston
- Fran Drescher
- Sally Field
- Christina Ricci
- Goran Visnjic
- Christina Applegate
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Charles Gibson
- Robin Roberts
- Forest Whitaker
- Lance Armstrong
- Kirsten Dunst
- Neil Patrick Harris
- Homer Simpson
- Brian Williams
- Josh Brolin
- Elizabeth Edwards
- Salma Hayek
- Marge Simpson
- David Cook
- Elle Fanning
- Scarlett Johansson
- Meryl Streep
- Katie Couric
- Jon Favreau
- Masi Oka
- Hilary Swank
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) will announce more celebrity participants for the September 5th broadcast in the coming weeks, including special musical performers. Beyond the television event, celebrities have participated in a series of PSAs (public service announcements) and original web content— all in support of the cause. At this summer’s All-Star Game, Major League Baseball, SU2C’s first donor, unveiled its innovative text-to-donate initiative (outlined in a PSA featuring Jessica Biel) which is running in baseball stadiums across the country throughout the summer. Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig unveiled the program alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Sheryl Crow.
Everyone whose life has been touched by cancer can join the Stand Up To Cancer community through its multiplatform presence on the web. Highlights include: SUTV: with video segments featuring the cast of The Daily Show as well as Larry David and the moving SU2C PSA directed by David Fincher; The Constellation: where, for a dollar donation or more, users can launch a star in honor of anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis; The Stand: an interactive Facebook application illustrating how we are all connected by this disease.
The following celebrities have appeared in Stand Up To Cancer PSAs, or videos appearing on standup2cancer.org’s SUTV channel:
- Jessica Biel (MLB PSA)
- Balthazar Getty (Print)
- Sidney Poitier (PSA)
- Henry Winkler (SUTV)
- Larry David (SUTV)
- Topher Grace (Manifesto)
- Keanu Reeves (PSA)
- The cast of The Daily Show (SUTV)
- Elle Fanning (PSA)
- Ken Griffey Jr. (Print)
- Susan Sarandon (PSA)
- FunnyOrDie.com (SUTV)
- David Fincher (dir. PSA)
- Tony Hawk (PSA)
- Ryan Seacrest (SUTV)
- Jodie Foster (PSA)
- Tobey Maguire (PSA)
- Tilda Swinton (PSA)
- Morgan Freeman (PSA)
- Edward Norton (Manifesto)
- Christy Turlington Burns (PSA)
Everyday, cancer kills 1,500 Americans— one person every minute. This year, more than 550,000 Americans and six million people worldwide will succumb to this vicious disease. One out of three women and one in every two men will be diagnosed in their lifetimes. With advances in technology and research, scientists are close to pushing cancer from a disease that all too often takes lives to one people largely triumph over. This is where the end of cancer begins.
The SU2C leadership team includes Laura Ziskin, Katie Couric; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (who is Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation) CEO Lisa Paulsen, and Vice President Kathleen Lobb; the Noreen Fraser Foundation and its executives Noreen Fraser (who is also a cancer survivor), Woody Fraser, Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. Ziffren’s husband Ken, the noted Hollywood attorney, played a pivotal role in bringing the three networks together for the simultaneous broadcast special – the first one ever to raise funds for the fight against a disease.
Stand Up To Cancer has announced an innovative approach to research designed to bring together the best and brightest investigators from leading institutions around the world. This unique initiative, which will foster scientific collaboration and accelerate the discovery of new therapies, will be administered by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing research to prevent and cure cancer, under the direction of a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.
A host of leading individuals and organizations have joined in supporting the SU2C mission, ranging from corporate and foundation donors, to print and online media companies that have contributed invaluable assets. A broad array of cancer advocacy and support groups are also collaborating with Stand Up To Cancer.
Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a major force in the fight against cancer which, since its inception over 65 years ago, has raised more than $300 million for cancer research and prevention, and counts among its supporters the Noreen Fraser Foundation, created by Noreen and Woody Fraser and co-created by Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz to raise awareness and funding to find a cure for women’s cancers.
EIF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Contributions to Stand Up To Cancer are tax deductible.
For more information please visit: www.standup2cancer.org
About the Entertainment Industry Foundation:
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the collective philanthropic organization for the television and film businesses, has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues.
About the Noreen Fraser Foundation:
The Noreen Fraser Foundation utilizes film, television and web technologies to raise money for research as well as to educate and raise awareness about women’s cancers. The funds raised will be used to provide large grants to uniquely qualified cancer researchers.
July 29, 2008 – An extraordinary line-up of actors, musicians, athletes and journalists have banded together for Stand Up To Cancer (www.standup2cancer.org) the ground breaking initiative aimed at raising funds to accelerate cancer research and bring new therapies to patients more quickly in order to end cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death. Harnessing the power and influence of the media, many of the world’s most renowned entertainers have pledged their full support for this historic, nationally-televised program, simultaneously broadcast live and commercial-free on ABC, CBS and NBC on September 5, 2008 at 8pm EST and PST. In addition, the Hollywood community has embraced Stand Up To Cancer en masse by supporting a host of creative projects across a wide array of platforms in an effort to ignite passion in the American people so they realize that significant advances in cancer treatment are within reach.
“We’re at the threshold of a great moment in our history,” said award-winning film producer Laura Ziskin, who is the executive producer of the September 5th broadcast. “There’s a perfect storm brewing in the field of cancer research. We have the technology, we have the will. We need the funding. In this political year, it is imperative this issue—which touches us all— remains in spotlight. The support we’ve received from the creative community is remarkable. My phone is constantly ringing with people asking, ‘What can I do and how can I help?’ We hope viewers all over the country will do the same.”
Celebrities confirmed for the September 5th broadcast include:
- Casey Affleck
- Dana Delany
- America Ferrera
- Danica Patrick
- Charlize Theron
- Jennifer Aniston
- Fran Drescher
- Sally Field
- Christina Ricci
- Goran Visnjic
- Christina Applegate
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- Charles Gibson
- Robin Roberts
- Forest Whitaker
- Lance Armstrong
- Kirsten Dunst
- Neil Patrick Harris
- Homer Simpson
- Brian Williams
- Josh Brolin
- Elizabeth Edwards
- Salma Hayek
- Marge Simpson
- David Cook
- Elle Fanning
- Scarlett Johansson
- Meryl Streep
- Katie Couric
- Jon Favreau
- Masi Oka
- Hilary Swank
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) will announce more celebrity participants for the September 5th broadcast in the coming weeks, including special musical performers. Beyond the television event, celebrities have participated in a series of PSAs (public service announcements) and original web content— all in support of the cause. At this summer’s All-Star Game, Major League Baseball, SU2C’s first donor, unveiled its innovative text-to-donate initiative (outlined in a PSA featuring Jessica Biel) which is running in baseball stadiums across the country throughout the summer. Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig unveiled the program alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Sheryl Crow.
Everyone whose life has been touched by cancer can join the Stand Up To Cancer community through its multiplatform presence on the web. Highlights include: SUTV: with video segments featuring the cast of The Daily Show as well as Larry David and the moving SU2C PSA directed by David Fincher; The Constellation: where, for a dollar donation or more, users can launch a star in honor of anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis; The Stand: an interactive Facebook application illustrating how we are all connected by this disease.
The following celebrities have appeared in Stand Up To Cancer PSAs, or videos appearing on standup2cancer.org’s SUTV channel:
- Jessica Biel (MLB PSA)
- Balthazar Getty (Print)
- Sidney Poitier (PSA)
- Henry Winkler (SUTV)
- Larry David (SUTV)
- Topher Grace (Manifesto)
- Keanu Reeves (PSA)
- The cast of The Daily Show (SUTV)
- Elle Fanning (PSA)
- Ken Griffey Jr. (Print)
- Susan Sarandon (PSA)
- FunnyOrDie.com (SUTV)
- David Fincher (dir. PSA)
- Tony Hawk (PSA)
- Ryan Seacrest (SUTV)
- Jodie Foster (PSA)
- Tobey Maguire (PSA)
- Tilda Swinton (PSA)
- Morgan Freeman (PSA)
- Edward Norton (Manifesto)
- Christy Turlington Burns (PSA)
Everyday, cancer kills 1,500 Americans— one person every minute. This year, more than 550,000 Americans and six million people worldwide will succumb to this vicious disease. One out of three women and one in every two men will be diagnosed in their lifetimes. With advances in technology and research, scientists are close to pushing cancer from a disease that all too often takes lives to one people largely triumph over. This is where the end of cancer begins.
The SU2C leadership team includes Laura Ziskin, Katie Couric; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (who is Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation) CEO Lisa Paulsen, and Vice President Kathleen Lobb; the Noreen Fraser Foundation and its executives Noreen Fraser (who is also a cancer survivor), Woody Fraser, Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. Ziffren’s husband Ken, the noted Hollywood attorney, played a pivotal role in bringing the three networks together for the simultaneous broadcast special – the first one ever to raise funds for the fight against a disease.
Stand Up To Cancer has announced an innovative approach to research designed to bring together the best and brightest investigators from leading institutions around the world. This unique initiative, which will foster scientific collaboration and accelerate the discovery of new therapies, will be administered by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing research to prevent and cure cancer, under the direction of a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.
A host of leading individuals and organizations have joined in supporting the SU2C mission, ranging from corporate and foundation donors, to print and online media companies that have contributed invaluable assets. A broad array of cancer advocacy and support groups are also collaborating with Stand Up To Cancer.
Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a major force in the fight against cancer which, since its inception over 65 years ago, has raised more than $300 million for cancer research and prevention, and counts among its supporters the Noreen Fraser Foundation, created by Noreen and Woody Fraser and co-created by Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz to raise awareness and funding to find a cure for women’s cancers.
EIF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Contributions to Stand Up To Cancer are tax deductible.
For more information please visit: www.standup2cancer.org
About the Entertainment Industry Foundation:
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the collective philanthropic organization for the television and film businesses, has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues.
About the Noreen Fraser Foundation:
The Noreen Fraser Foundation utilizes film, television and web technologies to raise money for research as well as to educate and raise awareness about women’s cancers. The funds raised will be used to provide large grants to uniquely qualified cancer researchers.