Tonight's the night when tons of celebrities will appear on all three big networks to raise funds for cancer research. As you may, both Mrs. TV Barn and I are cancer survivors, and we'll be watching "Stand Up for Cancer," a program that will emphasize the cutting-edge research methods being used to make cancer something other than the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. The three nightly news anchors will join a parade of too many stars to explain how the most innovative cancer-targeting strategies are also the ones that need the most philanthrophic support. Not to be missed -- and if you planned on watching prime time tonight, impossible to miss as well.
Full information ...
ABC, CBS, NBC AIR HISTORIC “STAND UP TO CANCER” TELEVISED SPECIAL
September 5, 2008 – LOS ANGELES, CA: ABC, CBS and NBC will broadcast the historic simultaneous commercial-free Stand Up To Cancer fundraising special tonight at 8 pm ET/PT, 7 pm CT to rally the public around the goal of ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death. Stand Up To Cancer (www.standup2cancer.org), a new initiative to raise philanthropic dollars for accelerating ground-breaking research, is an unprecedented collaboration uniting the major television networks, entertainment industry executives, celebrities and prominent leaders in cancer research and patient advocacy.
The Stand Up To Cancer special will feature legendary recording artists and stars from film and television who will perform as well as present filmed content giving viewers insight into cancer. Throughout the summer, the momentum has grown behind the Stand Up To Cancer movement, and Hollywood has heeded the call for action. Over 100 celebrities have lent their support to the cause, and more than 60 are scheduled to appear on the broadcast including:
Casey Affleck
Jessica Alba
Jennifer Aniston
Christina Applegate
Lance Armstrong
Joshua Bell
Elizabeth Berkley
Halle Berry
Jack Black
Kate Bosworth
Abigail Breslin
Josh Brolin
David Cook
Billy Crystal
Eric Davis
Ellen DeGeneres
Fran Drescher
Kirsten Dunst
Elizabeth Edwards
Jimmy Fallon
Halle Berry
Jack Black
Kate Bosworth
Abigail Breslin
Josh Brolin
David Cook
Billy Crystal
Zack Livi
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Rob Lowe
Mandy Moore
Don Newcombe
Masi Oka
Sharon Osbourne
Danica Patrick
Josh Peck
Mekhi Phifer
Keanu Reeves
Christina Ricci
Robin Roberts
David Cook
Billy Crystal
Eric Davis
Ellen DeGeneres
Fran Drescher
Kirsten Dunst
Robin Roberts
Allan H. (Bud) Selig
Jimmy Smits
David Spade
Meryl Streep
Hilary Swank
Charlize Theron
Marlo Thomas
Goran Visnjic
Forest Whitaker
Reese Witherspoon
Marissa Winokur
Network news anchors Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams will report on potentially life-saving research on breast cancer, pediatric cancer and lung cancer respectively, speaking with patients, physicians and scientists.
Dana Delany, Brad Garrett, Charles Barkley and Homer and Marge Simpson will demonstrate screening tests in novel and entertaining ways.
Musical performances will include Sheryl Crow, Melissa Etheridge, Josh Groban, Dave Grusin, Shelby Lynne, Monica Mancini, Jason Mraz, Kristian Bush and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, James Taylor and Bebe Winans.
The broadcast will also include a performance of “Just Stand Up,” the all-star charity single benefiting Stand Up To Cancer, produced by L.A. Reid and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, in their first creative reunion on record in nearly two decades. The performance features several of the world’s most accomplished female recording artists including Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Ciara, Keyshia Cole, Miley Cyrus, Fergie, Leona Lewis, Rihanna and Carrie Underwood.
“As a motion picture and television producer, I’ve learned how incredibly powerful the entertainment community can be in generating public discourse, sometimes almost overnight. Our goal with this initiative and TV show is to ‘tip’ the conversation in this country about cancer – to get people riled up, so they want to do something about the fact that it still takes so many lives,” said Laura Ziskin, who is producing the September 5th broadcast. Ziskin is a cancer survivor. Her film credits include the Spider-Man trilogy, As Good As It Gets, and Pretty Woman, and she also produced the 74th and 79th Annual Academy Awards.
Every day, 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.
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and was established by a group of media, entertainment and philanthropic leaders, whose lives have all been affected by cancer in significant ways. Stand Up To Cancer is bringing industry resources -- people, as well as mediums such as television and the web -- to bear in the fight against cancer as never before.
Stand Up To Cancer's leadership team includes Laura Ziskin; Katie Couric; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (who is also 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) and Woody Fraser, and Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz also of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren, whose husband, noted L.A. attorney Ken Ziffren, played a pivotal role in bringing together the three networks for the broadcast special.
Many leading philanthropists, organizations and corporations support the Stand Up To Cancer mission, including the Sidney Kimmel Foundation as well as Major League Baseball, Amgen, AARP, Bloomberg Philanthropies, GlaxoSmithKline, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Revlon, Wallis Annenberg & The Annenberg Foundation, Alliance for Global Good, Lee Jeans, New York Giants, Philips, Saks Fifth Avenue, Steve Tisch, Stonyfield Farm, The Island Def Jam Music Group and many others. In addition to ABC, CBS and NBC, SU2C major media partners include AOL, Condé Nast Media Group, eBay Inc., Facebook, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Hearst Corporation, Los Angeles Times, Meredith Corporation, The New York Times Company, Time Inc., and WebMD.
SU2C’s INNOVATIVE RESEARCH MODEL
New developments in the laboratory are revealing the way cancer begins, progresses and spreads. Stand Up To Cancer is founded on the belief that now, more than ever, there is sufficient knowledge of the basic science of cancer, and that the technologies are finally available to translate this knowledge into real advances in treatment and prevention.
Today’s cancer scientists are on the verge of life-saving discoveries. But what they desperately need are the funds required to mount an all-out assault. Stand Up To Cancer is dedicated to providing this much needed new source of cancer research funding.
Stand Up To Cancer’s innovative approach to research is designed to eliminate barriers that have traditionally inhibited creativity and collaboration by enabling the best and brightest investigators from leading institutions across the country and internationally to work together. These collaborative “Dream Teams” will pursue the most promising research, accelerating the discovery of new therapies for cancer patients and advancing efforts in cancer prevention research. Stand Up To Cancer monies will also be used for some high-risk, high-impact cancer research proposals, which are often not supported by conventional funding sources.
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will conduct expert scientific review of the research projects and administer funds raised through the initiative under the direction of a Scientific Advisory Committee. 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 chairs the Committee, which includes highly accomplished clinical investigators, senior laboratory researchers and physician-scientists.
A Stand Up To Cancer Advocate Advisory Council has been formed and includes leaders from approximately 25 organizations. Additionally, representatives from the advocacy community will work side-by-side with the scientists on the “Dream Teams,” so the perspectives of the patients and survivors they represent will be integrated into the direction of the research. More than 75 cancer advocacy and support groups are collaborating with Stand Up To Cancer and members from these organizations will be in the audience tonight.
In addition to the nationally televised network fundraising event, www.standup2cancer.org, with both interactive applications and rich content, will foster an online community for everyone affected by cancer, utilizing the same approach as the televised special: it will move, educate and even entertain users. Features include: The Constellation: 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 to illustrate that the ‘cancer community’ encompasses everyone and that we are all connected by this disease. SUTV: Features video segments rich in scientific and research information, as well as ones that confront the personal and human side of cancer's impact. SU2C Magazine: Offers seven sections of diverse content written by leading voices in every field.
About AACR
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the oldest and largest scientific organization in the world focusing on every aspect of high-quality, innovative cancer research. Its reputation for scientific breadth and excellence attracts the premier researchers in the field. By accelerating the growth and spread of new knowledge about cancer, the AACR is on the front lines in the quest for the prevention and cure of cancer.
About the Entertainment Industry Foundation
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), as a leading charitable organization of the entertainment industry, 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 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.
Comments