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Thursday, August 10, 2023
Review: "NAUSICAA IN THE VALLEY OF THE WIND" Soars to the Animation Heavens
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Sigourney Weaver Narrates NatGeo Series, "Secrets of the Whales," Beginning April 22nd
National Geographic Taps Multi-Award-Winning Sigourney Weaver as Narrator for SECRETS OF THE WHALES, an Awe-Inspiring Look at the Mysterious and Beautiful World of Whales
Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-At-Large James Cameron to Serve as Executive Producer
Latest Work of National Geographic Explorer and Photographer Brian Skerry to be Featured in National Geographic Magazine and Book Timed to the Special
Epic Four-Part Series Will Be Marquee Event Premiere of National Geographic’s 2021 Earth Day Celebration
WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--National Geographic announced that Golden Globe and BAFTA Award-winning actress Sigourney Weaver (“Alien,” “Avatar,” “Gorillas in the Mist”) will narrate its global television event, SECRETS OF THE WHALES, which chronicles the whale way of life and their challenges and triumphs in an ever-changing ocean. Additionally, the network announced that renowned filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-at-Large James Cameron will serve as executive producer. SECRETS OF THE WHALES will premiere globally on Earth Day 2021 in 172 countries and 43 languages.
“I’m proud to work with my longtime partner, National Geographic, in showing incredible new insights into the inner world of whales, their emotion and culture. These majestic, mysterious animals continue to surprise us.”
The four-part event series is the work of acclaimed National Geographic Explorer and Photographer Brian Skerry, as he helps tell the story of a species he’s been documenting for decades. Filmed across three years in 24 locations, it’s a profoundly personal saga, venturing deep into the world of whales to reveal life and love from their perspective. Skerry’s latest work will also be featured in National Geographic magazine and the National Geographic book “Secrets of the Whales” timed to the special.
In SECRETS OF THE WHALES, Weaver guides viewers on a journey to the heart of whale culture to experience the extraordinary communication skills and intricate social structures of five different whale species. With the help of new science and technology, viewers witness whales making lifelong friendships, teaching clan heritage and traditions to their young and grieving deeply for the loss of loved ones.
“National Geographic has long been deepening our connection to the world around us, and I’m honored to team up with them to narrate this stunning series,” says Weaver. “Viewers get up close and personal and experience the extraordinary emotion, grace and power of these magnificent creatures. They get to know them intimately in order to ultimately realize just how like them we truly are.”
“SECRETS OF THE WHALES has all the elements I love — new tech used for scientific inquiry, wrapped in great storytelling that visually excites and emotionally resonates,” says Cameron. “I’m proud to work with my longtime partner, National Geographic, in showing incredible new insights into the inner world of whales, their emotion and culture. These majestic, mysterious animals continue to surprise us.”
“Capturing these whales on film has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life, and I’m thrilled to bring the complexity and beauty of these creatures right to viewers’ living rooms,” says Skerry. “It is my hope that in venturing into their world, viewers recognize themselves in these animals’ joy, pain, love and relationships and are as inspired by them as I am.”
One of the world’s top ocean photographers, Skerry has spent more than 10,000 hours underwater, documenting uncharted territory and elucidating environmental issues, often leading to policy change. Skerry’s work expands upon National Geographic’s legacy of exploration and dedication to conservation and protecting the animal species that inhabit our planet as they grapple with an ecosystem under threat. On April 22, the company celebrates our wonderful world across its portfolio, raising awareness of the immense challenges facing Earth and inspiring stewardship for generations to come.
SECRETS OF THE WHALES is produced for National Geographic by Red Rock Films. For Red Rock Films, Brian Armstrong and Shannon Malone-DeBenedictis are executive producers. For Earthship, James Cameron and Maria Wilhelm are executive producers and Kim Butts is associate producer. For National Geographic, Pamela Caragol is executive producer and Geoff Daniels is executive vice president of global unscripted entertainment for National Geographic Global Networks.
About National Geographic Partners:
National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between the National Geographic Society and Disney, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic’s media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 132 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
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Monday, December 12, 2016
Sequel to Oscar-Winning Doc, "An Inconvenient Truth," Due in 2017
A DECADE FOLLOWING VIDE PRESIDENT AL GORE’S LANDMARK CLIMATE CRISIS CALL TO ACTION WAS RELEASED, PARAMOUNT PARTNERS WITH PARTICIPANT MEDIA TO BRING A NEW MESSAGE TO AUDIENCES AROUND THE WORLD FILM WILL PREMIERE AT THE 2017 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ON OPENING NIGHT
HOLLYWOOD, CA – Paramount Pictures announced today it will release the follow-up to An Inconvenient Truth, former Vice President Al Gore’s two-time Academy Award-winning landmark documentary about the world’s climate crisis. From Participant Media, and directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, the sequel follows Gore as he continues his decades long fight to build a more sustainable future for our planet.
Esteemed film critic Roger Ebert said upon the release of AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH in 2006, “In 39 years, I have never written these words in a movie review, but here they are: You owe it to yourself to see this film. If you do not, and you have grandchildren, you should explain to them why you decided not to.” A decade after AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH brought climate change into the heart of popular culture comes the riveting follow up that shows both the escalation of the crisis and the real solutions we have close at hand.
Former Vice President Al Gore said, “Now more than ever we must rededicate ourselves to solving the climate crisis. But we have reason to be hopeful; the solutions to the crisis are at hand. I’m deeply honored and grateful that Paramount Pictures and Participant Media have once again taken on the task of bringing the critical story of the climate crisis to the world."
Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey said, “We are honored to be working again with Al, Jeff Skoll and everyone at Participant on a film whose message is as urgent as ever. Al’s tireless efforts to bring about change continues to inspire all of us as we fight for the health of our world for future generations.”
Executive producer, founder and chairman of Participant Media Jeff Skoll said, “A decade after we took a risk in backing a film centered around a slide show presentation and one human’s quest to awaken global consciousness about our changing planet, we are proud to bring global audiences a promising update: that a future powered by clean, safe, renewable, inexpensive, non-polluting energy is no longer a dream but a very attainable reality."
Commented directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, “It has been our honor to work with Participant on the follow-up to AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. Climate change is the story of our time and following Al Gore during this critical moment in history has been both sobering and incredibly inspiring. We couldn’t be more excited to have Paramount taking the film out to a wide audience around the world."
Stepping beyond the limits of the first movie’s focus on Gore’s inspirational slide presentation, the new film travels the world and delivers an inspirational story of change in the making. Participant Media presents a film featuring Al Gore, directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk. The FOLLOW-UP TO AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH is produced by Richard Berge and Diane Weyermann and executive produced by Jeff Skoll, Davis Guggenheim, Lawrence Bender, Laurie David, Scott Z. Burns, and Lesley Chilcott.
Paramount Pictures will release the film in 2017.
About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.
About Participant Media
Participant Media (www.participantmedia.com) is the leading media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires and compels social change. Founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll, Participant’s content combines the power of a good story well told with opportunities for real world impact and awareness around the most pressing global issues of our time. Participant’s more than 75 films, including Spotlight, Contagion, Lincoln, The Help, He Named Me Malala, The Look of Silence, CITIZENFOUR, Food, Inc., and An Inconvenient Truth, have collectively earned 50 Academy Award® nominations and 11 wins, including Best Picture for Spotlight. Participant’s digital entertainment division, SoulPancake (www.soulpancake.com), is an award-winning provider of thought-provoking, joyful, and uplifting digital content including such widely popular series as Kid President and The Science of Happiness and reaches an audience of nearly 9 million fans. Follow Participant Media on Twitter at @Participant and on Facebook and Instagram. Follow SoulPancake on Twitter @soulpancake and on Facebook and Instagram.
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Sunday, August 14, 2016
Acclaimed TV Series "Years of Living Dangerously" Returns Sunday, Oct. 30th
New Season Scheduled to Air Just Over a Week Before the Presidential Election; Will Move to Regularly Scheduled Time, Wednesdays at 10/9c, Beginning Nov. 2, 2016
Full Lineup of Passionate Hollywood Actors and Producers Raising Awareness of the Effects of Climate Change Includes Jack Black, Gisele Bündchen, Ty Burrell, James Cameron, Don Cheadle, America Ferrera, Thomas Friedman, Joshua Jackson, David Letterman, Aasif Mandvi, Nikki Reed, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ian Somerhalder, Cecily Strong, Sigourney Weaver and Bradley Whitford
WASHINGTON & BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--US News and World Report has declared that “the 2016 presidential election may be America’s last chance to elect a leader who will halt climate change.” National Geographic Channel (NGC) (@NatGeoChannel) today announced that the second season of the Emmy award-winning documentary series Years of Living Dangerously will premiere on a special date and time — Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016 at 8/7c — just over a week before the presidential election.
Years of Living Dangerously will move to its regularly scheduled time, Wednesdays at 10/9c, beginning Nov. 2, 2016. The new season of the critically acclaimed series will air exclusively on NGC in 171 countries and 45 languages. For more information, visit yearsoflivingdangerously.com or our press room at foxflash.com, and follow @NGC_PR and @YearsOfLiving on Twitter. Link to view trailer here and downloadable here: http://files.natgeonetworks.com/_h1WgmoGwlsiATR.
National Geographic Channel Announces Airdate for Season 2 of Years of Living Dangerously and Releases First Trailer
Produced in collaboration with The Years Project, Years of Living Dangerously once again features some of Hollywood’s biggest influencers who are passionate about environmental issues, and it reveals emotional and hard-hitting accounts of the effects of climate change from across the planet.
The full list of season two correspondents includes Jack Black, Gisele Bündchen, Ty Burrell, Don Cheadle, America Ferrera, Thomas Friedman, Joshua Jackson, David Letterman, Aasif Mandvi, Nikki Reed, executive producer Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ian Somerhalder, Cecily Strong, Sigourney Weaver and Bradley Whitford. They give first-person accounts from locations — some shockingly close to home, others in far-flung corners of the globe — where the effects of climate change are most prevalent. They cover crucial issues, like severe hurricanes, deforestation, the solar energy crisis, climate migrants, historic droughts and the rapidly increasing extinction rate of our planet’s wildlife. The result is a gritty and raw look at not only how our species has impacted our planet but also how we can save it for future generations.
The first season was hailed as “the most important television series ever,” “unexpected, character-driven stories” and “compelling, and frankly terrifying.” Years of Living Dangerously won the 2014 Emmy award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series and was executive produced by James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub and Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with Emmy-winning “60 Minutes” producers Joel Bach and David Gelber, and climate expert Daniel Abbasi.
Season two episodes and stories will include:
Years of Living Dangerously: A Race Against Time (wt)
Featuring David Letterman and Cecily Strong
Premieres Sunday, Oct. 30, at 8/7c
The energy market has an estimated global value of $6 trillion — a number that could be greatly affected by an increase in renewable sources, especially solar. In his first television project since retiring as host of CBS’s “The Late Show,” David Letterman travels to India for the first time to find out what the world’s soon-to-be most populous country is going to do to expand its inadequate energy grid, power its booming economy and bring basic electricity to 300 million citizens who have never plugged in. Letterman interviews the prime minister, travels to rural villages where power is a luxury few can afford and finds out why the U.S. may play a key role in India’s energy future. “Saturday Night Live” cast member Cecily Strong travels to Florida and Nevada to investigate what’s blocking the growth of solar energy in the U.S. — and she gets the real story from industry insiders and a retired commissioner now willing to tell their stories.
Years of Living Dangerously: The Rising (wt)
Featuring Jack Black and Ian Somerhalder
Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 10/9c
If nothing is done to curb carbon emissions, Miami is in danger of being underwater by the end of the century. Jack Black is there to find out if and how the city and other low-lying coastal areas can survive rising seas. He finds a political and business community in denial and talks to a few lone legislators, residents, activists and scientists trying to do something before it’s too late. Ian Somerhalder journeys to the Bahamas to investigate the future threat of superstorms, caused by rising sea temperatures, whose devastating effects could reach biblical proportions. At the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, he joins scientists on a deep dive to explore blue holes, underwater caves that have collected the remnants of past storms for centuries.
Years of Living Dangerously: The Battle in the Woods (wt)
Featuring Gisele Bündchen
Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 10/9c
The battle to save the Amazon in Brazil — the “lungs of the planet” — is the ultimate race against time. There are ever-increasing threats from cattle ranching, drought, deforestation, massive hydroelectric dams and illegal mining. Supermodel and activist Gisele Bündchen travels to her home country to see the extent of the damage and investigates what’s being done to save the rainforest for all of us. Deep in the Amazon, she joins the national environmental police on a mission to put an end to illegal deforestation; in Alta Floresta, she meets with Greenpeace for a flyover of the forest, which reveals huge patches of deforested land, logs piled high on trucks and barges, drought-stricken fields, burnt rainforests and vast cattle ranches that were once lush, thousand-year-old tropical rainforests.
Years of Living Dangerously: A Better Way Forward (wt)
Featuring Ty Burrell and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 10/9c
Almost one-fifth of all carbon emissions in the world come from the transportation sector. Actor Ty Burrell takes to the road to see the environmental revolutions being made in electric vehicles (EVs) and automated vehicles (AVs). Burrell visits Silicon Valley to learn about AV advancements and hear how big automakers are pouring major capital into AV technology. In Atlanta, where some of the country’s most generous EV incentives were recently killed, Burrell makes a visit to see the effects and hear firsthand from EV advocates. Action hero, politician, climate crusader and Years of Living Dangerously executive producer Arnold Schwarzenegger sets out to explore the military’s relationship with a changing climate, including how our armed forces are dealing with an increasing number of climate-related disasters and how the military is working to reduce its own carbon footprint. Schwarzenegger travels to Kuwait to visit soldiers and travel in a fuel convoy (where more than 3,000 soldiers have been killed or injured since 9/11). He learns how serious a threat the military perceives climate change to be, talks to top-level military leaders and meets the brave men and women who are dealing with climate change threats and disasters on the front lines.
Years of Living Dangerously: The Uprooted (wt)
Featuring Tom Friedman and Don Cheadle
Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 23, at 10/9c
New York Times columnist Tom Friedman investigates the increasing population of climate refugees — migrants forced to leave their homes due to climate change-induced sea-level rise, natural disasters and destroyed livelihoods. He travels from the COP21 climate conference in Paris to the Sahel region of a parched and war-torn Africa, where he hears from refugees themselves. He explores this new wave and what the future may bring. Actor Don Cheadle is on the ground in California, where the worst drought in 1,200 years is devastating the nation’s most populous state and the world’s seventh-largest economy. He investigates how Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration is fighting the drought while also fighting climate change. Along the way, Cheadle meets a scientist who warns of a global water and food crisis as well as a family of farmers whose lives may never be the same as they struggle to find water in the parched Central Valley.
Years of Living Dangerously: Warming and Winning (wt)
Featuring Joshua Jackson and Nikki Reed
Premieres Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 10/9c
Joshua Jackson investigates the one place on Earth where the impacts of climate change are most profound yet practically invisible: the oceans. Josh travels to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to look at the devastating impacts of ocean warming on the world’s largest reef system, and he explores the predicted impact of ocean acidification. In the Philippines, he looks at the impact of climate change in a place where hundreds of millions of people rely on healthy reefs for food, income and protection from storms. Actress and activist Nikki Reed explores what some believe to be the ultimate solution for climate change: putting a price on carbon. She joins a group of passionate students at Ponoma College in Southern California on a mission to put it into action and travels to Vancouver, a carbon-pricing success story, for a sit-down with the mayor.
Years of Living Dangerously: Saving What’s Left (wt)
Featuring Aasif Mandvi and Bradley Whitford
Premieres Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 10/9c
Animal species around the world are disappearing at an alarming rate, and climate change is only worsening the trend. Former “Daily Show” correspondent Aasif Mandvi sets off on a quest to understand just how much of a threat climate change poses to endangered species. He travels to Kenya’s wildlife preserves to meet the people on the front lines of conservation efforts, discovering that increased drought and irregular rainfall are compounding poaching and loss of habitat. Meanwhile, “West Wing” star Bradley Whitford travels to Capitol Hill to explore the growing movement to get Republicans to admit that climate change is real and to commit to doing something about it. He tells the story of Jay Butera, who has spent the past 10 years lobbying Republicans on climate. For Butera, it’s not about brow-beating lawmakers with facts; it’s about providing solutions they can get behind to forge a bipartisan majority to act. Whitford follows Butera and some of the members of Congress he’s convinced, to see if this movement can be sustained.
Years of Living Dangerously: Uprising (wt)
Featuring America Ferrera and Sigourney Weaver
Premieres Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 10/9c
Even though coal plants are shutting down across the country, coal remains a major source of energy, and burning it emits toxic pollutants and climate-altering carbon dioxide. America Ferrera journeys to Illinois, where a still-functioning coal plant is creating tension between those who want to shut it down and those — like the local mayor — who want to keep it open. She meets a group of activists fighting hard to close it in favor of an option that can provide clean energy and green jobs. Sigourney Weaver explores China’s explosive economic growth and the impact it is having on the environment not just locally but on a massive global scale. In New York, she sits down with the former U.S. ambassador to China before traveling to Hong Kong and China to see whether the world’s biggest polluter is fulfilling promises to reduce emissions — even as its populations and industry continue to grow.
For previous episodes and more information, visit yearsoflivingdangerously.com and follow @YearsOfLiving on Twitter.
Years of Living Dangerously is produced for National Geographic Channel by Years of Living Dangerously LLC. For National Geographic Channel, executive producer is Robert Palumbo, vice president of production is Matt Renner and president of original programming and production is Tim Pastore. For The Years Project, executive producers are Joel Bach, James Cameron, David Gelber, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jerry Weintraub and Maria Wilhelm; co-executive producer is Jon Meyerson; supervising producer is Ellin Baumel; and senior producer is Sydney Trattner.
About National Geographic Channels
Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Networks. The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society’s commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission. Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD. In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled. The Channels have carriage with all of the nation’s major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in nearly 90 million U.S. homes. Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in more than 440 million homes in 171 countries and 45 languages. For more information, visit natgeotv.com, find us on Facebook at facebook.com/NatGeoTVUS or follow @NatGeoChannel on Twitter and Instagram.
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Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Matt Damon on "The Future of Water Sustainability"
By Matt Damon, Gary White, Reader Supported News
24 November 13
Multinational companies have historically taken water availability for granted. But this is changing. A 2013 World Economic Forum report named water scarcity as one of the top global risks facing companies in the 21st century. So far, 93 multinational corporations have committed to the UN Global Compact's CEO Water Mandate, a public-private partnership to advance water sustainability -- an exponential increase from the original six signatories in 2007. As more business leaders recognise pressures related to water availability on their supply chains and profits, they are growing more aware of the impact of irresponsible water use on "intangible" business value such as reputation, brand and customer relations.
In 2014 the world will see even more companies increase water-related investments. This is not only for immediate business purposes, but because water sustains life and is intimately connected to all aspects of economic development. Business leaders understand this and will increase their focus on their own use of water as well as on water and sanitation access in the communities where they operate. In the year ahead cross-sector collaboration will also grow as the economic value of water climbs steeply.
Traditional charity models are becoming outmoded. What began as investments in digging wells have evolved into far more dynamic, market-oriented approaches like targeted grants intended to optimise social returns per philanthropic dollar.
The PepsiCo Foundation has pledged $35m to water programs in developing countries (including $12.1m to Water.org). Most of this has gone to Water.org's WaterCredit model, a microfinance initiative which links access to finance with access to water and sanitation. The Caterpillar Foundation is investing $11.3m in this market-based approach over the next five years. The IKEA Foundation has stepped in with a $5m grant and companies such as Levi Strauss & Co, and organizations like the Swiss Re Foundation, the Mastercard Foundation and Bank of America Foundation have also joined the effort. Their thinking and action have evolved because they recognize that straight charity is extremely limited as a means to long-term impact.
In 2014 we will see more companies follow this lead, gaining greater influence by focusing on market-based solutions and metrics. They will deploy their philanthropic and corporate-social-responsibility resources in a way that leverages market forces. Firms will focus not just on the number of people reached with services but also on the philanthropic cost per person reached -- and strive to push that lower, as commercial capital does more of the heavy lifting through approaches like microfinance.
Expanding options for corporate and individual investors to provide debt financing at concessionary rates is a potentially high-impact model that should be further explored. Committed social-impact investors could catalyse lower-end borrower interest rates so more people could afford small loans to secure water and sanitation services. This type of "double-bottom-line" investing (ie, producing social as well as financial returns) will expand beyond venture philanthropists and find its way into portfolios supported by companies in water services and beyond.
Where there's a well, there's a way
These are just a few illustrations of innovative financial solutions to meeting the need for safe water and sanitation. In 2014 businesses will partner with global non-governmental organizations, assessing water risk, scarcity and opportunity. And high-profile declarations such as the CEO Water Mandate will report on their commitments in six areas: direct operations, supply chain and watershed management, collective action, public policy, community engagement and transparency.
Leading examples of this approach include the investment by Merck and the PepsiCo Foundation in the Safe Water Network, an effort to bring technology and consumer-marketing campaigns to the rural poor in India; Bayer's work to improve wastewater treatment; SAB Miller's collaboration with the Water Futures Partnership, to ensure sustainable water resources in multiple countries; and Unilever's alliance with Oxfam, Population Services International, Save the Children and the World Food Programme, which ranges from providing technology for safe drinking water to efforts to change behavior.
Water plays a central role in all aspects of life, from energy to food security, health and education. That is what makes it so complex to tackle. As water scarcity becomes all too real, collaboration will become essential. Although governments need to lead and commit themselves to infrastructure expansion and affordable service, in 2014 it will be corporate financial innovation and smart philanthropy that help to bring safe water and sanitation to some of the billions in need.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
"If a Tree Falls..." Just One Story About the ELF
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011)
Running time: 86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)
Unrated by the MPAA
DIRECTOR: Marshall Curry with Sam Cullman (co-director)
WRITERS: Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek
PRODUCERS: Sam Cullman and Marshall Curry
EDITORS: Marshall Curry and Matthew Hamachek
COMPOSER: James Baxter
Academy Awards nominee
DOCUMENTARY
Starring: Daniel McGowan, Bill Barton, Kirk Engdall, Jacob Ferguson, Jim Flynn, Greg Harvey, Tim Lewis, Lisa McGowan, and Jenny Synan
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front is a 2011 documentary film that delves into the origins of the radical environmental group, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). Nominated for a best documentary feature Oscar, the film focuses on Daniel McGowan, an early ELF member, who would face life in prison after being arrested on December 7, 2005.
The film introduces the viewer to McGowan and explains his situation, as he awaits trial for his involvement in acts of arson that burned down a tree farm in Oregon and a research building at the University of Washington in 2001. Daniel recounts how he came to embrace environmental activism and how that led him to Oregon. There, he met like-minded individuals who believed in more direct confrontation when protesting for environmental causes. “More direct confrontation” often meant property damage, especially large scale acts of arson.
The film also explains the origins and motives of the ELF, as well as the methods they used against their adversaries. Their use of economic sabotage and what they considered guerilla warfare would get the ELF branded as eco-terrorists. The second half of the film details the F.B.I. investigation of McGowan and his associates and how law enforcement was able to discover their identities and arrest them. The film also examines larger questions about environmentalism, the effectiveness of activism, and the use of the word, “terrorism.”
As a film about Daniel McGowan, If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, is a quality documentary drama. The filmmakers allow McGowan to tell his story, and he is both honest and articulate. This allows the viewer to get a sense of the man, his times, the places, and the events before, during, and after the ELF. Director Marshall Curry shows off his storytelling skills in the moments when the consequences of McGowan’s actions hit home – on him, the young woman who would become his wife, and his parents and siblings. His feelings of dread, boredom, helplessness, and fear, and also his family’s tears and grief can feel like a punch in gut.
The film’s title, If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, is honest. This is “a story” about the ELF, not an all-encompassing take on the organization. Curry and his cohorts’ use Dan McGowan as a vehicle to tell a story about the ELF, but ultimately, this documentary is less about the group than it is about McGowan.
That is a bit disappointing, but who knows when and if any one filmmaker will be able to pierce the secretive organization’s veil wide enough to make a great film about the ELF. Although this is a good documentary, focusing on McGowan isn’t enough either to answer question about labeling activists as terrorists or to make If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front a great documentary. There just seems to be too much missing from it.
6 of 10
B
NOTES:
2012 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Documentary, Features” (Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman)
Friday, March 16, 2012
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Oscar-Nominated "Gasland" is Fracking Good
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhZZ5mWE6dB7T6oHZaR5NlvoVIRrx3L8VtPKFYFbK0z2A42BoTPxXQpOwoLBV27CoO6BWeMgCoVkSicGYka7k5qAwK0dtlcCLYRDD_l-zKpX0vWmxgJvgOy61WJdE7nI-jfqqMIJw5j3J/s320-rw/gasland.jpg)
TRASH IN MY EYE No. 40 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux
GasLand (2010)
Running minutes: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Josh Fox
PRODUCERS: Trish Adlesic, Josh Fox, and Molly Gandour
EDITOR: Matthew Sanchez
Academy Award nominee
DOCUMENTARY
Starring: Josh Fox
GasLand is a 2010 documentary from writer/director Josh Fox. GasLand is Fox’s first documentary feature film, and it earned a best documentary Oscar nomination. Fox travels across the United States to examine the negative aspects of natural gas drilling. Fox focuses on communities in the U.S. impacted by natural gas drilling, specifically a process known as hydraulic fracturing or “fracking.”
Fox begins his film by telling his audience that he received a letter from a natural gas company offering to lease his family’s land in Milanville, Pennsylvania for $100,000 to drill for gas. That started Fox’s quest for information about natural gas drilling. He discovers that all across America, rural landowners get lucrative offers from energy companies wanting to lease their property. These companies want to tap into large, underground reserves of natural gas.
A hydraulic drilling process called fracking, this preferred method of drilling was developed by Halliburton. The evidence, disputed by energy companies and people sympathetic to them, is that fracking poisons water sources. From the heartland, across the South, and back to the Northeast, Fox finds people whose water is so contaminated by chemicals used in the fracking process that the water can burst into flame, even when lit by a match. Fox’s film questions whether natural gas is really a viable alternative to our dwindling energy resources. If it is, does its potential harmful effects to the nation’s water supply outweigh the benefits of natural gas?
Visually, GasLand is quite potent. It has a visual kick, and sometimes those visuals are poetic and lyrical. I don’t know how effective the film will be in the long term. While its premise is simple and its subject matter straightforward, GasLand seems overripe with information; there is just so much depicted here, particularly in terms of how many people are suffering because of fracking. Still, the film’s sense of urgency is palatable.
Environmental experts predict that finding fresh water is going to be a problem for many humans in the 21st century. Thus, the most effective element of GasLand is its portrayal of energy companies and their determination to extract natural gas through fracking, regardless of the environmental consequences. The men that run these companies seem not to have a care in the world that real people can be and are being negatively impacted by fracking. This means that GasLand is a call-to-arms, an activist documentary that must be seen simply because this is about all our futures.
7 of 10
A-
NOTES:
2011 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Documentary, Features” (Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Chilling "The Cove" is also Thrilling
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The Cove (2009)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for disturbing content
DIRECTOR: Louie Psihoyos
WRITER: Mark Monroe
PRODUCERS: Paula DuPré Pesman and Fisher Stevens
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brook Aitken
EDITOR: Geoffrey Richman
COMPOSER: J. Ralph
Academy Award winner
DOCUMENTARY - Environmental
Starring: Richard O’Barry, Louis Psihoyos, Mandy-Rae Cruikshank, Charles Hambleton, Hardy Jones, Hayden Panettier, and Roger Payne
The Cove is a documentary film that depicts the annual killing of dolphins at Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. The film won the Oscar for “Best Documentary, Features” at the 2010 (82nd Annual) Academy Awards. The Cove follows former dolphin trainer, Ric O’Barry’s quest to document the capture and slaughter of dolphins at Taiji, as part of a larger plan to end the capture of dolphins worldwide. O’Barry captured and trained the five dolphins used in the 1960s television show, Flipper.
After meeting O’Barry, former National Geographic photographer, Louie Psihoyos, founder of the Oceanic Preservation Society, decided to get involved with O’Barry’s cause. Psihoyos and a crew traveled to Taiji in 2007. There, using underwater microphones and high-definition cameras, they secretly filmed the slaughter of dolphins in an isolated cove.
The best part of The Cove, indeed, the key to its power, comes near the end of the film with the playback of the video featuring the killing of the dolphins. I don’t know if I was more shocked at the blood in the water or the dolphins’ thrashing. The blood was so thick that the pink-colored water looked like some kind of shake or malted drink. The film’s musical score by J. Ralph creates suspense and tension with stunning precision, while also being the perfect musical accompaniment to savage, senseless murder.
Before that sequence, much of the film focuses on three other themes or elements. First, the film details the task of getting by authorities in Taiji and setting up recording equipment, which is fun to watch. It has an almost special ops quality to it and reveals the tight filmmaking chops of Psihoyos and film editor, Geoffrey Richman.
The film also focuses on the prevalence of mercury in dolphin meat, in amounts far higher than is acceptable for human consumption. That’s interesting, but the film seems to lose its focus when it goes off on its mercury tangent. Another important element in the film is the focus on the role governments, environmental organizations (which is surprising), and groups from various industries play directly or indirectly in the slaughter at Taiji.
It is good and important that The Cove exists. I’m sure that there are a lot of people who do not know that this is happening. I didn’t until I first heard of this film. Is The Cove one of those so-called “important films?” The answer is a resounding yes. This film is important because what is happening in that cove at Taiji is a reflection of what we are doing to our planet, specifically the world’s oceans and the fish population.
Right now, we can be entertained by The Cove because it is a good movie. We’ll cry later because it will be a warning we ignored.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Documentary, Features” (Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens)
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Review: Davis Guggenheim Captured the Power of Al Gore and of "An Inconvenient Truth"
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An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – PG for mild thematic elements
DIRECTOR: Davis Guggenheim
PRODUCERS: Laurie David, Lawrence Bender, and Scott Z. Burns
EDITOR: Jay Lash Cassidy and Dan Swietlik
Academy Award winner
DOCUMENTARY – Social, Environmental, Political
Starring: Al Gore
In An Inconvenient Truth, director Davis Guggenheim captures former Vice-President Al Gore in the midst of waging his passionate campaign to inform people about global warming. The former presidential candidate has traveled the world for several years delivering a visual presentation (think slide show using Apple’s Keynote presentation program) on global climate change. His argument is that people and their governments must confront global warming now or face devastating consequences in the coming decades.
Guggenheim’s documentary film captures this presentation on film, and intersperses Gore’s show with the story of Gore’s personal journey from childhood to idealistic young college student who saw an environmental crisis on the horizon and from brash young Senator to environmental advocate. Gore also allows Guggenheim to open a door into the personal tragedies of his life.
Gore had been showing his global warming presentation in school auditoriums and hotel conference rooms for years with little fanfare. When a group of filmmakers approached him about committing this presentation to film, they may not have known then that they would be creating the most popular documentary film of 2006. Since An Inconvenient Truth debuted at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, many people have been surprised that Al Gore could be so engaging with a disarming sense of humor. The funny and passionate Gore of An Inconvenient Truth existed throughout his political career, but much of the media portrayed him otherwise during his 2000 presidential run.
Honestly, I don’t know if An Inconvenient Truth will convince many, if any, viewers about the dangers of global warming and the problems it is causing and will cause. For the most part, this documentary comes across as preaching to the choir and to the converted. Still, like many people with a cause for which they are mega passionate, Gore, for all his warmth, does come across as somewhat strident in the film.
An Inconvenient Truth is like a visual document of a toasty lecture by our favorite, old crusty professor. This may be nothing more and nothing less than PBS, The Discovery Channel, and their like have been showing for years. The difference here is that if you like Gore, you’ll be very entertained and informed by this and like the fact that he’s the one doing the entertaining and informing.
7 of 10
B+
NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards: 2 wins: “Best Documentary, Features” (Davis Guggenheim) and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Melissa Etheridge for “I Need to Wake Up”)
Sunday, February 11, 2007