The groundbreaking science fiction series Battlestar Galactica was quickly hailed by fans and critics as one of the most interesting and entertaining series on television. Battlestar Galacticas visions and well executed themes about war, human rights and terrorism also had an unlikely fan, the United Nations! In March of this year the United Nations co-hosted a much talked about Battlestar Galactica panel at their headquarters. The panel was hosted by UN ambassador and huge Battlestar fan Whoopi Goldberg and the goal was to explore themes which are relevant to both the UN and the series – human rights, terrorism, children and armed conflict, and reconciliation between civilians and faiths. Stars and creators of the show, like Edward J Olmos and Ronald D Moore joined together with UN panelists such as Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Craig Mokhiber of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for an interesting discussion before an audience of UN representatives, journalists and high school students. The discussion serves as the launch of the UNs Creative Community Outreach Initiative, in which the UN will partner with the international film and television industries to raise awareness of global issues. The UN has already partnered with TV Law and Order and the movie Che! These new collaborations between organizations such as the UN and the entertainment industry to spread messages and understanding through popular culture is an interesting development and goes to show the importance of film and television in our lives today. I am very honored for this interview with Mr. Kiyo Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Public Information about the Battlestar panel and the role of popular culture in the UNs important work!
Right now, there is no escaping the headlines that newspapers are dying, advertising revenues are drying up and newsrooms are scrambling, downsizing or going web-only. Investigative journalism is expensive and often the first to go when times are tough. On this podcast I wanted to look at an interesting organization which may just be a model for keeping good journalism alive in these tumultuous times for newsrooms. There is a flurry of discussion about new business models to save the industry, be it micro-payments or philanthropic ventures like ProPublica.org
I am honored for the opportunity to interview Mr Richard Tofel the general manager of ProPublica.org. ProPublica is a non-profit organization with one goal: to produce great investigative reporting. ProPublica is funded by grants and works like this; the newsroom has a staff of around 30 top investigative reporters, their stories are given, not sold, to news outlets such as the New York Times, the LA Times, CNN and CBS 60 minutes. All the reporting is also available for free on the ProPublica.org site.
This is an interesting week for popular culture! On Thursday President Obama will guest the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. This will make him the first sitting President to appear on a late night talk show. A chance , perhaps, to talk in a lighter tone about the administrations efforts to get the economy on track. It is a risk, some think it is a frivolous move , but it also shows that the President is willing to do things differently
And earlier this week the United Nations co-hosted a panel discussion with the stars and creators of Battlestar Galactica exploring, as the UN writes, “themes which are important to both – human rights, terrorism, children and armed conflict, and reconciliation between civilians and faiths”. Kiyo Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Public Information said “This event will show how skillful storytelling can elevate the profile of critical humanitarian issues,”.
The panel, which included UN representatives, actor Edward James Olmos and Battlestar creator Ronald D Moore was moderated by Battlestar fan Whoopi Goldberg. This event was the launch for the UN Department of Public Information’s Creative Community Outreach Initiative, which is aimed at partnering with the international film and television industries to raise awareness of global issues.(The UN has collaborated previously with film productions such as Che and Law & Order SVU)
Taking pop culture seriously; So say we all!
An article and video from the event can be found here;
Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood Daily just posted the excellent news that David Chase is returning to HBO with a miniseries about the growth of the Hollywood industry starting in 1913. The series is titled A Ribbon Of Dreams and will cover “the age of rough-hewn silent Westerns, to the golden era of talkies and the studio system, to the auteur movement, to television, and finally to the present day”. Great news for me, I love the tales of Hollywoods birth and I love David Chase. And good for HBO which has not been looking that strong lately. Getting Mr Chase back may be just what they need!
This week, on the podcast I interview documentary filmmaker Alexandre Philippe about his new movie The People vs George Lucas, set to be released in the spring of 2010. The movie explores the passionate feelings expressed by fans and foes of the legendary film icon George Lucas. George Lucas is one of most debated filmmakers in history, he is adored by millions but his films have also disappointed many, especially the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. Who can forget Jar Jar Binks!
In his effort to get to the bottom of this debate, Alexandre Philippe has interviewed some big names in Hollywood, including Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz and a host of international critics. But the most interesting part of the documentary are the hundreds of submissions, videos, skits, commentaries, sent in digitally from around the world. The filmmakers call this the first, truly digitally democratic feature documentary.
Check out the new teaser trailer for The People vs George Lucas
I am honored to interview Mr. Christopher Kennedy Lawford on the podcast this week. Mr. Kennedy Lawford has written the new book Moments of Clarity, Voices from the Front Lines of Addiction and Recovery. In the book the author has interviewed and collected stories from both famous and non-famous addiction survivors, among others Martin Sheen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Alec Baldwin and Richard Dreyfuss. They all speak candidly about their moments of clarity, moments that changed their lives and led them on a path out of addiction. This is something Christopher Kennedy Lawford himself has experienced on a very personal level.
Christopher Kennedy Lawford comes from a mix of political and Hollywood royalty. He is the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and his father was the famous rat-packer and Hollywood star Peter Lawford. Christopher spent his childhood alternating between the beaches of Malibu, where Frank Sinatra was a frequent guest and the Kennedy compound in Cape Cod with his many cousins and famous Uncles.
In the interview Mr Kennedy Lawford talks about being the product of “an addictive perfect storm”. At age 13 both his beloved uncles had been assassinated, his parents divorced and in the midst of their own addiction issues and Christopher started on a path of drugs and alcohol that nearly killed him.
Mr Kennedy Lawford has been sober for several decades and holds a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Harvard. He is an actor (his films include Terminator 3 and 13 Days), he is a producer and has authored several books including his memoir Symptoms of Withdrawal. Today he focuses much of his life on public service, working for the Joseph P Kennedy Jr. Foundation, the Special Olympics and is a frequent speaker around the US on public policy issues concerning Mental Health, Addiction and Hepatitis C.
Mr Kennedy Lawford has 3 children and lives in California with his girlfriend and her daughter.
Check out this TED talks episode with the amazing Gustavo Dudamel conducting The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra, a high-school-age youth orchestra of El Sistema made up of the best young musicians from throughout Venezuela. Pretty amazing!
on NPRs FRESH AIR: Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, Angel and the new series Dollhouse
on CREATIVE SCREENWRITING MAGAZINEs podcast: an amazing panel of nearly all the Oscar nominated screenwriters including John Patrick Shanley, whom I interviewed recently.
You can find both on Itunes. Have a great weekend!
O yes, if you have not had the chance to see the Grammys yet, do not miss Radiohead set as well as the very pregnant M.I.A performing with Jay Z and co. It was pretty amazing!
I always look forward to the New York Times Magazine Oscar issue. Beautiful photos and good articles, this year there is an article about Penelope Cruz written by Pedro Almodovar and Barry Levinson portraits Mickey Rourke. Lots of great interactive stuff with audio and visual material. Yummy!
The groundbreaking science fiction series Battlestar Galactica was quickly hailed by fans and critics as one of the most interesting and entertaining series on television. Battlestar Galacticas visions and well executed themes about war, human rights and terrorism also had an unlikely fan, the United Nations! 
In March of this year the United Nations co-hosted a much talked about Battlestar Galactica panel at their headquarters. The panel was hosted by UN ambassador and huge Battlestar fan Whoopi Goldberg and the goal was to explore themes which are relevant to both the UN and the series – human rights, terrorism, children and armed conflict, and reconciliation between civilians and faiths. Stars and creators of the show, like Edward J Olmos and Ronald D Moore joined together with UN panelists such as Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict; Craig Mokhiber of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for an interesting discussion before an audience of UN representatives, journalists and high school students. The discussion serves as the launch of the UNs Creative Community Outreach Initiative, in which the UN will partner with the international film and television industries to raise awareness of global issues. The UN has already partnered with TV Law and Order and the movie Che! These new collaborations between organizations such as the UN and the entertainment industry to spread messages and understanding through popular culture is an interesting development and goes to show the importance of film and television in our lives today. 
I am very honored for this interview with Mr. Kiyo Akasaka, UN Under-Secretary-General for Public Information about the Battlestar panel and the role of popular culture in the UNs important work!
Mr Richard Tofel was formerly the assistant publisher of The Wall Street Journal and he has authored several books including 
This week, on the podcast I interview documentary filmmaker Alexandre Philippe about his new movie The People vs George Lucas, set to be released in the spring of 2010. The movie explores the passionate feelings expressed by fans and foes of the legendary film icon George Lucas. George Lucas is one of most debated filmmakers in history, he is adored by millions but his films have also disappointed many, especially the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. Who can forget Jar Jar Binks!
