ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

June 23rd 2008

Daniel Craig, Hugh Grant Throw Big Cash For Harry Potter Proof

Filed under: books, campaigns, cars-houses, film-tv, movies, transport — michael @ 3:49 pm

Harry Potter’s magical money-raising powers continue to amaze. At a fundraiser last Tuesday, actors Daniel Craig and Hugh Grant went into a bidding war over an uncorrected proof for JK Rowling’s first novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Craig eventually won the proof for $36,000 — with all of the money raised going to the The National Film and Television School in London. [Read more...]

Futurama: The Beast With a Billion Backs, the second in a line of carbon-netural DVDs from Twentieth Century Fox, will be released this week. [Read more..]

Sungevity, a new solar company backed by actress Cate Blanchett, will start offering San Francisco residents a home solar system, starting at just $2,000 after tax credits and rebates, complete with installation included. The 1.5 kW systems will save homeowners $21,000 in electricity over 25 years, which ends up being about a 45% return on investment. Nice. [Read more...]

NASCARs Dale Earnhardt Jr. used some clever fuel-saving hypermiling tricks to help him with a recent win at the Michigan International Speedway. Several times, when the caution flag was out on the track, Junior simply turned off his engine and allowed the car to coast. According to ABG, he was even coasting when he crossed the finish line. [Read more...]

June 20th 2008

Bernadette Peters To Sign Broadway Barks Book On July 12th

Filed under: animals, books, events, events: nyc, products, theater — parrish @ 10:12 am

A couple months ago Ecorazzi told you that two-time Tony Award winning actress Bernadette Peters, along with tons of other big Broadway stars, would be participating in the 10th annual Broadway Barks event to raise money and awareness for New York City dogs living in shelters. Well, Bernadette has taken it a step further by publishing a children’s book by the same name (Broadway Barks) and will sign copies next month at the Broadhurst theater.

Broadway Barks tells the story of Kramer, a down-on-his-luck dog who after being abandoned follows a woman home from the park and finds a whole new life.  The book was released in late April and features illustrations by Liz Murphy and a CD with an original song penned by Peters herself.  Proceeds from the sales benefit Broadway Barks, the charitable organization co-founded by Peters and good friend Mary Tyler Moore.

The book signing will take place at 12:30 PM on July 12th at the Broadhurst Theater, shortly preceeding the Broadway Barks event which begins at 3:30 in Shubert Alley. About Broadway Barks, Peters says: ”Our work is bringing us closer to the day when we will no longer have to euthanize any healthy and treatable homeless cats and dogs because of a lack of space. As a community, we are most effective in helping animals when we pool our strengths to achieve what is, after all, a shared goal — the elevation and continued welfare of animals in our society.”

So if you live in NYC make sure you stop by the Broadhurst Theater and Shubert Alley on July 12th with your copy of Broadway Barks and help improve the lives of a few lovely shelter dogs. 

June 13th 2008

The Green Picture: Hey Clooney! Whatcha Reading?

Filed under: books, thegreenpicture — michael @ 3:41 pm

On a recent photo shoot for Omega Watches, we spied George Clooney doing a little light-reading of Al Gore’s The Assault On Reason. According to The NY Times, “This book shows a fiery, throw-caution-to-the winds Al Gore, who . . . has decided to lay it all on the line with a blistering assessment of the Bush administration and the state of public discourse in America.”

Perfect reading for a day at the pool and a nice pinot grigio. 

To view George smiling on two wheels, click here

June 12th 2008

Auctioned Harry Potter Prequel To Raise Even More For Charity

Accio money!

Filed under: books, donations — michael @ 9:50 am

Earlier this week, the teasing taste of a Harry Potter prequel was auctioned off for almost $50k. The handwritten 800-word treatment was part of a lot of 13 ’storycards’ by various authors, with JK Rowling’s contribution the obvious star of the group. The charity auction was organized to raise funds for English PEN and Dyslexia Action.

The winning bid came from Hira Digpal, president of Tokyo-based investment-banking consulting company Red-33. He originally had a ceiling bid of $100,000 for the work (and hinted he would have gone higher) — but felt he got a steal at only $50K. That being said, he’s open to working with Rowling’s group to raise even more money for charity using the piece. From the article,

“Digpal, who originally had a closed bid of 50,000 pounds before halving his offer, said he faxed a letter to Rowling’s publisher asking for the author’s cooperation to use the story in a way that would raise more money for charity. He declined to give details of the proposal. ‘Here I am, owning a piece of literary history,” said Digpal in a phone interview from Tokyo. ‘I think I got a bargain. Hopefully, we can raise much more than the sale.’”

JK Rowling has insisted that the 800-word piece of work is not in any way indicative of her ever writing a true prequel or using any of the elements found on the index card. According to the source,the text features a magical car and motorcycle chase involving Harry’s father, and concludes with the teasing words “from the prequel I am not working on –but that was fun!”

“What If?” Potter merchandise from Rowling is big business. Last December, a limited-edition handwritten work titled “The Tales of Beedle the Bard” fetched almost $4 million dollars for her charity  The Children’s Voice. We hope even more magic can be conjured for future benefits! 

[UPDATE] Click here to read the entire prequel! 

May 23rd 2008

This Visionary Sees a Cool, New Eco-Boutique

Filed under: books, fashion — tracy @ 4:25 pm

While the “Davids” were sweating bullets on American Idol Wednesday night, the Razz was cool as a cucumber in West Hollywood, at the grand opening of the new one-stop eco-boutique, Visionary.

Magda Rod, designer for Wildchild Wear, has started an eco label of clothing called, Visionary, by Wildchild Wear. Magda feels everyone can be more environmentally and socially conscious without sacrificing quality or style. Well, I can tell you that this reporter, as well as a little girl named Lourdes (whose Momma you may have heard of…) would say, “Word to that, sista!”

We here at the Razz are always fans of a company that puts their money where their mouth is and that’s precisely what Visionary did last night. Not only did the money flow, but it flowed towards green. A portion of the proceeds from the evening’s sales went to Mikhail Gorbachev’s Global Green.

The debonair Global Green board member and photographer, Sebastian Copeland, was also on hand to sign autographed copies of his spectacular book, Antarctica: The Global Warning. Sebastian (who also happens to be Orlando Bloom’s cousin.) said he was there to support the green movement in anyway he can… and if it’s through fashion then so be it! And that’s exactly what I tell my husband…my penchant for fashion supports the planet!

Click here to continue reading and for additional photos!

May 22nd 2008

Will Ellen Follow Oprah To The Vegan Side?

Filed under: animals, books, film-tv, food & drink, green and famous, television — parrish @ 2:26 pm

Yesterday Ecorazzi went apples and bananas over the fact that Oprah had decided to try her luck with veganism! Well now it looks like Ellen just might be walking the vegan line too.

Tomorrow on the Ellen show, friend of Ecorazzi and Skinny Bitch author, Rory Freedman, will be on to discuss her two bestselling vegan books. And then to continue Veganmania, on May 28th Ellen will welcome Kathy Freston, author of Quantum Wellness — also known as the book that encouraged Oprah to take the vegan plunge.

Ellen is a huge animal supporter and encourages eating local and organic food, but she still eats meat. Many people have expressed disappointment that Ellen valiantly fights for the animals and then later consumes them with the same passion. Will Ellen follow Oprah and adopt a vegan lifestyle? We will just have to wait and see!

Listen, I know its way dorky that I get excited about this kind of stuff, but I do, and I’m psyched that some really influential people are starting to get excited about it too! So eat that tofu and stay tuned to Ecorazzi for all your daytime talk show vegan news!

May 21st 2008

Farm Sanctuary Gala Exclusive: The Skinny Bitch Herself, Rory Freedman

Filed under: animals, books, ecorazzi exclusive, events, events: nyc, green and famous — parrish @ 4:12 pm

Well hello again! This is a continuation of our exclusive celebrity interviews from the Farm Sanctuary Gala this past Saturday. Yesterday we told you about Melissa Rivers’ green ideas and Swoosie Kurtz’ love for Ed Begley Jr. Today we get literary as we bring you our exclusive convo with Skinny Bitch co-author Rory Freedman.

Rory and I first spoke about a year ago when I noticed something strange in a few of my female friends who happen to be reading Skinny Bitch– THEY WERE ALL GOING VEGAN! Now, after two best sellers she’s continuing her work advocating for animals and honoring the Farm Sanctuary at their annual gala. Here’s what she had to say:

Parrish: So tell me why you’re here tonight.

Rory Freedman: I love Farm Sanctuary. I’ve been inspired and motivated by the work they’re doing for — I don’t even know how many years now —  but I will say this: I was working at Ford Models as an agent for five years in New York City and then I attended a Farm Sanctuary conference in New Jersey that my two friends brought me to, and within five minutes of the conference starting, as Gene Baur was speaking, I turned to my friends and I said, ‘That’s it! I’m quitting my job at Ford and I’m gonna become a full-time animal rights activist’. So literally Farm Sanctuary is the reason that Skinny Bitch the book was written.

P: Wow. That’s really incredible. Now you and I have talked about veganism before and it’s something we’re both super passionate about, so why don’t you tell our readers all about your experience with the vegan diet.

RF:I’ve been vegetarian for 14 years and a vegan for 4. It is without a doubt the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. I’ve never felt better. I’ve never been in better shape. I’ve never had more energy. But more than anything else, knowing that I am not contributing to the torture and slaughter of animals just because I like the way their flesh tastes is what matters the most to me. It was my motivation for going veg. It was my motivation for going vegan. And it’s all I need everyday to remind myself why I lead this lifestyle.

Click here to continue reading our interview with Rory!

May 20th 2008

Father Of The Bride Actress Wants Your Kids To Eat Their Veggies!

Filed under: books, food & drink — michael @ 2:25 pm

Can anyone else believe that Father of the Bride came out some 17 years ago? Regardless, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley — who starred in the film (and sequel) as Steve Martin’s daughter — appears to have not aged a day. She’s still got that super-cute, conservative, girl-next-door look that makes me weak. Ah, the early 90s.

Anyways, the 36-year-old Paisley might attribute some of her youthful glow to the fact that she loves vegetables. So much so, that as new mom, she wants other kids to realize the healthy good that can come from such a lifestyle. Together with her father, she’s written a new book called “Henry and the Hidden Veggie Garden”. Here’s a synopsis:

“Maybe you are like Henry. He is a typical American kid. He likes television and video games, pizza and burgers. But he does not like his vegetables very much. When Henry’s mother sees him hiding his veggies at dinner one night, she decides to show him just how much he is missing out on. She takes him to visit relatives for a weekend on a farm. The trip is a big change for Henry. He makes friends with dogs, pigs and a shy horse. His older cousin Huck shows him crispy fresh foods he has never seen before. But Henry does not always have the energy he needs to keep up with Huck and the other kids when they play outside, and he is not sure what to make of the baskets of vegetables that everyone else seems to love. Things begin to change when Huck lets him in on the underground secrets of a place hidden deep in the woods.”

The book is available from Amazon for only $5 — with another 10,000 being donated to donated to Books from the Heart, a national non-profit organization that helps put books in the hands of kids living below the poverty line.

Nice work, Kim! Check out her official site here.

via Fame Crawler

March 11th 2008

Third-Party Harry Potter Encyclopedia To Cut Into Rowling’s Charity Plans?

Stupefy!

Filed under: books, campaigns — michael @ 1:23 pm

There’s a battle going down over the world of Harry Potter, and this one is taking place in a location more terrifying than the deepest recesses of Azkaban. That’s right, the US Court system.

JK Rowling and Co. have submitted an injunction against Michigan-based publisher, RDR Books, to prevent publication of the Harry Potter Lexicon, an A-Z guide to all things Hogwarts. On March 24th, a NY-based court will consider the case and potentially make history over how an author control secondary works, as well as the right to publish in book form that which already resides on the web. The information for the Lexicon is being derived from an online fan site that compiles and keeps track of all HP facts and oddities.

Even more damaging, however, is the fact that releasing such an unauthorized piece of the Harry Potter universe might cut into Rowling’s future charity plans. From the article,

“Warner Bros and Rowling argue that the publication of the Lexicon infringes Rowling’s copyright and that she has openly and repeatedly expressed her interest in publishing an encyclopedia covering all seven of the Harry Potter books, whose profits would go to charity.”

Unlike the handwritten companion pieces she auctioned off earlier for record amounts, this Rowling-penned encyclopedia would be served up fresh to the millions of fans worldwide. The charity-generating potential of this release would be staggering to say the least. Defendents of the alternative Lexicon argue that people would buy Rowling’s version regardless, but her lawyers aren’t letting that hold sway on their decision to fight its release. This should be an interesting court battle to say the least. Anyone want to get dressed up and sit in the audience?

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February 20th 2008

Hey NY! Wanna Hang Out With Ed Begley Jr. Tonight?

Filed under: books — michael @ 10:21 am

Ed Begley Jr. has made one of his rare east coast trips (the guy hates to travel for environmental reasons) and if you’re in NYC tonight, you can go hang with the green guru tonight at the Strand Bookstore. Environmental Defense is putting on the event, with Eco-Libris presenting an offset scheme whereas customers can pay to plant a tree to balance out books they purchase in the store. The purchase is made at checkout and customers will receive there an Eco-Libris sticker saying “One tree planted for this book.”

All of this revolves around Ed’s new book Living Like Ed — which pretty much translates the ‘down-to-earth’ practical advice the Begleys dish on their TV show into book form. We’ve no idea if Rachelle will be present, but chances are if she is in NY, she’ll be out shopping anyways.

Have fun tonight — and tell Ed we said hello!