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September 2nd 2008

Jude Law Returns To Afghanistan To Celebrate Peace Day

Filed under: campaigns — michael @ 10:16 am

One year after he visited the country to help film a documentary, Jude Law has returned to Afghanistan once more to help maintain momentum for Peace Day — an annual event on Sept. 21 urging a global cease-fire and nonviolence. The actor arrived in Kabul on Sunday, and will meet President Hamid Karzai, top NATO and U.N. officials, and members of the aid community in the coming days.

“When I left Kabul last year, I was hugely moved not by the conflict that I have read so much about, but by the people’s courage and the people’s sense of hope,” Law told reporters in Kabul on Monday.

“It seemed that they really want to make this day, the Peace Day, work. And they did,” Law said. “People recognize the day, because they recognize that lives could be saved.”

Back in July of 2007, Law accompanied filmmaker Jeremy Gilley to Afghanistan as part of a documentary called The Day After Peace. Law’s deep involvement with the film came about almost on a whim after shooting a promotional segment for the idea. After the take, Gilley said he was traveling to Afghanistan. Law said he wasn’t busy and asked to come along. The director was shocked, but graciously accepted his offer.

“It is Peace Day’s commitment to take this film as a message from people of Afghanistan to the rest of the world,” he said.

To learn more, visit the official site for the documentary here.

August 19th 2008

Depp, Law, And Farrell Give Paychecks to Heath Ledger’s Daughter

Filed under: babies and bumps, donations — sara @ 9:10 am

As devastating as any news on Ledger has been since the talented actor’s death in January, this story touches rather than breaks the heart.

Many of you may know that Heath Ledger’s will had not been updated since the birth of Matilda, his beloved daughter with actress Michelle Williams. Upon hearing this news, fellow actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, who all played Ledger’s character in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, the film he’d been working on before his death, decided to donate their fees to the two-and-a-half-year-old.

“They didn’t take the money–it goes to Heath’s daughter. That’s extraordinary! And wonderful…and when you’re part of that, you think, ‘Ah, this is maybe why I went into the movies in the beginning. I thought it would be full of wonderful people.’ And we’ve got a movie full of wonderful people who did extraordinary things to help,” says director Terry Gilliam.

Terry, though I’d say your comments contain a small yet obvious plug for your film… you’re absolutely right.

August 7th 2008

Annie Lennox, Bryan Adams And More Perform At Peace One Day Concert In NYC

Filed under: campaigns, events, events: nyc, music — parrish @ 1:30 pm

New York City is pretty awesome…and I’m not just saying that cause I live here. I brag about my little city because we’ve been named the latest venue of the Peace One Day Concert!

The concert will take place on September 9th at the Nokia Theater and feature such artists as Annie Lennox, Bryan Adams, and Natasha Bedingfield. The event will also include clips from the documentary, The Day After Peace, and video messages from celebrities like Jude Law and Lenny Kravitz.

Peace One Day was started by Jeremey Gilley in 1999 to help shed light on non-violent solutions to global problems.  Annie Lennox says, “We all have so much potential, but we don’t tend to realize it, so we take it for granted. The work of Peace One Day encourages and inspires people to think about we can all do, both at individual and ‘collective’ levels.”

Oh and check this out: as result of Peace One Day’s campaigning in 2007, 1.4 million Afghanistan children were vaccinated against polio, and 100 million people in 200 countries were engaged in Peace Day activities. WOW! Visit Ticketmaster.com to get your tickets!

thanks: looktothestars.org

May 21st 2008

Jude Law’s Peace Film To Be Screened In Afghanistan

Filed under: green and famous — michael @ 9:04 am

Finally, some movie news that doesn’t involve an end-of-the-world scenario.

Back in July, Jude Law accompanied filmmaker Jeremy Gilley to Afghanistan as part of a documentary called The Day After Peace. Law’s deep involvement with the film came about almost on a whim after shooting a promotional segment for the idea. After the take, Gilley said he was traveling to Afghanistan. Law said he wasn’t busy and asked to come along. The director was shocked, but graciously accepted his offer. According to the Guardian, the bond between the two became tight through everything they witnessed. From the article,

“The actor said he had got involved because it was a simple, powerful message and because it was also about film. ‘I make films and he uses film to spread this message.’ He said he wanted to go to Afghanistan to ‘feel, smell and see’ for himself what was happening there.

‘Feeling first-hand the presence of the frontline, being able to feel the hope of the people,’ he said. ‘There’s a very cynical, violent image of Afghanistan and of course there is the frontline there, but there’s a massive amount of reconstruction and hope.’”

Gilley’s efforts over the years have made an enormous impact. In 2001, the UN adopted his idea for World Peace Day — which happens every September 21st. So far, it has led to 1.4 million children in Afghanistan being vaccinated against polio. As Law said of the day, “You apologise to someone you’ve upset, you say thank you to someone or you get a group of people together and you recognise peace. It’s like turning it into a birthday, or turning it into a party of sorts.”

The pair hope to return to Afghanistan soon to screen the film. Angelina Jolie, Annie Lennox, the Dalai Lama, Kofi Annan, and others also make an appearance. For more, visit the official site.