Humane society wants more animal stars, dammit!
Filed under: Classics, Comedy, Drama, Deals, Family Films, Newsstand, Politics
Apparently the Air
Bud series isn't enough for the suits at the Humane
Society - they want more animal movies, and they want them now! To that end, they've created Animal Content in
Entertainment (ACE), a division of the organization that was founded with the express purpose of encouraging
"writers, producers and directors to make movies and TV shows featuring story lines about animals." Well,
sure. I mean, on some level, we all secretly long for the glory days of Lassie
and Old
Yeller. Don't we?In addition to bugging filmmakers about dog movies, ACE will present itself as a sort of animal clearing house to the film industry, providing assistance ranging from fact-checking to story ideas; from script consultation to discounted stock footage. Plus, if the division expands as the Humane Society hopes, it may soon be offering large grants to independent filmmakers - of course, they have to be making animal movies. Still, though, money is money.
I wonder if ACE will have any noticeable impact in the industry. I have to admit that the thought of push for more TV shows and movies with an animal focus sounds sort of insane to me - advocating such a thing is weird by itself, but imagining that an audience exists for these films and shows is a leap not many studios seem likely to make. (And, yes, I've heard of March of the Penguins. I'm thinking that's an exception rather than a grand, new, animal-movie rule.)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-20-2006 @ 12:08PM
Dmnkly said...
As long as they don't start accusing the MPAA of discriminating against talented animal actors when it comes to Oscar time.
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1-22-2006 @ 8:18PM
Julie Lofton said...
Thank for your interest in Animal Content in Entertainment (ACE). I'd like to take a second and clear up some misunderstandings about your info of ACE.
Having more animal actors/stars is not what we want. Nor will we be monitoring the animal actors on set. The organization that does that would be the American Humane Association (AHA).
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for the past several years has put on the "Genesis Awards" an annually televised award show, now in its 20th year, that honors those in the news and entertainment industry for raising awareness of animal issues in their work.
ACE's goal is that writers and producers will include animal welfare issues in their storylines to raise awareness. By a means of entertainment, education, and social change.
It doesn't have to be an entire script either. Let me give you a quick example:
Say a writer has a script where a boy gets a dog. The writer has an opportunity to have that boy go to a pet store or a shelter to get the dog. By the writer simply having the boy go to the shelter to adopt this dog, it has the possibility of encouraging the viewing audience to do the same, simply by associating getting a dog at a shelter vs. a pet store. This simple change to a script can mean the difference between life and death for millions of shelter animals.
Hollywood Reporter wrote an article about ACE in last Friday's paper. I hope you get a chance to read it.
http://www.backstage.com/bso/news_reviews/other_news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001882436
In the meantime whether a writer or producer chooses to raise awareness on animal issues or not, they can at least take the opportunity they have to reach millions of people and raise awareness on some issue that is important to them. i.e. the environment, health issues, womens rights.
Many writers and producers are already including this kind of content in their material. Billionaire Jeff Skoll has already done just that with his successful new production company Participant Productions.
-Julie Lofton
Film & TV Liaison and creator of ACE
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