While many stars make no secret of championing their environmental efforts, the film and television industry as a whole has lagged behind and still maintains a massive carbon footprint.  And while many production companies are working hard to reduce waste and energy consumption at their studios and offices, the biggest waste tends to take place on location.  Film and TV producer Judith James writes about the excesses in Traction, an online publication for women in Hollywood:

Consider how much fuel we use. Generators, night shoots, ‘distant locations,’ trucks per shoot, idling trucks, moving cranes, moving everything, people, wardrobe, grip equipment, out to the set and back, move locations, fly crews and helicopters.

In 2007 major studios, including Fox, Disney, Paramount, NBC, and CBS redirected 20,862 tons of studio sets and other solid waste that would have gone to landfills, and instead reused and recycled the materials, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.  This combined reduction of waste eliminated

Read the rest of this entry »

The RAND Corp. study recently linked teenagers’ exposure to sexual content on TV and teen pregnancies. The study found that teens who viewed high amounts of sexual content on TV were twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy in the following three years as teens with limited exposure.

Of the 2,003 12- to 17-year-olds studied, 744 said they had engaged in sexual intercourse, and 718 of them shared information about their pregnancy histories. Of that group, a total of 91 teenagers — 58 girls and 33 boys — said they had experienced a pregnancy or had gotten a girl pregnant.

Read the rest of this entry »

I just discovered Sarah Haskins on Current TV and I’m officially a fan. Her take on feminist issues and media is honest and hilarious. Check out her latest regarding the “female friendly” presidental campaign.

Watch the video here : http://current.com/items/89019993_target_women_suffrage

Current TV is an independent media company featuring “pods”, or short programs, of which a portion are created by viewers and users. takepart and check out currenttv.com for more shows to watch and ways to get involved.

Radiohead joined forces with Mtv’s EXIT campaign against human trafficking to create the “All I Need Video.”

(Radiohead frontman) Thom Yorke has never been one to keep his political views to himself. And when he was contacted by MTV to take part in a campaign against human trafficking, he decided to play things close to the vest. Because, as he sees it, the issue isn’t a political one at all.

Read the rest of this entry »

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. In celebration of Earth Day 2008, we made ‘green’ the major theme on the TakePart blog this week - green documentaries and television programs, Earth Day quotes and action activities, as well as some great film reviews. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie Halper:

Top 10 Earth Day Videos From the Hub

Joanne Herring Invites You to “Charlie Wilson’s War” Screening Discussion - Free DVD!

* * *
Nicole Hughes:

Top 10 Documentaries About the Environment

Top 10 Ways to Take Action On Earth Day 2008!

* * *

Andy Kondrat:

Top 10 Quotes About the Environment

Disney Launches DisneyNature to Make Documentaries - I Freak Out

* * *

Jon Popham:

B Corporation Takes the Guesswork Out of Going Green

Sea Level Rise Explorer

* * *

Giulia Rozzi:

Oprah and My Mom Going Green

Green It. Mean It.

* * *

Gina Telaroli:

Taking Part In the Blogsphere With “The Visitor” and “Standard Operating Procedure”

“The Soloist” Explores the Homeless and Mentally Ill With Grace and Music

Fox recently launched a networkwide public service campaign called “Green It. Mean It.” Leading up to Earth Day on April 22, the weeklong eco-themed campaign includes on- and off-air elements including promos starring Fox talent. Here is just one of the “Green It. Mean It” PSA’s:

Omar Epps and Lisa Edelstein from “House,” Emily Deschanel from “Bones” and Kelsey Grammer and Fred Willard from “Back to You” are among those who will offer “green tips” to viewers, and Fox affiliates are offered an “Are You Smart Enough to Save the Planet?” promotion to drive tune-in for a special two-hour “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?”

and visit http://www.fox.com/earthday/ for more video tips on how to live a greener life.

Inspired by TakePart’s PSAs on voting the issues? Have you already made your Chicago 10 clip, but still have more to say to America about how you would vote, and why? Link TV’s Dear American Voter Project allows you to speak out and be heard regarding your thoughts on the coming presidential election in the form of a short video letter. Not an American citizen? Not a problem. Link TV encourages international submissions as well so that folks abroad can let Americans to know how US foreign policy affects their daily lives.

Read the rest of this entry »

I love words. I love silly words. I love new words. And I LOVE dirty words. Call me a twelve year-old boy, but potty mouths make me laugh. However seems the Supreme Court is looking to crack down on cracking obscene jokes.

The justices agreed to give the Federal Communications Commission a chance to defend its decision to start punishing broadcasters for the isolated and fleeting on-air use of expletives, an abrupt change in the commission policy that a federal appeals court last year found procedurally improper.

It has been almost exactly 30 years since the Supreme Court ruled in the “seven dirty words” case that the First Amendment did not bar the government from regulating the broadcasting of speech that, while “indecent,” was not actually obscene. The broadcast at issue then was a 12-minute monologue by the comedian George Carlin, titled “Filthy Words,” that deliberately challenged federal regulators by highlighting “the words you couldn’t say” on the public airwaves. [New York Times]

I was going to embed that brilliant Carlin clip but alas it’s a bit too foul for Takepart.com so click here to view it. Warning it’s explicit… and awesome.

Read the rest of this entry »

A Raisin in the Sun, is the groundbreaking 1959 play written by Lorraine Hansberry, the first black woman to have a play produced on Broadway. In 1961, a film version of A Raisin in the Sun was released featuring its original Broadway cast of Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Ivan Dixon, Louis Gossett, Jr. and John Fiedler. Hansberry wrote the screenplay, and the film was directed by Daniel Petrie.

Tonight the stage goes to screen again as the cast of the 2004 Broadway production of a Raisin in the Sun (Sean Combs, Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad, and Sanaa Lathan) reprise their roles for the ABC TV adaptation. Check out this trailer ( and a little promo from Sean Combs aka P. Diddy)

The story is about the Youngers, a family hopping to achieve their American dream while living on Chicago’s South Side in the 1950s. When Lena (Rashad) gets a $10,000 life insurance check, the family must figure out how to best use the money. Walter Lee Jr. (Combs) wants to start a business, his wife Ruth (McDonald) wants a new home, and his sister Beneatha (Lathan) wants to finish up college so she can become a doctor.

Read the rest of this entry »

While flipping channels this morning I caught the opening teaser for today’s episode of The Insider The top stories were:

“Heath Ledgers death! The Insider has been with Heath since the beginning of his career. Stay tuned!”

Followed by:

“And finally the answers that everyone has been waiting for, the man at the center of the Britney storm sounds off, right now!”

Okay Insider.

1) Don’t take credit for being by Heath’s side. I’m sure his family has been there a wee bit more than Pat O’Brien and Laura Spencer. Just report the facts and don’t make it about the sensitive side of The Insider.

2) After announcing an amazing actors tragic death, do you really think the answers we’ve all been waiting for involve around Britney? The answers I want to hear are to questions like “why did Heath die”, “why are we so obsessed with celebrities” and “how do you go to sleep at night after spending seven minutes of air time dissecting Britney Spears?”

Oh Insider, I’m sure once Britney overdoses, or tries commit suicide because the media is analyzing her every move you’ll proudly claim “we’ve been with Brit since the beginning of her career.”

I love TV but sometimes I need a little break from the mesmorizing screen. Check out http://www.whitedot.org/issue/iss_front.asp for ideas of taking a TV vacation.