Posts Tagged ‘Spike Lee’

On March 10, Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres will host “A Night to Make It Right” at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, a star-studded event for the Make it Right Foundation!

In 2007, Brad Pitt was touring New Orleans when he was shown the Lower Ninth Ward. Shocked by the lack of repairs and rebuilding of homes a full two years after Katrina, the actor decided to take things into his own hands to help the people of the devastated region.

With advice from former President Bill Clinton and with backing by the local government, Pitt established the Make It Right Foundation, an organization dedicated to rebuilding the homes of the Lower Ninth Ward and helping bring residents back to the area.

The Make it Right Foundation has linked up with over 20 architectural firms to build over 150 energy efficient modern homes for those who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina. The foundation has also raised millions to help those who suffered the most, and has recently expanded services to Newark, New Jersey, as well as Kansas City, Missouri, to provide sustainable housing for disabled veterans and disadvantaged communities.

The gala event in New Orleans on the night of March 10th will be hosted by Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres and will feature an incredible start studded lineup of entertainers. The list includes, but is not limited to, Rihanna, Seal, the Neville Brothers and Sheryl Crow all performing for the crowd of guests, which currently includes the gorgeous Blake Lively, director Spike Lee, Randy Jackson of American Idol, Djimon Hounsou, Kevin Spacey, Sean Penn and NBA superstar/Los Angeles Clipper Chris Paul! As the event nears more big names are expected to RSVP, but tickets are still available for sale. The official after party is being hosted by comedian Aziz Ansari, and promises to be just as entertaining as the fundraiser itself.

All of us here at Positively Celebrity are excited for A Night to Make it Right in New Orleans, and laud Mr. Pitt for all he both has done and will do to help those in need. For more information on the event or to purchase tickets please go to www.NightToMakeItRight.com, and to learn more about the Make it Right Foundation please visit MakeItRightNOLA.org

As always, be sure to check back for all things celebrity from Richard Munassi right here at Positively Celebrity!

You could call Spike Lee the basketball auteur. Not only a huge basketball fan, he’s filmed some of the most famous Nike commercials ever with Michael Jordan; shot a full length feature called “He Got Game,” in 1998 starring Celtics superstar Ray Allen; and is currently working on a documentary feature of Jordan’s last 2 NBA seasons.

His latest hoops project to hit the airwaves is a behind-the-scenes look into the NBA life of Lakers star, Kobe Bryant. The project, entitled “Kobe Doin’ Work,” is a documentary of Kobe’s game vs. The San Antonio Spurs on April 13, 2008. Spike used 30 cameras to captures Kobe’s every move in the game. The film was inspired by the 2006 documentary about soccer star, Zidane, entitled “Zidane: A 21^st Century Portrait.”

Bryant later recorded a commentary for the Lee film, describing his thought process behind every screen, shot, and pass. As it happened, Kobe laid down the commentary just hours after annihilating Spike’s beloved New York Knicks with a 61 point performance. The film airs at 8PM Eastern on ESPN, May 16.

John McCain recently called Barack Obama “the biggest celebrity in the world.” If so, then it’s appropriate Hollywood’s biggest celebrities would come out to celebrate Obama and this week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver last week.

Among the stars included Oprah Winfrey, Scarlett Johansson, Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, Kerry Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba, Charlize Theron, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Kirsten Dunst, Chevy Chase, Forest Whitaker, Josh Brolin, Hill Harper, Fran Drescher, Annette Bening, Spike Lee and Jamie Foxx.

And it wasn’t just actors. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson sang the national anthem, and singers Sheryl Crow, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Kanye West and the Black Eyed Peas were also on hand.

Celebrities publicly endorsing candidates and making a spectacle at the convention is both criticized and embraced by citizens – even among the celebrities themselves.

Private Practice and Wings star Tim Daly, who is the president of the nonprofit group Creative Coalition that brings stars together to discuss important issues, thinks celebrities have every right to discuss their viewpoints.

“Performers are citizens and in the U.S., we are allowed to talk about our beliefs. It’s also the privilege of people not to listen,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “The interesting thing about celebrity involvement is that they’re the only group of so-called lobbyists who stand to gain nothing from what they do, except to support the causes they believe in.”

Yet, Kid Rock tells Showbiz Tonight he thinks stars shouldn’t publicly endorse candidates. In fact, when a big star announces who he or she picked, he doesn’t want to vote for that candidate.

Nevertheless, the stars will continue to mingle with politics. Daly told the L.A. Times the Creative Coalition will also be bringing stars to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul this week.