Hollywood & Green

Lights, Camera… Consciousness.
Hollywood & Green is the intersection of big business and consciousness, exploring socially responsible cinema, sustainable studios, eco-friendly entertainment, daring documentaries and TV, film & video experiences that help connect consumers with important causes and environmental issues. It’s a new twist on Tinsel Town, and as it turns out, saving the planet is a blockbuster hit.

The Film Industry’s Fixation on the Environment

A description of how films can improve the environmental cause.

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Target Commercial Shoots Go Eco-Friendly

Target partners with EcoSet, an environmental production company founded as a response to the environmental impact of the film production industry, for commercial shootings.

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MTV Act Promotes Social Responsibility – Encourages Young Viewers to Take Action

Since I started working in the sustainable industry, I’ve believed that targeting a young audience can be beneficial on many levels. Not only are they our next generation of voters, but they also have a huge influence on their parents and of course their friends and siblings as well. So when I read about MTV’s [...]

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Planters Goes Nuts for Sustainability With Oscar Week Announcements

Working with landscape architect Ken Smith, Planters will build urban parks, or Planters Groves, in four American cities this year with more in the pipeline for 2012 in beyond.

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Make a Green Film in 48 Hours

The 48 Hour Film Project (48 HFP) is going green in one of the competitions it is produces. As part of 48 Go Green, participants have to write, shoot, and edit an environmentally themed film.  The catch and the fun of it all is that all of this as to be done within a 48 [...]

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Sex with Trees: Do’s & Don’ts of Using Sex to Sell Sustainability

This post is part of a year-end series by MBA students at California College of the Arts’ Design MBA Program. Read more about our annual partnership here. Tall, lean, leaves blowing in the wind and all natural – trees are pretty sexy . . .right? What about global warming, conservation or recycling? For many, not [...]

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Takin’ It to the Streets: Urban Collective Brings Music Industry Dreams to At-Risk Youth

We all love stories about people pursuing their passion and making it big. In business, in professional sports, and in entertainment, we are fascinated to hear about how ordinary people took a chance, got an amazing opportunity, or had their talent recognized by an expert. American Idol is one of the most popular shows on [...]

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Kevin Costner Looking to Norway for His Oil Separation Technology

Kevin Costner’s company, Ocean Therapy Solutions (OCT), pursued BP during the Gulf crisis, with the claim that its machines can separate 200 gallons of oil from water a minute. Now he’s looking for business partners in Norway.

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Hollywood Releases Database of Green Vendors

The Green Production guide offers its users a searchable database of vendors with information about their green products, services, their production experience, and locations they serve.

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Webby Recipients Speak Out Against BP

Recipients of this week’s Webby Awards took the opportunity to speak out against BP. Acceptance speeches were limited to five words, making for some pithy yet cutting commentary.

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Once its Time Has Come (and Gone), Toss this Watch in the Compost

For all you watch fanatics–you know who you are, you compulsively watch the watch shows on ShopNBC until all hours and compulsively buy them at the risk of solvency, credit score, marriage and good nutrition–there’s one more to add to the collection: A green watch that’s built with sustainability in mind. This timepiece is almost [...]

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Clean Energy Gets the Celebrity Treatment

Clean energy has been a highly charged issue in legislation, but with Obama’s recent pledge to reduce CO2 emissions 28 percent by 2020, The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund has stepped up with a celebrity campaign to educate consumers about the issue and urge them to email their Senators to pass the Clean [...]

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Syfy Creates a “Sanctuary” for Kids

There are few things more influential than entertainment, and the ability for characters (and the celebs who portray them) to drive retail consumption and inform pop culture. Every generation has spawned a myriad of fads from Farah Fawcett’s feathered bangs to Jennifer Aniston’s signature “Rachel” haircut to iPods, mobile apps, the vampire craze and Ashton [...]

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Liberty Mutual Responsibility Project Conjures Laughs AND Consciousness

I haven’t been blogging too much ’round these parts lately, mostly because I’ve been busy creating the types of videos and films I’m about to feature, but Liberty Mutual’s latest short, “Good Vibrations” made me stop in my tracks so I decided to make the time to share it with all of you. (No need [...]

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The Wild, Wild (Green) West

Recently I covered the launch of the Going Green Film Festival, spotlighting sustainable cinema and filmmaking practices that preserve and protect the environment. The first of its kind, it’s shining a light on Green Hollywood, and bringing this important category to the foreground, right down to their advertising. Literally. Building on the festival’s slogan of [...]

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Disney Spotlights Everyday Superheroes of Change

The blogosphere’s been a-buzz the past few days about Disney’s multi-billion dollar acquisition of Marvel, but there hasn’t been much press about the million dollars in donations they’re planning as part of their “Friends for Change” initiative. In fact, though I hesitate to admit this publicly, if I hadn’t gotten sucked into The Jonas Brothers [...]

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Hollywood Uses the Vampire Craze to Promote Blood Donation

There’s no denying that there are few things more influential than Hollywood. From blockbuster movies to TV shows to the latest in celebrity fashion, these things inform popular culture, and leave an emotional impact on us. So, imagine the vast possibilities of harnessing the power of the entertainment industry to generate awareness of important social [...]

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IndieGoGo: Cause Awareness Through Entertainment

The social web has opened the floodgates of communication, allowing users from all over the world to share knowledge, meet new people and connect with a multitude of content from breaking news to causes to movies and everything in between. Nonprofits, in particular, have met with much success harnessing the power of Twitter, Facebook and [...]

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Going, Going, Green: New Film Festival Spotlights the Environment

Somewhat serendipitously, only a week after I launched my new ‘Hollywood & Green’ series focusing on socially responsible cinema and TV, film and documentaries that help connect consumers with important causes and environmental issues, the Going Green Film Festival opened its doors to eco-conscious filmmakers everywhere. The first of its kind, the Going Green Film [...]

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A Beef Burrito and a Side of Consciousness

There are few things more powerful than that exhilarating feeling after a great movie, or the return of your favorite TV series, or an inspiring documentary. Without realizing it, you find yourself rattling off lines, and though you’ve still yet to master the whole e=mc2 thing, you’re somehow able to quote entire scenes after just [...]

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