Woody Harrelson — Make compassion your fashion, not fur (Video)

Woody Harrelson and the Humane Society of the US (HSUS) have teamed up with a new anti-fur video to educate people to adopt a fur-free 2013.

As part of the The Humane Society of the United States - Fur-Free Campaign, Harrelson and the HSUS decided to go a different route with their video by not showing the usual gore and hard to watch scenes often present in such films.

Harrelson says, “It’s always difficult for people to deal with images of animal cruelty head-on; no one wants to look at what really goes into the making of fur. This video is so impactful because it lets you know without having to see.”

“I really hope it makes fashion designers and consumers think twice about using and wearing animal fur, when so many great alternatives are available and just as stylish,” he added.

The video takes us through explanations of what happens to animals in the name of fur fashion and tells us that millions of animals - including foxes, raccoon dogs, bobcats, and even domestic dogs and cats - are slaughtered each year for the fur trade. 

 

Raccoon dogs, for example, are cage-raised in China, where live skinning has been documented. The most common method of killing factory-farmed foxes is anal electrocution. In China and other countries, domestic dogs and cats are killed, as well as maimed and killed in indiscriminate fur traps in the United States.

Beverley Kaskey, senior director of the HSUS Hollywood Outreach program said, “We are so grateful to Woody for literally voicing his support of The Humane Society of the United States’ fur-free campaign. He brings the right tone to an innovative video that is easy to watch but which leaves a lasting impression.”

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/340836

Video: Short documentary on the ‘Idle No More’ movement

In a continuation of 500 years of indigenous resistance, Canada’s Idle No More movement aims to protect the Constitution Treaty Rights of the Indian Act, threatened by the proposed C-45 Bill. A short film has been created to promote their aims.

Read more and watch beautiful short film:http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/340794

 

Zombie doomsday at CERN: low-budget horror movie 'Decay' released

While stressing that the film has not been authorized or endorsed by CERN, students have released "Decay", a zombie doomsday scenario film, sparked by the Large Hydron Collider and search for the Higgs Boson.

Just when you thought you'd seen enough zombie movies, a group of students has put together a low-budget horror film called "Decay", featuring a bunch of zombies roaming the tunnels of CERN. 

The movie was set entirely at the Large Hadron Collider, in the nuclear research center located in Switzerland, with the massive lab serving as backdrop for the dire scenario.

It was written, directed and produced by two physics PhD students, Luke Thompson and Hugo Day of the University of Manchester in England. Thompson and Day decided to post their work online and to make it a free download, with Thompson saying that the idea was never about money. 

"The fact is that it's a no-budget indie and there's no reason to expect we'd sell more than a few hundred copies," he explained. "So we'd rather our two years of work was seen by more people by releasing it for free," he told Wired. 

The theme of the movie is that the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) maintenance crew, trapped underground at the CERN installation, accidentally get struck by Higgs radiation, which turns them into zombies. 

 

The story follows a group of students who discovered what the radiation did to some of their team.  

 

Shortly after this, the zombie maintenance crew begins its hunt for the CERN physicists, with scary results. 

 

Thompson and Day began their project in 2010, and it took two years and only $3,000 to complete. Around 20 people, some of them students, star in the 76 minute film. The film apparently might even prove to be educational. 

 

Thompson told Wired, “I don’t want to spoil the film, but we realized the theme and location also gave us a great chance to do some satirical commentary on various aspects of people’s perceptions of science.”

 

“So there are some hidden depths to the film too, beyond us just having fun!” he added.

 

While the film was made in their premises, CERN did not give the project its official support, with a disclaimer opening the trailer to the movie, and the shooting took place only at publicly accessible areas of the research center. 

 

The film was premiered on November 29 and a preview can be watched here or you can watch the full movie on YouTube here or download from the movie's website.

Read more and watch preview: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/338806

 

The Hobbit: At least 27 animal stars die on unsafe farm

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" is due to premiere in Wellington, New Zealand on November 28. However, in the meantime a scandal has arisen over the treatment of animals used in the film.

While according to the American Humane Association, the animals were not harmed during the actual filming of the movie, wranglers involved in the film say that poor accommodation and treatment away from the set has resulted in the deaths of at least 27 animals.

The wranglers complained that the conditions at the farm, which housed 150 animals for the film, were unsuitable. They named “bluffs, sinkholes and broken-down fencing” as among the most troubling "death traps" for the animals, many of which died of severe injuries.

According to one wrangler, over time he buried three horses, as well as about six goats, six sheep and a dozen chickens. Apparently two more horses suffered severe injuries but survived.

A miniature horse called Rainbow, slated to appear as a Hobbit horse, was apparently the first to go and was euthanized after breaking his back when he crash-landed on the uneven terrain.

Another wrangler said that a horse named Claire was discovered dead, her head underwater in a stream, after falling over a bluff. Two other horses were injured after their legs were ripped open on some fencing.

And yet, despite their complaints, the farm continued to be used by the producers of the film.

Spokesperson for director Peter Jackson has officially confirmed that several horses, goats, chickens and one sheep died at the farm near Wellington.

According to the spokesman, Matt Dravitski, some deaths had natural causes, while others could have been avoided if necessary precautions had been taken timeously.

Dravitzki claims that the production company did react immediately after two horses, who could have been saved, died.

"We do know those deaths were avoidable and we took steps to make sure it didn't happen again," he said.

Part of a statement by Jackson and filmmakers involved reads as follows:"The producers completely reject the accusations that 27 animals died due to mistreatment during the making of the films. Extraordinary measures were taken to make sure that animals were not used during action sequences or any other sequence that might create undue stress for the animals involved. Over 55 percent of all shots using animals in The Hobbit are in fact computer generated; this includes horses, ponies, rabbits, hedgehogs, birds, deer, elk, mice, wild boars and wolves.

The American Humane Association (AHA) was on hand to monitor all use of animals by the production. No animals died or were harmed on set during filming.We regret that some of these accusations by wranglers who were dismissed from the film over a year ago are only now being brought to our attention. We are currently investigating these new allegations and are attempting to speak with all parties involved to establish the truth."

 Kathy Guillermo, a senior vice president for Animal Rights defenders, PETA, told reporters that whistleblowers on the set of the Hobbit had contacted the organization and that PETA sent a letter to Jackson last week outlining the group's concerns.

"We want to send a clear message to Hollywood that they need to be very careful when using animals and take all the precautions that need to be taken," Guillermo said.

PETA are planning to rally against the film in New Zealand, the US and the UK, as the first in a $500 million Hobbit trilogy premieres in Wellington on November 28.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/337296#ixzz2CkvAGirZ