11/26/2007

"Speechless" -- The Official Launch

After its exclusive weekend run on Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily, United Hollywood is thrilled to present the official premiere of the "Speechless" campaign, as well as announce the debut of its new site, SpeechlessWithoutWriters.com. This campaign is like no other. For the first time, high-profile actors are taking their talent directly to the Internet for a powerful show of union solidarity. The folks at SpeechlessWithoutWriters.com will be adding new videos every day, in both high-res and low-res versions. Here is "Anthem," the first one. We hope you enjoy!



Click here for the hi-res version.

Pieces which ran exclusively on DHD can be seen here:
HI-RES/Brightcove
LO-RES/YouTube

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

In the effort of accuracy, the high res link isn't high res. It's a bit higher "quality" than youtube, mostly meaning less compression, but it's still far less than half of a DVD or TV resolution picture. It's not high resolution.

A 720p quicktime file would be high resolution, and would also be really welcome.

Anonymous said...

Any one else find it a bit odd that they all start out saying FADE IN onscreen...but then they don't actually fade in?

I hope these get better as they go on, so far the ones I've seen have been more off-putting than sympathetic.

And for the record, I support the writers a thousand percent, I just feel like this is a wasted opportunity at best and a bad impression at worst.

Patrick Meighan said...

I think this is superpowerful.

Great. Just great.

Patrick Meighan
Culver City, CA

Anonymous said...

I'm not connected to Hollywood in any other way, other than as a consumer. I am a labor activist (and a fellow intellectual worker), though, who sides completely with the union. I found the first video (the one making fun of Indians) horrifying--literally, as in, groaning and shaking my head. Some of the others have dragged, or not been as effective as I'd hoped. However, the most recent one--the one you link to in this post--I think is wonderful. Well done.

Anonymous said...

I agree, it's been a mixed bag to date ... although the effort itself brings tears to my eyes, no joke.

But this one is brilliant.

As for the ones that came before, think of it this way:

The best of them show support for the writers.

The worst of them prove the need for writers.

Anonymous said...

These just show the vapid side of these writers and actors. Who exaclty are they preaching to? How is this going to get anyone on their side? Does anyone care? The WGA needs to create fictionalized seventh graders in order to get sympathy. Although it is amusing to see the depths they will sink for their cause. That's why I am hoping to stay on strike -- all of this is just too funny. I, of course, will be enjoying a nice holiday because I am still showing up for work and getting paid.

TV Guy said...

Terrific! Kudos to these actors and actresses who support the writers.

TV bloggers support TV writers!

El Rebobinador said...

Incredible!!!
Fantastic!!!

Anonymous said...

As a writer, I hate to nitpick, but the Susan Sarandon-Chazz Palminteri bit didn't really get the point across. After all, they still acted...and a writer would have written the action. They simply didn't have dialogue. Look at a movie like Castaway. There was lots of action, but limited dialogue while Hanks' character was on the island (although he did interact and speak with "Wilson" for a time).

Anonymous said...

You can't "premiere" these on unitedhollywood.com if they've already had an "exclusive run" on nikki finke. Please don't bastardize our language like this. We're supposed to be writers. We're supposed to know what words mean. We shouldn't use them deceitfully in a forum for other writers.

Believe me, I'm being nice about this.

Brandon said...

I'd like to know the details of the deal that the Guild worked out with YouTube and BrightCove to be properly compensated for everytime someone watches these videos. I mean, that's what this is all about, right? Forget the fact that people may not have seen it otherwise and therefore not be compelled to see other things you've done. You crafted this piece and it showcases your talent, so you damn well should get paid from Youtube and Brightcove (who both sell advertising) every single time someone watches it entirely or partially. Unity!

Anonymous said...

OMG! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!
I'm an actor and prayed that the 'stars would come out and shine' in support--knowing that's the only way the strike would end sooner--if you all joined the line as well.
I'm so proud to be among you!
Katherine Disque