Half the Sky, which will be narrated by George Clooney

Merlin wrote:Do you have Beautiful America by Tim Janis Melbert...gorgeous to look at and gorgeous George to listen to

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Mendes visits Sierra Leone
Hollywood actress Eva Mendes has visited rape victims in Sierra Leone as part of a new documentary.

The Hitch star jetted out to the African country earlier this month to spend time with women who have suffered sexual abuse and her trip was filmed for the upcoming Half the Sky, which will be narrated by George Clooney.

Mendes posted a picture from the trip on her Whosay.com page and urged fans to help raise awareness of the problems in Sierra Leone.

She writes, "I'm here in beautiful Sierra Leone, Africa. You wouldn't believe the amount of rapes among women here, especially little girls... This is all something we need to be aware of.

"Please help me spread the word. Much love."

Actresses Olivia Wilde, Diane Lane, America Ferrera and Nicole Kidman are also filming installments for the documentary.
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Meg Ryan, America Ferrera Talk Moving Experiences Behind Making New PBS Doc Half The Sky

First Published: July 22, 2012

Meg Ryan, America Ferrera and Diane Lane shed their celebrity skin while travelling abroad as part of the upcoming PBS special, “Half the Sky,” examining how women and girls are treated in countries around the world, including India and Cambodia.

With an introduction by George Clooney, the two-night special, which airs October 1 and 2 on PBS, sees the women travelling with Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist, collecting the stories of women facing dire situations and issues of sexual trafficking, civil rights and inadequate healthcare.

According to former “Ugly Betty” star America, no one knew about her television and movie star past when she came to meet young women in India.

“For me, I spent most of my time with some of the younger girls… and not a lot of them had actually seen anything I’d been in because they don’t really have exposure to that. Their mothers certainly had no idea who I was,” she recounted on Sunday at the PBS portion of the Television Critics Association summer tour in Beverly Hills. “If the girls were told, ‘Oh, she’s an actress, and she was in this TV series or this movie,’ they really just wanted to know what my mom was like and where did I grow up and what do I do with my friends and if I had ever seen the movie ‘Titanic,’ and the song that Celine Dion sang and could they sing it for me and they did.”

“They just wanted hugs,” Meg chimed in of her experiences. “The group we were around, they would say… ‘We just want your respect.’”

Other celebrity women featured in the series, inspired by the book, “Half the Sky” from the NY Times columnist and Shelly WuDunn, include Eva Mendes, Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde.

Meg said the stories they heard were hard, but she, personally, felt a link between their stories and her own.

“These are very extreme stories that you’re gonna see, but the bridge between the first and the third world is not as long as we think,” Meg said. “Anytime I haven’t spoken up for myself, I can see in the eyes of a little girl in Cambodia, so you know, it’s human experience… It’s a global culture and those stories are not so far away. Yes, they might be more extreme, but they are — in essence, a seed of them are in all of our experience.”

Speaking about what she learned on her trip and her meeting with Urmi Basu, the founder of New Light, which runs a shelter in Kolkata, India, aimed at helping children and women in a red light area of the city, America said it was that she can make a difference.

“I walked away remembering to keep my eyes open and my heart open to the possibility that I might one day come across a certain need that I could meet and remember that a hero like Urmi changed hundreds of children’s’ lives by deciding to say yes instead of no,” she said.

it's me wrote:bravi

amaretti wrote: I can't wait .

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George Clooney and other notables lend their voices and observations to "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" (9 p.m. on WGBH). Filmed in 10 countries and based on a book of the same name by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, "Half" is an expose of human trafficking and unspeakable cruelty, as well as an argument that many of the solutions to world crises can arrive only when women are given real political and economic power.

Over two nights, "Half" will look at a culture of gender violence in Sierra Leone, where most rapes go unreported; a prostitution industry in Cambodia, where children are approximately 30 percent of brothel workers; the epidemic of maternal mortality in Somaliland, where one in 12 mothers die in childbirth; and India's burgeoning prostitution industry. Celebrities, including Diane Lane, Gabrielle Union, America Ferrera, Meg Ryan, Eva Mendes and Olivia Wilde, travel with the authors and various experts to examine oppression and opportunities firsthand.

Union visits Vietnam, where a program to foster literacy in young girls is making a difference. Wilde shows how women entrepreneurs are changing the Kenyan economy and visits a village near Nairobi established as a haven from violence and rape.

The notion of Hollywood celebrities extolling the virtues of women's liberation takes on a whole new dimension when seen from this vantage point.

— There was a time when smaller networks aimed at younger audiences typically launched their new series earlier than the rest. Fox started this years ago, when new episodes of "Beverly Hills, 90210" premiered well before school was back in session.

For reasons unclear, the CW has elected to kick off its new season later than any other network this year. It officially launches with the airing of last month's iHeartRadio Music Festival (8 p.m., TV-PG).

The two-day concert was held in Las Vegas and included performances by Usher, Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift, Swedish House Mafia, P!nk, Aerosmith, Rihanna, No Doubt, Lil Wayne, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Enrique Iglesias and Green Day.

— Speaking of unorthodox launches, kid-friendly Nickelodeon embarks on a whole slate of shows aimed at the mothers of its intended audience with exclusive online content. NickMom.com presents the interview series "Parental Discretion With Stefanie Wilder-Taylor," the documentary comedy series "MFF: Mom Friends Forever" and the standup series "NickMom Night Out." "What Was Carol Brady Thinking?" is a send-up of "The Brady Bunch," including clips of the iconic series.

TONIGHT'S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren face off in a second Senatorial debate (7 p.m., NBC and NECN).

— Blind auditions continue on "The Voice" (8 p.m., NBC, TV-PG).

— A garage explosion scatters the evidence on "Bones" (8 p.m., Fox, TV-14).

— Bay and Zarra run into trouble with a vandal on "Switched at Birth" (8 p.m., ABC Family, TV-14).

— Dani's death leaves everyone shaken on "Alphas" (8 p.m., Syfy, TV-14).

— Jason London, Frank Langella and Dennis Hopper are among the stars of the 2000 miniseries "Jason and the Argonauts" (8 p.m., Encore).

— A familiar face gets roughed up in a bar fight on "The Mob Doctor" (9 p.m., Fox, TV-14). If you're curious, you should catch this rookie drama while you can. Low ratings have all but guaranteed its early cancellation.

— Tao faces a reversal on "Major Crimes" (9 p.m., TNT, TV-14).

— McGarrett needs Catherine's help on "Hawaii Five-0" (10 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

— Charlie and Miles return to the rebel camp on "Revolution" (10 p.m., NBC, TV-14).

— Beckett returns from suspension on "Castle" (10 p.m., ABC, TV-PG).

— "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" (9 p.m., Travel, TV-PG) visits Burgundy.

CULT CHOICE
We are now nearly as far away in time from the debut of "Star Wars IV: A New Hope" (7 p.m. and 10 p.m., Spike) in 1977 as that movie was from the 1939 "Buck Rogers" serials that helped inspire it.

SERIES NOTES
Pre-nup fussiness on "How I Met Your Mother" (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) ... "Dancing With the Stars" (8 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) ... Louis interferes on "Partners" (8:30 p.m., CBS, TV-14) ... In Martha they trust on "2 Broke Girls" (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14) ... Vince needs nursing on "Mike & Molly" (9:30 p.m., CBS, TV-14).

LATE NIGHT
Adam Devine and the Shins appear on "Conan" (11 p.m., TBS) ... Paul DelVecchio, Josh Wolf, Jen Kirkman and Ryan Stout are booked on "Chelsea Lately" (11 p.m., E!).

Stephen Colbert and Martha Wash appear on "Late Show With David Letterman" (11:35 p.m., CBS) ... Jay Leno welcomes Bryan Cranston, Rebel Wilson and Cher Lloyd on "The Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m., NBC) ... Zooey Deschanel, Maggie Grace and Electric Approach appear on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (midnight, ABC).

Liam Neeson, Joanna Garcia and Matt & Kim visit "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" (12:35 a.m., NBC) ... Craig Ferguson hosts Ethan Hawke on "The Late Late Show" (12:35 a.m., CBS).

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Using Fame to Shine a Spotlight on the Suffering

No network, including PBS, is above using celebrities as audience bait in the interests of making a difficult documentary subject a little more commercial.
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And George Clooney lays it right out there in his introduction to “Half the Sky : Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” which features six well-known “actress-advocates.”

“The celebrity involvement may be able to amplify the story. That’s all,” he says. “There are a lot more people that know who Diane Lane is or that know who Meg Ryan is than know Nick Kristof.” Well, he has a point.

Nicholas D. Kristof , an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times, and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn , a former foreign correspondent for The Times and now an investment banking executive, wrote the book of the same title from which this production, running Monday and Tuesday nights on PBS stations, takes its lead. It’s beautifully filmed, alternately heartbreaking and inspiring — and more than a little preachy at times with a recurring collection of talking heads bridging the film’s six actress-assisted journeys.

At least two of these additional advocates — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Gloria Steinem — also are more famous than Mr. Kristof. No harm in that.

Mr. Kristof is the dogged but unflappably genial reporter in the field. Ms. WuDunn stays stateside to underscore the points made by her husband’s trips to some of the most oppressive countries in terms of basic women’s rights.

In Ms. WuDunn and Mrs. Clinton’s view the stakes couldn’t be higher. “The role and rights of women — their freedom and equality and dignity — is the unfinished business of the 21st century,” Mrs. Clinton asserts.

Presented under PBS’s “Independent Lens” banner, “Half the Sky” accentuates its subjectivity throughout the four hours. But it’s hard to fault Mr. Kristof’s effusive praise of the freedom fighters he introduces to Ms. Ryan, Ms. Lane, America Ferrera, Olivia Wilde, Eva Mendes and Gabrielle Union.

For the first segment, on rampant gender-based violence in Sierra Leone, he brings together Ms. Mendes and Amie Kandeh, director of the Rainbo Center. It’s a place where women can take refuge and get help in pressing charges against their abusers.

The 14-year-old Fulamutu is one of the few willing to detail what she says happened to her at the hands of a pastor. “I was afraid to tell my parents because they would beat me,” she says.

Mr. Kristof briefly wonders about the propriety of a reporter getting involved in tracking down the pastor. But he decides there would be no embarrassment in bringing a rapist to justice.

The pastor emphatically denies any wrongdoing, while the authorities and Fulamutu’s family are not of a mind to press matters. So with a heavy heart and a sense of frustration, “Half the Sky” moves on to sex trafficking in Cambodia, where Ms. Ryan declines to join Mr. Kristof and others on a brothel raid. She just doesn’t have “the danger gene,” she explains to the camera. Her reluctance is understandable. But this also distances Ms. Ryan from the plight at hand. Even so, the segment soars on the strength of Somana, a teenager whose eye was gouged out by a brothel owner before she was rescued by Somaly Mam and taken to her rehabilitation center. Somana is now following in the footsteps of Ms. Mam, who says, “My dream is to see my girls become me.”

On Night 2, Mr. Kristof and Ms. Lane journey to Somaliland for a segment on female genital cutting, a traditional practice that Edna Adan, founder of a maternity hospital, calls “painful, unwanted, undesirable and uncalled-for.” Severe complications in childbirth are often the result, and Ms. Lane is shocked to learn that one of the practitioners performs 10 to 12 cuttings a day as her only source of income.

“This is a capitalist venture,” Ms. Lane says. “Call a spade a spade.”

“Half the Sky” keeps hope afloat with a look at economic empowerment in Kenya. Its inspirational force is Rebecca Lolosoli, who runs an all-women’s village where the inhabitants make their own livings, many of them by stringing beads. And it’s quite a sight to see Ms. Wilde joyously dancing with the women to what she learns is “The Vagina Song.”

“Half the Sky” can’t be called entertaining television. But it is thoroughly edifying, handsomely produced and buoyed by brave, resilient people fighting for basic equality. Amie Kandeh, Somaly Mam, Rebecca Lolosoli and others are the real stars. The name-brand actresses they meet serve their purpose. But they’ve all since moved on.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

On PBS stations Monday and Tuesday nights at 9 (check local listings).

Produced by Show of Force LLC and Fugitive Films in association with the Independent Television Service. Inspired by the book by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn; directed by Maro Chermayeff; Ms. Chermayeff, Mikaela Beardsley, Jamie Gordon and Jeff Dupre, executive producers; Joshua Bennett, producer; introduced by George Clooney.

Ed Bark, a former television critic for The Dallas Morning News, is now proprietor of the television Web site unclebarky.com.