Building on three historic fundraising telecasts in 2008, 2010 and 2012, the groundbreaking grassroots movement Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), will return to primetime television on Friday, September 5, 2014, at 8 pm ET & PT / 7 pm CT.
Returning for the second time as Executive Producers of the September 5th telecast are Emmy-winning producer Joel Gallen, president of Tenth Planet Productions, and Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Gallen and Paltrow will be joined by the SU2C Production Team to deliver a one-of-a-kind show featuring performances from top recording artists and celebrities from film and television, engaging viewers with powerful stories of remarkable progress being made by SU2C-funded research.
ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, along with American Forces Network, Bravo, Cooking Channel, Discovery Fit & Health, E!, Encore, Encore Espanol, EPIX, ESPNews, FOX Sports 2, FXM, HBO, HBO Latino, ION Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Logo TV, MLB Network, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, Palladia, Pivot, SHOWTIME, Smithsonian Channel, Starz, TNT and VH1 are donating one hour of simultaneous commercial-free primetime for the nationally televised fundraising special on Friday, September 5, to be broadcast live from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
“We are all in this mission together: to turn cancer patients into cancer survivors. It is an honor to be part of a show and a movement that sets a great challenge and works tirelessly to meet it,” Gallen said. “This terrible disease has taken too many loved ones and on this special night, we’re working together to raise awareness and funds for the groundbreaking research that is saving people’s lives. This year, our commitment is stronger than ever — we expect the top names in film, television, and music, to join us on September 5th.”
“Cancer profoundly touched my life when I lost my father to the disease twelve years ago, and Stand Up To Cancer gives me a powerful platform to fight for a cause that I’m passionate about,” said Paltrow. “I am thrilled to join Joel Gallen to executive produce the Stand Up To Cancer telecast again this year, and honored to continue standing up in my father’s memory,” she said.
This star-studded appeal will continue to build public support to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly to save lives and make cancer patients long-term cancer survivors. SU2C brings together scientists from different disciplines across institutions and international boundaries to work collaboratively on promising new treatments that will impact a wide range of cancer types.
During the broadcast, celebrities will use an on-stage digital lounge to interact with viewers via social media. Viewers will be able to donate via a toll-free number, standup2cancer.org and text-to-give. One hundred percent of the donations received from the public during the show go to support collaborative cancer research programs.
For the first time, there will be a Canadian co-broadcast of the 2014 telecast presenting Canada-specific content, which will air simultaneously on all four major English-language Canadian networks: CBC, City, CTV and Global. All funds received from the Canadian general public during the Stand Up To Cancer Canada broadcast will be directed towards the creation of collaborative research teams, as well as education and awareness programs conducted in Canada.
Gallen previously produced several extremely successful televised fundraising specials including “America: A Tribute to Heroes” (after 9/11), “Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast,” and “Hope for Haiti Now.” Music was a key element of each. He also produced and directed the “25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert.”
The legendary film producer Laura Ziskin, who was a co-founder of SU2C, executive produced the first two telecasts in 2008 and 2010. Ziskin lived with breast cancer for seven years before it took her life in June of 2011.
Talent participation in the 2014 SU2C broadcast will be announced throughout the summer. Past participants in the SU2C broadcasts include: Jennifer Aniston, Christina Applegate, Halle Berry, Beyonce, Jessica Biel, Jack Black, Mary J. Blige, Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Coldplay, Katie Couric, Sheryl Crow, Matt Damon, Ellen DeGeneres, Dana Delany, Michael Douglas, Kirsten Dunst, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmy Fallon, Fergie, Jennifer Garner, Charles Gibson, Tom Hanks, Salma Hayek, Marg Helgenberger, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Samuel L. Jackson, Ken Jeong, Scarlett Johansson, Minka Kelly, Alicia Keys, Jamie King, Lady Antebellum, Jay Leno, Tobey Maguire, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Jillian Michaels, Jim Parsons, Keanu Reeves, Jeremy Renner, Rihanna, Julia Roberts, Robin Roberts, Seth Rogen, Ray Romano, Adam Sandler, Diane Sawyer, Ryan Seacrest, Will Smith, Emma Stone, Eric Stonestreet, Meryl Streep, Alison Sweeney, Taylor Swift, James Taylor, Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood, Sofia Vergara, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Brian Williams, Reese Witherspoon, Stevie Wonder, Renee Zellweger, the late Patrick Swayze and others.
“When we launched Stand Up To Cancer, our goal was to approach the struggle against cancer in a different way. Just six years into this movement, the incredible generosity of our donors — of every level — has enabled major progress in developing new treatments,” said Katie Couric, a co-founder of SU2C. “This program offers a unique opportunity to share the story of our progress and to remind viewers that each and every individual can play a role in supporting these scientists and their tireless work on behalf of patients,” she added.
“None of SU2C’s groundbreaking research accomplishments would have been possible without the ongoing support of the entertainment industry,” said Sherry Lansing, also a co-founder of SU2C, as well as founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation and chair of the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Board of Directors. "From the network and cable executives donating unprecedented “roadblock” airtime, to the hundreds of stars who volunteer their time and talent to help us engage the public in this effort, we are profoundly grateful to the entire entertainment community and humbled by the impact that is possible when we unite in support of a cause that affects us all," she said.
The first three SU2C telecasts took place on September 5, 2008, September 10, 2010 and September 7, 2012, and were made available to more than 190 countries. To date, more than $261 million has been pledged to support SU2C’s innovative cancer research programs. Since 2008, SU2C has funded 12 “Dream Teams” of researchers and two translational research teams, as well as 26 young innovative scientists whose high-risk, potentially high-reward projects are aimed at ending cancer’s reign as a leading cause of death worldwide.
SU2C was founded on the belief that collaboration would play an integral role in advancing cancer research. To date, Stand Up To Cancer has brought together more than 750 of the best and the brightest research scientists from 112 institutions in six countries to work together in order to save lives now. SU2C-funded researchers have planned, launched or completed more than 140 clinical trials.
One in two men and one in three women in the U.S. are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes, and almost eight million people worldwide die from cancer every year.
Researchers supported by SU2C are investigating a wide variety of new approaches to various malignancies, including cancers of the breast, ovary, endometrium, lung, prostate, pancreas, and colon; metastatic melanoma; childhood cancers including leukemia and lymphoma; and cancers resulting from human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, among other forms of cancer.
Work by SU2C-supported researchers has led to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of a new combination treatment for pancreatic cancer, as well as FDA “breakthrough therapy” designation — intended to expedite development of especially promising medicines — for a new breast cancer drug.
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the world’s largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer, is the official Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer. In the United States, AACR is responsible for administering the grants and providing scientific oversight in conjunction with the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, chaired by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. Vice chairs of the SAC are Arnold J. Levine, Ph.D., Professor, Institute for Advanced Study and Cancer Institute of New Jersey; and William G. Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center in Baltimore.
As SU2C’s founding donor, Major League Baseball has provided both financial support and countless opportunities to build the Stand Up To Cancer grassroots movement by encouraging fans all over the country to get involved. In addition to MLB, SU2C’s “Visionary” donors include Cancer Treatment Centers of America, MasterCard, and The Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research.
“Stand Up To Cancer could not have made such rapid progress towards improving patient care and saving lives without the unparalleled commitment of our major donors,” said SU2C co-founder Rusty Robertson. “They’ve believed in SU2C’s collaborative funding model since the outset, and have played a critical role in helping grow SU2C’s movement. We couldn’t be more grateful,” added SU2C co-founder Sue Schwartz.
“While it’s gratifying to know that SU2C has already brought hope to thousands of patients, we know there’s still so much more to do to make everyone diagnosed with cancer a long-term survivor,” said Sung Poblete, Ph.D., R.N., president and CEO of Stand Up To Cancer. “Every individual can make a difference in that effort, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring that message to the public again with this year’s telecast.”
