Firefly

In June this year, film goers plan worldwide theatrical screenings of the Universal Pictures flick ’Serenity’, with proceeds going to Equality Now. The move is a direct effort to help raise funds for Equality Now, one of writer/director Joss Whedon’s favorite charities.

Liverpool, UK (PRWEB) April 25, 2006 — In June this year, film goers plan worldwide theatrical screenings of the Universal Pictures flick ‘Serenity’, with proceeds going to Equality Now. 24 screenings are already being organized across 4 countries, with more being added daily. The move is a direct effort to help raise funds for Equality Now, one of writer/director Joss Whedon’s favorite charities.

Equality Now is an international organization which works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world through the mobilization of public pressure. Serenity is a motion picture which deals with individuality and personal responsibility with strong female characters and role models. The film culminates with characters making a stand for what is right, no matter the cost, whilst fighting for a better future.

The chosen date of the screenings - June 23rd - is significant as it mirrors the date of a round of early preview screenings Universal Pictures held of ‘Serenity’ last summer. This time, fans themselves are organizing the screenings with the exhibitors and it is a far grander scale, reaching out of North America into Europe and Australia.

Serenity writer/director Joss Whedon, famous for creating the iconic female character series ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ and heading WB’s forthcoming ‘Wonder Woman’ movie, is a dedicated supporter of Equality Now. He will be appearing as a Special Honoree at an Equality Now event in New York in May, for his outstanding commitment to gender equality through film and television.

A representative of Equality Now says, “All of us at Equality Now continue to be amazed by and grateful for the fans generous and committed support for our work. We really need it!”

Joss Whedon, the writer/director of Serenity, said of Equality Now, “There are two ways to fight a battle like ours. One is to whisper in the ear of the masses, try subtlely and gradually to change the gender expectations and mythic structures of our culture. That’s me. The other is to step up and confront the thousands of atrocities that are taking place around the world on an immediate, one-by-one basis. That’s a great deal harder, and that’s Equality Now. It’s not about politics; it’s about basic human decency.”

Christopher Frankonis, organizer of the Can’t Stop The Serenity screenings says, “The watchword here really is ‘benefit’. Naturally, existing fans get the benefit of seeing Serenity on the big screen once more, and new fans get the benefit of doing so for the first time. But more significantly, the important work of Equality Now benefits from a truly worldwide fundraiser. And Joss Whedon, of course, gets the benefit of it being a sort of global birthday ‘thank you’ from his fans.”

Kevin Beaumont, owner of the Serenity Movie official ‘Browncoat’ fan site, says, “These worldwide screenings are on an unprecedented scale, and represent a direct response from fans of a motion picture to raise money for an organization which does outstanding work across the globe, working to support grassroots efforts to end violence and discrimination against women and girls. These people fight for the greater good. There is always a tendency to feel that sci-fi genre fans only think of themselves. We feel these screenings prove this is not the case.”

Anybody can get involved by visiting http://www.CantStopTheSerenity.com. Anybody wishing to book to see Joss in New York in May at the Equality Now event should visit http://www.EqualityNow.org or http://www.SerenityMovie.org for details.

SerenityMovie.org was established in January this year, has over 6000 members and commands an audience of over half a million visitors since launch. It is one of the largest movie fan base websites to date.