Hollywood Doing Pro-Bono Work

When it comes to eliminating extreme poverty and AIDS around the globe, Hollywood is definitely pro-Bono.

When he's not fronting the world's "most important rock and roll band," the U2 singer advocates on behalf of Africa's poor. And now the mouthpiece is enlisting A-list celebrities Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Penelope Cruz and Jamie Foxx to launch a series of public service announcements that seek to raise Americans' awareness about the issues he cares passionately about.

At a press conference in Beverly Hills Wednesday, Bono announced the new relief effort, dubbed Heartland Unite for ONE?The Campaign to Make Poverty History. Its mission, he declared, is organizing a mass movement to put political pressure on world leaders to put an end to the ongoing threats of starvation and lack of life-saving drugs, especially in Africa, where upwards of 6,000 lives a day are lost.

"We're not just asking for people to put cash in the pot here," the 44-year-old crooner said. "Americans are generous, we know they'll do that. We're not actually asking for their money, we're asking for their voice."

Backing up Bono all the way was Pitt, who recently returned from a trip to Africa. He said he was deeply moved by the humanitarian crisis there--thousands of children are dying because the West has failed to export affordable immunizations.

"I've seen it, I've been there, and to walk away from it and turn my back makes me culpable," the actor said. "And I can't do that."

What Pitt and his fellow participants are doing is joining forces for a series of 60-second black-and-white PSAs in which they'll talk to the camera and complete each other's sentences while discussing the problems facing the world's poor. The ads are scheduled to air on broadcast networks and various cable channels on Sunday night.

Also appearing in the spots are actors Tom Hanks and Djimon Hounsou, a native of the African nation of Benin, as well as rapper Mos Def.

It's not just Tinseltown and musicians who are getting involved. Popular televangelist Pat Robertson, host of CBN's 700 Club, is also supporting the cause, as is Frank Griswold, head bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

For Bono (born Paul Hewson), the more people from all walks of life, the merrier?-which is precisely the goal he's set for the organization.

"What makes this dangerous is that we're a big tent, it's Hollywood and heartland America, it's hip-hop and soccer moms, it's rock stars and reverends. It's a motley crew," he added. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life on this, I'm going to make that kind of extreme poverty history."

Hard to believe but in the midst of all his social work, Bono has managed to stick with his day job.

Last week, U2 launched their highly-anticipated Vertigo 2005 tour in San Diego, which received glowing praise with some rock critics comparing the band's uplifting show to a gospel revival. At various points during their set, without getting too preachy, U2 references Bono's off-stage activism, such as displaying the Declaration of Human Rights on a screen above the stage or Bono himself talking about Dr. Martin Luther King during "Pride (In the Name of Love)"?all of which has given added meaning to their anthems.

One mission indeed.