HURRICANE KATRINA NEWS REPORTS
 

3 September

E! Building Hurricane Relief PSA Campaign

E! Networks is creating a public service announcement campaign in support of the American Red Cross's efforts to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The spots are set to begin airing Saturday; featured celebrities and performers include Eva Longoria, Pamela Anderson, Destiny's Child, Steve Carell, Nicole Richie, John Larroquette, Julie Andrews, Brooke Burns, George Lopez, Lucy Lawless, Mariah Carey, Carlos Santana and Paula Abdul. The PSAs also will be seen on Style Network in the U.S., in more than 75 countries on the E! International Network, and online.

E! will air a one-hour edition of "E! News" on Sept. 9 leading up to the multinetwork telethon to raise money for hurricane relief.

Many thanks to Barbara Davies for the news

For Aussies E! is broadcast on the Foxtel Cable Service and accessed through channel 22 for those on Foxtel DIGITAL


 

2 September

Renee Helps out at the Red Cross

Renee was interviewed on Los Angeles NBC Channel 4 at Red Cross donation area. She said that she was from Texas and has gone through hurricanes and how awful they are. She hasn't been through one as large as Katrina.

Download the video from the Official Xena Fan Club Page

GCLS Relief Fund

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Lesbian Fiction Community Bands Together Under GCLS Banner to Help Its Own

In light of the truly devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, the board of the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) has established a special GCLS Relief Fund ( http://www.goldencrown.org/  ). This fund, to be administered by the GCLS Advisory Board, will take donations from the public on behalf of all those authors, publishers, and
supporters in our community who have been affected by the storm.

Here is your opportunity to help people you know and love in recovering from this disaster. Some women have lost possessions, others are now homeless; all of these folks need our assistance and generosity.

Funds will be disbursed based on applications filed with the GCLS. The amounts disbursed will be dependent on donations received and the extent of the need.

Please, give what you can. In addition, a percentage of the profits from purchases made at StarCrossed Productions (www.scp-inc.biz) during the month of September will be channeled into this fund, so you may also wish to contribute in that way as well. We hope many of you will join us in this effort.

The GCLS Advisory Board

To donate, just go to www.scp-inc.biz  and click on the disaster relief fund banner.

Lucy Update

The following is from the Official Xena Fan Club Page:

• I spoke to Lucy again this afternoon. She's back home, safe but sleepy,
  and her thoughts are for the people still in harm's way. They will
  finish filming the movie in another city. Sharon Delaney.

Articles

• Added link to NineMSN - National Nine News (Australia) 1 September 2005.
  US hurricane forces Lucy Lawless to flee

• Brief mention about Vampire Bats being halted in Canada.com Entertainment Section

• Added link to Variety Magazine 30 August 2005 Katrina's wake
  Hurricane forces biz to rethink plans

• New York Daily News - 31 August 2005 Katrina foils 'Vampire'
  Hurricane Katrina has halted production on the October CBS movie "Vampire Bats," starring Lucy Lawless."Bats" was in production in New Orleans. A spokeswoman said the producers hoped to resume filming in a few days, but exactly where has not been decided.

• Irish Examiner 31 August 2005 Movies abandoned as storm wreaks havoc

• Chicago Sun Times - 31 August 2005 KATRINA ZAPS FILMS: No question about it, Mother Nature is democratic when it comes to causing havoc. Just like everyone else, movie stars and filmmakers were chased out of Louisiana by the fury of Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, the crew for Lucy Lawless' upcoming CBS flick ''Vampire Bats'' (catchy title, eh?) themselves are hunkered down in Baton Rouge -- having fled their much more dangerous New Orleans filming locales.

Battlestar Galactica

• AOL Television has a sneak peek at the upcoming episode Final Cut which is the episode Lucy will be guest starring in.

1 September

Lucy Videos

Entertainment Tonight 31 August 2005
Lucy Lawless talks to ET at the Houston Airport on her way home.
320 x 240 -   4.4 mb wmv format
640 x 480 - 14.6 mb wmv format

�Reminder - Lucy TV Alerts

• Lucy will be on Entertainment Tonight - 31 August 2005
  Lawless tells ET she and the crew thought about sticking it out. "We
  thought we were just going to tough this one out and stay in the hotel
  with the locals," she says. "We're so glad we got out -- we're so
  grateful that the news service made us ... we had a car and we managed
  to get gas before it all ran out."
   

• Update: Lucy will NOT be interviewed on Larry King Live on CNN
  Aussies - this is shown on Foxtel at 6 pm on CNN
  The following information is from Josh Becker's site
  I just spoke with Rob's office, as well as their nanny, and Lucy got back to L.A. last night and she's fine. I just spoke with Rob and he says that Lucy will be on Larry King's show tonight discussing the hurricane in New Orleans.
  **UPDATE -- Rob just emailed and said that Lucy was cancelled on Larry King.**
  Many thanks to Doug for the updated news

Help people and the animals affected by this hurricane by making a donation today.

Hurricane Katrina has blazed a trail of devastation throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Across the Gulf Coast, Katrina engulfed thousands of homes and decimated the landscape in what could become the most destructive storm in U.S. history. Victims are stranded and in need of immediate medical care, food and water, and tens of thousands of people will need temporary housing for months.
go to Network for Good (there are many charities you can choose from)

Xena/Lucy Fans Reach Out

I want to thank the fans who organised the charter plane and pilot to take Lucy out of New Orleans. Now that is what I called the Xenaverse in action. Good on ya guys whoever you are. Unfortunately Lucy's couldn't make the connection but the effort fans put into trying to get her out is what counts. Makes me proud to be part of this fandom.

The National Ledger reports: The former "Xena: Warrior Princess" star actually had several offers for private homes in which to stay, some set up by a network of loyal "Xena" fans. In fact, some of the fans had managed to charter a plane and pilot for Lucy to leave the area, "but we couldn't make it out to where the plane was," she says, clearly moved by the efforts. She's grateful, also, that husband Robert Tapert and their two young sons, who had been staying at the house, happened to have left New Orleans a week ago. Click here to read the full article

SHOWBIZ TONIGHT

The following videos were contributed by Jenn from XWPOnline

• Lucy Lawless on Showbiz Tonight 30 August 2005 leaving to go back home to Los Angeles. format: rm - Size: 918k

• Also added screencaptures from the segment

Lucy told Showbiz Tonight: There was children on the side of the road...that was terrible...and the strain on the policemen's faces because you knew they were staying out a sense of duty, to us...and people yelling at them. [Lucy is clearly moved] because we are all so self interested in getting out of the disaster and we forget about those people that have to stay out of a sense of duty.

They are great heroes.

We want the people of New Orleans to know that we will be back. We want to help grow the industry. We love being there and we love them. They have been so kind to us and we will be back.

ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT 30 AUGUST 2005

• Lucy was also on Entertainment Tonight 30 August 2005 - ET said that Vampire Bats filming will be relocated from the devastated New Orleans.
  
  format: rm - Size: 313k

Articles

• The National Ledger - 31 August 2005 Lucy Lawless Grateful to Make it Out of Katrina's Path. From Baton Rouge, La., Lucy Lawless tells us she's definitely among those who consider themselves lucky to be alive after rushing out of the path of Hurricane Katrina. She's been working and temporarily living in New Orleans, making the CBS Halloween movie "Vampire Bats."

• SciFi Wire 30 August 2005 Katrina Affects SF&F Film Shoots -The CBS TV movie Vampire Bats, meanwhile, had a week to go on its four-week shoot. Executive producer Frank von Zertner told the trade paper: "Basically what we have left to do can be done anywhere. Most of our exteriors are pretty much accomplished. As luck would have it, we were very lucky with weather."
  
  
   

Lucy on CNN Showbiz Tonight and Entertainment Tonight

• Cheryl sent me the following news:
  Saw a short interview with Lucy on Showbiz Tonight on CNN Headline News. Looks like they caught her at the airport. She looked fine if a bit frazzled and surprisingly she was alone just draging her poor lone little suitcase behind her. Can't remember everything she said but she promised to come back to New Orleans. I guess the plan was to return when it seemed that the city was safe but now that the levees have been breached that isn't possible and on Entertainment Tonight there was a report that the producers are looking for a new location for the film.