MEDIA ALERT: The Hollywood Disabilities Forum October 24

For Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers, Casting Directors, and Industry
Professionals to Explore Opportunities and Challenges of People with Disabilities in Entertainment

Event: Saturday, Oct. 24 – UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television

What: An executive industry forum examining the accuracy of film and TV portrayals, as well as inclusion and opportunities for access of people with disabilities in the entertainment industry. The forum will focus on best practices of industry pioneers who incorporate stories featuring characters with disabilities and who hire performers with disabilities for TV, film, radio and stage productions.

A collaborative effort between entertainment guilds, educational organizations, and advocacy groups, this inaugural joint forum is presented by the I AM PWD (Inclusion in the Arts and Media for People with Disabilities) campaign of Actors’ Equity Association, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Screen Actors Guild; the Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and its Writers with Disabilities Committee; and the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts.

Who: Peter Farrelly, producer-director-writer (There’s Something About Mary) — Keynote Speaker
Vince Gilligan, writer-producer (Breaking Bad)
RJ Mitte, actor (Breaking Bad)
Daryl “Chill Mitchell, actor (Brothers)
Janis Hirsch, writer-producer (Brothers, Will & Grace)
David Milch, writer-producer (Deadwood)
Geri Jewell, actor (Deadwood)
Robert David Hall, actor (CSI)
Danny Woodburn, actor (Seinfeld)
Linda Bove, actor (Sesame Street, Deaf West)
Bill Duke, actor-director (Karen Sisco, Predator)
Paul Kampf, actor-director-writer (Brothers Three: An American Gothic)
Special Video Appearance by Ricky Gervais (The Office)

When: Saturday, Oct. 24, 9-5 p.m.

Where: UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television -- 102 East Melnitz Hall; Parking in Structure 3.

Details: Fifty-six million Americans — 20% of the U.S. population — have a disability. Despite being the largest minority group in the country, people with disabilities are virtually invisible in entertainment media.

Click here for invitation

Click here for schedule

Members of the media interested in covering this event, please contact:

Pamela Greenwalt, Screen Actors Guild, (323) 549-6872, pgreenwalt@sag.org
Christopher de Haan, AFTRA, (323) 634-8203, cdehaan@aftra.com
David Lotz, AEA (212) 869-8530, dlotz@actorsequity.org
Gregg Mitchell, WGAW (323) 782-4574, gmitchell@wga.org