DC ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES “WE CAN BE HEROES”

Official Press Release

DC ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES “WE CAN BE HEROES,”

AN UNPRECEDENTED GIVING CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT

THE HUNGER CRISIS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

Featuring Iconic Justice League Characters, Multilayered Campaign
To Leverage All Time Warner Advertising Platforms
Generating Significant Awareness of the Crisis

Multi-Million-Dollar Commitment Will Support
Three Aid Groups Working in Africa:
Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps

(January 23, 2012 – New York, NY) DC Entertainment, home of the world’s greatest super heroes, today unveiled an unprecedented giving campaign to fight the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. This multi-million-dollar commitment over the next two years will be supported across all Warner Bros. Entertainment’s and Time Warner’s businesses and feature DC Entertainment’s iconic Justice League characters, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, issuing the call to action, “We Can Be Heroes.” The announcements were made at a press conference today in New York by Barry Meyer, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros.; Jeff Robinov, President, Warner Bros. Pictures Group; and Diane Nelson, President, DC Entertainment.
We Can Be Heroes will support the efforts of three humanitarian aid organizations working in Africa—Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps—as part of the global effort to fight the current hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. The region is suffering its worst drought and famine in over 60 years, with 13 million in need of critical assistance and 250,000 facing starvation in Somalia alone. Each partner organization was chosen for its track record of effective and expeditious humanitarian aid efforts in Africa.
We Can Be Heroes will be supported via promotional exposure across all of Time Warner’s divisional advertising platforms (Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting, Time Inc., HBO), generating millions of consumer impressions and creating crucially needed awareness of this crisis worldwide. Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps will equally share a corporate donation of at least $2 million over the next two years comprised of cash donations, employee matching funds and consumer matching funds.
“Warner Bros. has a long history of corporate philanthropy and outreach, and this campaign proudly continues that tradition,” said Meyer. “We are a global company, and this is a global issue. By marshalling our expertise in consumer and fan engagement and creating global awareness, we hope we’re able to inspire others to join us in becoming ‘heroes’ and make a difference in the Horn of Africa.”
The Justice League characters were chosen by DC Entertainment both for their global recognition as well as their demonstration of strength in unity and numbers. The campaign’s graphic identifier features the iconic Justice League characters—Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg—outlined in silhouette against the African continent. Each of these characters is a super hero in his or her own right, but when they band together as the Justice League, they become an unstoppable force for good and right in the universe—a key message of the We Can Be Heroes campaign. While many individuals may feel powerless to effect change on their own, as part of a global campaign such as this, their efforts, combined with those of other donors, can create a world of change.
A key launch element of We Can Be Heroes is the campaign’s website,www.WeCanBeHeroes.org. Here, consumers can make donations which DC Entertainment will match 100 percent (up to $1 million in donations), purchase specially branded merchandise, with 50 percent of the purchase price going to fight the hunger crisis via We Can Be Heroes, sign up for newsletters and updates, and join the We Can Be Heroes online community. The site will also feature information on each of the partner organizations and updates on current conditions in the Horn of Africa.
“This campaign goes straight to the heart of our core competency, as Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment both have a rich legacy of telling socially relevant, compelling stories with characters embraced by global audiences,” said Robinov. “The fact that we’re able to take what we do and use it to raise awareness—and inspire action—around a cause as important as this is gratifying. With the support of the entire Studio and our Time Warner sister companies, this campaign, like the DC Comics super heroes, will make a great impact on an important issue.”
“The members of the Justice League are an international team of super heroes beloved by a broad range of fans, including men and women, young and old. This makes them the perfect ‘spokescharacters’ for this campaign,” said Nelson. “Their dedication to social justice and commitment to band together to defend the helpless brilliantly supports the ideals of the We Can Be Heroes campaign. The hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa is something we can reverse if we all work together. I’m proud and grateful we’re able to harness the power and standing of the DC Comics brand and iconic characters as well as for the support from both Warner Bros. and Time Warner that has allowed us to pursue this unprecedented initiative.”
“This is a tragic situation affecting millions and millions of people. Everyone has the ability to be a part of the solution and efforts such as We Can Be Heroes help bring us closer to that goal,” said Dr. Jill Biden, who visited refugees in Kenya in August and has worked to raise awareness of the crisis. “I commend the efforts of DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. and other organizations who are using their global reach to help raise awareness of the crisis.”
For more information on We Can Be Heroes, visit www.WeCanBeHeroes.org. For more information on the campaign’s partner organizations, visit their websites: www.savethechildren.org(Save the Children); www.rescue.org(International Rescue Committee) DC Comics’ official blog, THE SOURCE; and www.mercycorps.org(Mercy Corps).

The CW’s Green Arrow Pilot “Arrow” – Character Details (Spoilers!)

From GreenArrowTV

And now some of the mysteries are solved!

Via casting breakdowns, GreenArrowTV has learned a little bit about some of the characters we’ll be seeing in The CW’s pilot Arrow.

Here are some of the characters we have to look forward to (subject to change):

Disclaimer: It is not the intention of GreenArrowTV to ruin any secrecy regarding this project, but instead to get people excited and interested in more. In other words, DC or WB – hopefully this a good thing rather than a nuisance, although if there is a takedown request, please contact us and it will be respected.

Oliver Queen – It’s pretty obvious this would be the name of the main character, right? It sounds like he was believed dead for a few years before making a return home.

At some point Oliver is kidnapped and cuffed to a chair but gets himself loose.

The Arrow wears a green body armor that is “so dark it’s virtually black.” He has a bow and arrow, of course. He may have a mask covering the lower half of his face, distorting his voice. The costume also has a hood.

It sounds like this version of Oliver Queen is at least 25, and he is written very much like the Green Arrow was in his better Smallville appearances.

It also seems that we will see flashbacks to his time on the island and how he got there, and what led him to becoming a good guy.

Dinah “Laurel” Lance – Dinah’s using her middle name here. She and Oliver have not seen each other in five years, before his return to the city. “Laurel” went to law school. It doesn’t appear that she is the Black Canary (yet). She works with a firm called the City Necessary Resources Initiative.

Tommy was Oliver’s best friend before he disappeared for several years. He sounds like a bit of a frat boy. He notices Oliver has changed a lot in his years away. The character himself might have a tie to a Green Arrow foe from the comics. Tommy tells Oliver about what his funeral was like a few years earlier.

Sara – Back on the boat, Oliver had a history with a character named Sara, and that history may be the reason Laurel is not happy to see him when he returns to town. In fact, she’s downright angry.

Thea – A young relative of Oliver’s, around 18. He teasingly calls her “Speedy.”

Moira Queen – Oliver’s mom is still alive as of the pilot, but his father was killed on the boat, in the incident that originally sent Oliver to the island. In the years since, she has remarried a man named Walter who doesn’t understand Oliver’s sudden interest in the company, Queen Consolidated.

The city seems to be called “Starling City” rather than “Star City.”

DC Comics shoutouts include a “Mr. Grell” and “Danielle DiDio.” There’s also a bank account numbered 52.

How does it sound, so far?

Very, very good!