'Surviving the Hollywood Blacklist: Lessons for the 21st Century'

11 Dec 2007 00:06 Africa/Lagos


'Surviving the Hollywood Blacklist: Lessons for the 21st Century'

Presented by the Writers Guilds of America and the National Press Club

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the Writers Guilds of America:


WHAT: A National Press Club "Newsmaker" panel discussion marking the 60th anniversary of the Hollywood Blacklist. Two notable blacklisted artists and two historians will reflect on this controversial episode in our nation's history and discuss the lessons learned.


Panelists will include Oscar-nominated blacklisted screenwriter and author Walter Bernstein; blacklisted actress Marsha Hunt; noted historian and author Victor Navasky, as well as WGAE President and television historian Michael Winship.


WHO: Walter Bernstein - An Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Mr. Bernstein was blacklisted in the early 1950s, and forced to work under a pseudonym until 1960, when he again began receiving screenwriting credits for films including Fail Safe. In 1977, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the motion picture The Front, starring Woody Allen as a man who acts as a front for blacklisted screenwriters. Mr. Bernstein is a current member of the Writers Guild of America, East Council.


Marsha Hunt - Ms. Hunt made her acting debut in 1935, appearing in 52 films until 1949, but her career was curtailed when she was blacklisted for her pronounced liberal views and her affiliation with the Committee for the First Amendment. In October 1947, she flew with the group of about thirty actors, directors, writers and filmmakers (including John Huston, Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart) to Washington, D.C. to protest the actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee.


Victor Navasky - Long-time editor and publisher of The Nation (now Publisher Emeritus), and author of Naming Names, which won a National Book Award, Mr. Navasky is recognized as one of the foremost scholars of the blacklist. Mr. Navasky wrote Naming Names after interviewing more than 150 people who had been called to testify in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee.


Michael Winship - Currently President of the Writers Guild of America, East, Mr. Winship is an award-winning writer and producer on such programs as NOW with Bill Moyers. Winship is a television historian who knew several of the writers whose lives were shattered by the blacklist including Ring Lardner, Jr. and Ian McLellan Hunter, as well as Walter Bernstein.


WHERE: National Press Club (Lisagor Room)

WHEN: Thursday, December 13, 2007 - 1:00 PM


For more information about the Writers Guild of America, West, please visit www.wga.org; for more information about the Writers Guild of America, East, please visit: www.wgaeast.org.


The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) represent writers in the motion picture, broadcast, cable, and new media industries in both entertainment and news.


Source: Writers Guilds of America

CONTACT: Jody Frisch of WGA; or Taj Meadows for WGA, +1-202-478-3697,
+1-805-453-1141