Less than 3 days to go now until I'm going to be blogging for 24 hours to raise money for Tipitina's foundation. Come along and join in the fun at24hrs_of_sorkin .  Don't worry, it's not just my insane ramblings. caz963 andteresadivicenzo will be adding some of their own mix of demented fangirling and considered literary deliberation.  We kick off at 2pm BST (6 am PT) and will be going for 24 whole hours!

If you would like to sponsor me, click on the banner below. You'll need to register at the blogathon site, then reclick on the link to go to my pledge page.



Pledges currently at $90.  Come on, folks.  This is for a good cause.  Tipitina's have donated a whole bunch of amazing prizes.

More details here.

The latest figures from those nice chaps at Tipitina's Foundation today allow me to take immense pleasure in telling you that Studio 60 fans have donated the incredible figure of $3,037 to date to help restore the musical heritage of New Orleans. Bearing in mind that this is on top of the $2500 that the advert in the Hollywood Reporter cost, and taking into account Paypal fees on the ad donations, that means you have given over $5,600 in just over 3 weeks.

I don't know about the others, but when digitalred93 first suggested the Thank You advert and we came up with the idea to donate money to Tipitina's, I had no idea that we would get this kind of response. We raised over $3000 in the first week of the campaign, and since the last episode of Studio 60 aired last week, donations of about $1800 have come in. All I can do is offer my deepest personal admiration and thanks to all of you for making this happen.

I have plans to enter the 24 hour blogathon on 28/29 July, on the theme of all things Sorkin related, to raise more money for Tipitina's. I hope that a load of you will come on over to 24hrs_of_sorkin when that happens and join in the fun. There's not a lot to see there right now, but over the next couple of weeks, I will be sorting out lots of things to do and see on the day, including competitions (with prizes!), polls and all kinds of discussions to join in with. I'll keep you updated on this as well as any new figures we get from Tipitina's.

When we raised the money for today's "Thank You" ad, we switched all the contribution buttons over to go directly to the Tipitina's Foundation website so that people could donate to them directly.

We're delighted to report that so far, Studio 60 fans have donated almost $1200 by way of direct donations and "left over" contributions to the ad fund - to the Tipitina's Foundation - that's in a little more than a WEEK!

Our contacts at Tipitina's have told us that they're working on getting their website updated so that you'll be able to check out just how much money is being raised by fans.

This is such a great cause, and Tipitina's has asked us to pass along their thanks to all of you for your generosity.




Even if you can't afford to donate right now, do check out their website. They're doing some amazing things, like rebuilding Fats Domino's house, replacing instruments in schools, replacing instruments lost by musicians who depended on them for their livelihoods.

Later in the year, they're releasing a two CD set in tribute to Fats Domino -- musicians from all walks of life and sound came together to create the album to support Tipitina's efforts. Robert Plant, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Corrine Bailey Rae, Neil Young... to name but a few.

They're doing amazing things down there - and you're helping! Well done.

Morning all!

Here, finally is the copy of the "Thank You" ad running in today's Hollywood Reporter.

coloneljack has done us proud, I'm sure you'll agree.

Uploaded here is the Press Release that's been sent out, if anyone is interested in reading it.

A big THANK YOU,once again to all of you who helped to make this possible - and don't forget to donate to Tipitina's, if you can.

Hi all!

We've been a bit quiet lately, but the wheels have been turning behind the scenes, and I just wanted to let you all know that the "Thank You" ad is DEFINITELY booked to appear in the Hollywood Reporter this coming Thursday, 28th June.

ETA The Library Dept of HR has details of how to order copies:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/our_products/back_issues/index.jsp
OR email - JGonzalez@hollywoodreporter.com

The Library's phone number is 323-525-2087.

We'll be posting a copy of the ad for you all to view on Thursday morning UK TIME - there are boring reasons that we're not doing if earlier which I won't go into now, but you'll all get to see it, so don't worry.

Watch this space!

Studio 60 fans have always been about the big idea. 

Here's what we've done as a community to date:

Together, we've raised $2500.00 for a classy thank you ad that will appear in the June 28th Hollywood Reporter (ad to be online as soon as its approved by WB).  The ad will make it clear our much we've valued the cast & crew of the series and its efforts to explore the underbelly of popular culture.  Think about it.  In less than a week, fans from all over the world raised the funds needed.  More than 110 fans stepped up to make this happen!

In addition to raising awareness of a great show cut off before its prime, the ad also encourages support of THE TIPITINA'S FOUNDATION.  Their mission is to rebuild the musical culture of New Orleans, still devastated by Katrina and ignored by those unaware of the value and importance New Orleans musicians have to culture and society.   If you would like to donate to Tipitina's, they have created a donor page for Studio 60 fans at http://www.tipitinasfoundation.org/studio60.  Please join us in helping these folks do everything they can to revive art for art's sake.

New Orleans Musicians featured on NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

On December 4th 2006 the highly-acclaimed new television program "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" aired its Christmas episode, which featured a group of New Orleans musicians organized by the Tipitina's Foundation. On November 9th & 10th, 2006 foundation Executive Director Bill Taylor traveled with this all-star ensemble to the Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank, CA, where they performed an original arrangement of "Oh Holy Night" for the show. Rising star Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews (pictured) was featured in a speaking role in a scene with show star Bradley Whitford. For more information on the show, which airs its season finale on June 28th, visit the Studio 60 website.

>> Click here to make a donation to the Tipitina's Foundation.

>> A free video clip and a free MP3 download of the "Oh Holy Night" segment are available from the Studio 60 website

>> View photos from the set.

>> Read more about the show on Entertainment Weekly.

>> Read New Orleans Times-Picayune coverage of the show.

Over the days and weeks to come, we hope to move the conversation toward a focus on the necessity of art and its immeasurable value beyond the dollar or pound or Euro.  Here's one great example of how Tipitina's is doing that:

Last updated 18 June 2007 10.30pm




OK, here's where I do my impression of a Blue Peter presenter unveiling the appeal totaliser!

WOW! Hey guys, we did it. In just about 6 days, we you have raised a massive $3000. So, on the seventh day, you can have a nice cup of tea and a sit down. But no resting on our laurels for too long. We still need to plug the site and get people to donate to Tipitina's Foundation. Caz should have altered the links so that instead of going to the paypal site, they send you directly to the Studio 60 page that Tipitina's have set up. All funds that go through there will be shown as coming from S60's amazingly awesome fans. Isn't that better than sending nuts?

Thank you all again, and a SUPER HUGE thanks to the person who sent in an enormous donation earlier this evening.  I was planning on a quiet evening updating my software until we hit the target.  Since then, apart from much running around and flailing, the gang have been busy updating sites and emailing each other about what happens next. I'd far rather spend it like this.

Keep checking back for updates on what is happening with the advert and keep pimping where you can.  We are getting publicity on all kinds of blogs and sites now, but the more people who know about Tipitina's, the better.

Apologies to comm members who are wondering wtf they keep seeing this post. It's because we are getting donations from people outside LJ and want them to be able to find the "make a donation" button as quickly as possible. So please forgive us if you see a post like this fairly regularly.

We’ve just been offered a full page of advertising space in the Hollywood Reporter (28th June) for $2550, which is about half their usual rate. Well, I say “offered” – I think digitalred93 took them out to the woodshed with the 2x4…

Anyway, we’re going to take them up on it, which means not only do we have to raise less money to pay for the ad, but we can hopefully raise more funds for Tipitina’s Foundation, as we’ll be sending any surplus raised directly to them.

Also, it’ll be a bigger ad – a full page as opposed to a half, so all in all, it’s a great deal!

Those of you who have already contributed to the ad. fund should have been contacted by e-mail to make sure you’re happy with this change. If not, you’ll get your money back – just let us know.

Any questions or concerns – please e-mail us at askthanks2studio60@googlemail.com.

ETA - GOOD NEWS! TOMMY SCHLAMME HAS APPROVED THE AD - so we'll be able to let you see it very soon!

(and coloneljack is still hyperventilating!)

So art got its ass kicked. Say "Goodbye" to a great show and support New Orleans' music culture.

CLICK THE BANNER BELOW TO DONATE TO TIPITINA'S:



A group of us thought it would be a nice idea to somehow say a public “Thank You” to Aaron and the team for bringing us Studio 60.

To this end, we’d like to place an advertisement in the LA Times Entertainment Section on Thursday 28th June, which is when the final episode is due to air. The quarter-page ad will cost approximately $5,000.

The text on the advert will be simple – just a thank you, nothing nasty aimed at NBC (no matter how much we’d like to! – we don’t want to come across as honey-crusted nut bars!), and will also feature details of how to donate to Tipitina’s Foundation.

For anyone unfamiliar with Tipitina’s, the Foundation was featured in The Christmas Show. The mission of the Tipitina's Foundation is to restore New Orleans' irreplaceable music community and preserve the state's unique musical culture. We are currently working with the Foundation to create a specific page on their site where friends of Studio 60 will be able to make donations. More information about this will be coming soon.

In order to buy the advertising space, we need your help. Anything you can afford to help raise funds for the ad will be greatly appreciated.

As soon as we have raised enough money to pay for the ad, this button will be changed to be an additional link to the Tipitina's Foundation. Any extra money in the ad fund will also be donated to Tipitina's.

We’ll post details as to how we’re doing with raising the ad cost on a regular basis, and we'll also publish a list of contributors (just LJ usernames). Once we're close to our target, we'll have the ad finished and placed online for viewing.

If you want to get updates - to see the finished ad, to keep abreast of the amount we're raising for the ad etc., then please join this community. If you've already got an extensive f-list, don't worry - we won't be spamming anybody. We're here until the ad has run and then that's it.

If you have any questions about this, please leave a comment or email us at askthanks2studio60@googlemail.com.