Universal City, U.S.A. – The colorful and captivating world of Dr. Seuss bursts onto the screen as never before on August 7, 2012 in the hilarious and captivating adventure, ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Available on Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack and Blu-ray Combo Pack — both featuring DVD, Digital Copy and UltraViolet so you can watch it anytime, anywhere — ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ is non-stop family fun that includes three delightfully entertaining mini movies not shown in theaters, available only on the Blu-ray Combo Packs. The film will also be available on DVD and Digital Download.

The imaginative world of Dr. Seuss comes to life like never before in this visually spectacular adventure from the creators of ‘Despicable Me’. Twelve-year-old Ted will do anything to find a real live Truffula Tree in order to impress the girl of his dreams. As he embarks on his journey, Ted discovers the incredible story of the Lorax, a grumpy but charming creature who speaks for the trees. Featuring the voice talents of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Rob Riggle, Jenny Slate and Betty White, ‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ is filled with hilarious fun for everyone.

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is the third feature created by Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment (‘Despicable Me’, ‘Hop’). For more information, please visit www.theloraxmovie.com.

‘Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax’ transports viewers into a fantastical landscape imagined by Dr. Seuss and vividly brought to life by Chris Meledandri and his acclaimed filmmaking team at Illumination Entertainment. Directed by Chris Renaud from a screenplay adapted by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (‘Despicable Me’, ‘HOP’, ‘Horton Hears a Who’) from the 1971 children’s classic, the film is an imaginative journey that begins in the town of Thneedville, where a boy searches for the one thing he knows will win the heart of his dream girl. But in order find it, he must discover the story of the Lorax, the often grumpy but loveable protector of Truffula Valley, in an exciting adventure filled with comedy and heart that USA Today’s Claudia Puig calls, “The right blend of funny, silly, and sweet.”

Danny DeVito (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” ‘Twins’, ‘L.A. Confidential’) lends his unmistakable voice to the Lorax, the remarkable creature who “speaks for the trees,” with Ed Helms (‘The Hangover’, ‘The Hangover Part II’, “The Office”) as his enigmatic nemesis, the Once-ler.

One of the best-selling children’s book authors of all time, Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel created more than 40 cherished books that have been published in 95 countries and 17 different languages, selling more than half a billion books worldwide. The Lorax, which Geisel named his favorite work, is included on the “Educator’s All Time Top 20 List of Children’s Books.”

Blu-ray Combo Pack bonus features:

• Mini Movies
  • Serenade — Two Bar-ba-loots — one love shy and the other suave and confident — battle for the heart of their would-be sweetheart with the help of a colorful cast of characters, including the Humming-Fish and Swomme-Swans.
  • Wagon-Ho — Two Bar-ba-loots take The Once-ler’s wagon on a ride they won’t soon forget.
  • Forces of Nature — Determined to scare The Once-ler out of Truffula Valley, The Lorax decides to create the illusion of ominous forces of nature.

• Making of the mini movies — Go behind the scenes at Illumination Mac Guff to see the joys and challenges of continuing the characters’ stories in the dynamic format of the mini movie.
• Deleted scenes
• Seuss to screen — A fascinating look into the translation of Seuss’ iconic style from book into the big feature film canvas.
• Seuss it up! — A great tutorial on how to draw the Lorax, a Humming-Fish and a Bar-ba-loot in the unique Seuss style.
• Trufulla run — The player moves left and right to avoid obstacles while attempting to pick up berries with modes for easy, medium and hard. As difficulty increases, the player will have more obstacles to avoid.
• “Let it Grow” Sing Along — Karaoke-style sing along to the end credit version of Let It Grow.
• Feature commentary with co-directoris Chris Renaud & Kyle Balda
• Once-Ler’s wagon — While the Once-ler is away peddling his wares, the curious forest creatures have fun with his belongings. Users can select an item for the creatures to mimic or play with and then watch the adorable antics of all the forest friends.

Image Courtesy of  The Lorax

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Washington, U.S.A. – During this year’s “Be Kind to Animals Week” (May 6-12, 2012), the organization that helped found America’s original “Compassion Movement” in the 1870s is putting out an urgent plea and opening its membership for the first time to the general public, imploring them to protect more of the nation’s 10 billion+ farm animals, 3-4 million shelter animals who are euthanized yearly, and thousands of animals who are being hurt in natural disasters and cruelty cases.

“The need has never been greater,” says Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane Association. “We have made gigantic strides in the past century, pioneering many of the key advances in protecting our nation’s children and animals, but there are still huge numbers in critical need of lifesaving care.

We are putting out a call to the American public during Be Kind to Animals Week to get involved and become part of a new 21st century Compassion Movement that will help millions more of our most vulnerable to be kept safe, protected, and loved. So many animals are still suffering and can’t wait any longer.”

Some major names are heeding that call, including celebrities such as beloved actress and animal lover Betty White, who has a long history with American Humane Association and has agreed to be the chair of this year’s “Be Kind to Animals Week,” which the charity launched back in 1915.  In an email message to half a million supporters, Ms. White is asking fans and animal lovers to help by joining as supporting members now.

“As far as I am concerned, every week should be ‘Be Kind to Animals Week,’” said Ms. White. “To make that possible for more animals, please join American Humane Association’s new membership program.  In fact, as a challenge for my 90th birthday – I would like 9,000 new members to join this very week!”

In addition to the good feeling of helping helpless animals, those who visit behumane website and join at the Compassion Club level of $50 a month will be entered to win two tickets to the American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards in Hollywood and a VIP visit with Hero Dog headliner Betty White!

Other major celebrities, charities, and companies are posting, tweeting, and otherwise spreading the word, encouraging Americans to get off the sidelines and actively become a voice for the voiceless, joining an effort that pioneered virtually every major advance in child and animal welfare.

“American Humane Association helped found our nation’s Compassion Movement 135 years ago and we made a huge difference,” said Dr. Ganzert. “Today, we need every American to join in an ambitious new effort to bring hope, help and comfort to millions in need.  What better time to consider joining American Humane Association as a supporting member of the most compassionate club than during Be Kind to Animals Week?”

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Entertainment legend Betty White has joined Twitter, but was initially thought to have been the victim of a Twitter hoax after an account claiming to be her was opened by White’s people, without White herself being informed.

The profile was first revealed to be a fake by White through her ‘Hot in Cleveland’ co-stars Jane Leeves and Valerie Bertinelli when they each took to their own profiles to advise users to unfollow the person claiming to be White.

While fake Twitter profiles are commonplace on the social networking site, this alleged hoax was even more surprising due to the fact that White’s alleged profile had a verification checkmark, a feature which only Twitter itself is able to give when it has confirmed that profiles are indeed legitimate.

The profile, under the Twitter handle @BettyMWhite, went up on April 10 and amassed over 140,000 followers by the time of this writing. Only three tweets had been posted before Jane Leeves and Valerie Bertinelli, with whom Betty currently co-stars on the TV Land sitcom ‘Hot in Cleveland’, reported that it was in fact an impostor running the profile. Bertinelli wrote:

Just spoke with Betty and she is VERY upset! @BettyMWhite is NOT her. Don’t know how they got verified, but it is not Betty. Please RT!

Leeves followed with:

@BettyMWhite is a fake and has upset the real Betty White! Please unfollow!

However, just minutes later Bertinelli took to her Twitter profile again, this time writing:

Stop the presses! Betty just got a call. An account was opened on her behalf by her people. More to come…

The evident confusion will likely become a source of amusement for fans of the 90-year old screen icon, who are no doubt looking forward to seeing her attempt to grapple with a popular form of modern technology.

A hoax, however, would have been embarrassing for more than just as her fans as television network NBC was already using it to help promote their new series ‘Betty White’s Off Their Rockers’, while the TV Line website earlier today crafted a ‘@BettyMWhite Twitter Bingo Card‘ for users to play along with as they watched the Emmy winner’s foray into social media.

While it seems that White’s people will be doing all of the tweeting, her official presence on Twitter makes her one of the oldest verified celebrities on the site.

Image Courtesy of   Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

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Most actors and actresses on the small screen start off on TV, then end up on the big screen in Hollywood as A-Listers starring in major motion pictures.

Think about Jennifer Aniston and Will Smith, who both got a jump start to their now-flourishing acting careers in ‘Friends’ and ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air respectively. This past TV season it seems that it has been the other way around, with already established movie stars making guest appearances on TV sitcoms.

Over the past decade, there have been several guest appearances on some of TV’s hottest sitcoms, some that improved a celebrity’s or show’s rating, and then some appearances that didn’t fare as well as the show had predicted. Paste Magazine made a list of the ten best guest appearances over the past decade, and some of them are shocking.

Reality Stars Kim Kardashian, Spencer Pratt, and Heidi Montag starred in one episode of “How I Met Your Mother” in 2009. These stars, which have faced a lot of scrutiny and criticism from the press, actually did an exceptional job on the episode. They weren’t taken too seriously as they talked to Marshall about his cover in a Tabloid Magazine, something the real life reality stars can relate to.

Comedian Bob Saget also made a hilarious appearance on Entourage where he played himself, and brought a lot of added humor to the episode. Cher made an appearance on the hit show, “Will & Grace” where she sang her pop chart-topping hit, “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Viewers tuned into that episode where Cher shows she is the real deal. And who better to make a guest appearance than the world-renowned savvy entrepreneur, Oprah Winfrey?

Oprah made a guest appearance on “30 Rock” where she sits in an airplane next to a young lady as the woman complains about the problems she is having in her life, one of which is not receiving her monthly subscription to “O” Magazine. To top off the “best of the best” TV appearances, who could forget Brad Pitt guest starring on “Friends” with then-wife, Jennifer Aniston? The adoringly cute episode became a smash hit and exposed the lives of the changing celebrity culture.

And now for the worst…While Jennifer Aniston’s ex-husband was a hit on her show, Aniston didn’t make the guest appearance viewers were hoping for on one of the episodes of “Cougar Town.” On www.Tv.Com, critics stated that, “the woman is so desperate for attention-and so limited in her acting range, that it’s impossible to separate the actress from the characters she plays on screen.”

Many Americans have the Bieber Fever right now. But did he really make an appearance on the show “CSI?” Bieber and CSI do not even belong in the same sentence, and when critics were asked why he was voted as one of the worst guest appearances of all-time, they responded with, “do we really need to give a reason?”

Critics felt that Sasha Grey’s appearance on Entourage was awful where she played a porn-star. Critics believe Grey is “not really known for her acting,” and for another, her appearance started “a weird and unnecessary Twitter frenzy.” The most shocking to make TV’s worst guest appearance was America’s favorite golden girl, Betty White, where she played a professor and librarian on the show, “Community and the Middle.”

Critics thought that her “giggle-inducing grandma schtick started to feel like geriatric gimmick.” Ouch Betty! Luckily for White, she still took home an Emmy for her stint on SNL, which aired right before her guest appearance on the show.

So what does the near future hold for Hollywood guest appearances? WeLoveSoaps.net is positive this will be a big year for Hollywood guest appearances on several TV series by calling the year of 2012, “The Year of the Soap!” Lindsay Lohan recently announced that she will be acting as herself as a guest star on the hit singing show, “Glee.”

But there are several other very famous celebrities that will also be hitting the small screen for an episode, or even a few. For the month of April alone, several big names will be appearing on some of TV’s hottest series. Luke Perry, former stud of the hit show “Beverly Hills 90210” will show his face on “Body of Proof.”

Georgia Engel will stand next to Ashton Kutcher in one of TV’s most popular comedies, “Two and a Half Men.” TV dramas including Criminal Minds, CSI: New York and NCIS: Los Angeles will also be seeing some famous faces including Erica Gimpel (appearing on Criminal Minds), Blake Gibbons (appearing on CSI), and Christel Khalil (appearing on NCIS: Los Angeles). Additionally, Hollywood hunk Mark Consuelos might appear on Law & Order’s, “Special Victim’s Unit,” but it has not yet been determined.

WeLoveSoaps.net might be right when they say this is the year of the soap considering the guest appearances are for this month alone! It’s going to be exciting to see what A-Listers will be making appearances, both good and bad, in the following months. To see celebrities that will be making guest appearances on your favorite TV shows go to www.welovesoaps.net.

Image Courtesy of Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment and The Nature Conservancy announced on February 17, 2012 the launch of their environmental action campaign “The Lorax Speaks.”

The project aims to start a movement that generates support and awareness to save one of the planet’s most endangered tropical forests.  The Atlantic Forest in Brazil once spanned 330 million acres and has been reduced to a mere 7 percent of its original size.  The Forest is home to more than 2,000 animal species and approximately 20,000 species of plants, many of which can only survive in this Forest.  The Nature Conservancy’s “Plant a Billion Trees” (www.plantabillion.org) is a campaign to restore Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.

People are invited to customize their Facebook profile pictures to help raise awareness for “The Lorax Speaks” project.  In addition to spreading awareness, there is an opportunity for people and groups to make direct contributions to The Nature Conservancy to help plant trees in this threatened Forest.  The app is available on the official Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax Facebook page (www.facebook.com/theloraxmovie).

The movement was started by a generous donation from Universal Pictures, as well as support from the Audrey S. Geisel Dr. Seuss Foundation, Seventh Generation, HP, Mazda and IHOP, to The Nature Conservancy’s “Plant a Billion Trees” campaign.

“As we bring Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax to filmgoers, it remains crucial to honor the spirit in and the message of Dr. Seuss’ timeless book,” said Josh Goldstine, President of Marketing, Universal.  “Through this donation to The Nature Conservancy, we hope to further a conversation among the audience about serving as stewards of our environment.”

Illumination Entertainment Founder and CEO Chris Meledandri said: “Since 1971, Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Lorax’ has brought awareness to the precarious state of the environment.  His message is more important today than ever.  The Atlantic Forest in Brazil represents a microcosm of the Lorax’s story, and there is not a lot of time left before it disappears forever.  It has always been a goal of mine to utilize the massive reach we achieve through marketing a film to inspire social action.”

“This exciting partnership goes to show that bringing back the splendor of one of the world’s great forests is not an idea confined to the imagination of Dr. Seuss, but something that people everywhere can do now—by helping plant a billion trees in Brazil—to ensure a future in which the lungs of the Earth are healthy and thriving,” added Sarene Marshall, Managing Director of the Global Climate Change Team, The Nature Conservancy.

Facebook fans will be encouraged to “speak for the trees” by personalizing their profile pictures with custom Truffula Trees from the film.  They will join the cast of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax—Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, Rob Riggle and Betty White—in pledging their support.  The reforestation efforts will be helmed by The Nature Conservancy in a way that is ecologically sound and economically advantageous to the local population through its “Plant a Billion Trees” campaign.

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TV Land has picked up its fifth original sitcom, “Have Faith,” starring Cedric “The Entertainer,” it was announced at the TCA Winter Press Tour by Larry W. Jones, president of TV Land. The network has ordered 12 episodes for the first season, which is set to premiere in June of this year.

The sitcom, which was created by Cedric and “Hot in Cleveland” creator Suzanne Martin, revolves around Cedric’s character, Reverend Boyce “The Voice” Ballentine, an R&B superstar-turned-minister who takes over as preacher of his father’s church. Niecy Nash (“Reno 911″) also stars as the reverend’s wife, Lolli.

The pilot features John Beasley (“Everwood”) as his father, Wesley Jonathan (“What I Like About You”) as his younger brother, and Jazz Raycole (“My Wife and Kids”) as his daughter. The character of Reverend Boyce originated on a second season episode of “Hot in Cleveland” in which Cedric guest-starred.

“The show that Cedric and Suzanne have created is a fantastic family sitcom that you just don’t see as much on TV today,” said Jones. “That’s just one of the reasons we’re so thrilled to welcome him to the TV Land family. From the moment he appeared on ‘Hot in Cleveland,’ we knew we wanted to work with him in a greater capacity.”

“Hot in Cleveland,” TV Land’s first original sitcom starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White has also been greenlit by the network for a 24-episode fourth season.  A syndication deal was recently reached for “Hot in Cleveland,” giving CBS Television Distribution the domestic distribution rights for the series. This season pickup would bring “Hot in Cleveland” to 80 total episodes. The series, which is currently in its third season, averages 2.5 million total viewers per episode.

“With the show’s recent win at The People’s Choice Awards and Betty’s recent SAG Award nomination, it’s clear that the fans love and want more of ‘Hot in Cleveland,’” said Jones. “TV Land is growing in a major way, and these pickups are just the tip of the iceberg.”

Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

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Betty White scored a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role on TV Land’s “Hot in Cleveland” for the upcoming 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards; it was announced this morning from the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. ‘Hot in Cleveland’ also stars beloved actresses Valerie Bertinelli (‘One Day at a Time’), Jane Leeves (‘Frasier’) and Wendie Malick (‘Just Shoot Me’). White won the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor in a Comedy Series last year for the same role.

“We are so proud to have Betty recognized again for her role on ‘Hot in Cleveland,’” stated Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land. “It’s such an honor for us to work with her. She is a true legend and the chemistry between the four women is amazing – they are television all-stars.”

‘Hot in Cleveland’ revolves around three fabulous best friends from LA – novelist Melanie Moretti (Valerie Bertinelli), eye-brow archer to the stars Joy Scroggs (Jane Leeves) and former soap star Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick) – who find their lives changed forever when their plane, headed for Paris, makes an unexpected landing. When the friends discover that life is better for them and that they are hot in Cleveland, they decide to stay. Starting over together, they rent a house that happens to come with a very opinionated caretaker (Betty White). The show is currently in its third season and airs Wednesdays at 10pm on TV Land.

Filmed in front of a live audience, ‘Hot in Cleveland’ is executive-produced by Emmy Award-winner Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner of Hazy Mills Productions and is helmed by Emmy-Award winning Suzanne Martin (‘Frasier,’ ‘Ellen’) serving as executive producer, show runner and writer. Lynda Obst also serves as executive producer, and Larry W. Jones and Keith Cox are executive producers for TV Land.

’Hot in Cleveland’ is currently seen around the world in over 165 countries.

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