"Howard Zinn taught us to look at history with fresh eyes. His landmark book A People's History of the United States, first published in 1980, has sold one and a half million copies around the world and inspired innumerable fresh approaches to reflecting on the past. Now comes a unique documentary collaboration between Zinn and others. They have enlisted an extraordinary lineup of actors, including Viggo Mortensen, Danny Glover, Marisa Tomei and Kerry Washington, who contribute live stage performances of historical testimonies. The actors portray labour leaders, civil rights demonstrators and other activists, whose stories are drawn from Voices of a People's History of the United States, an anthology edited by Zinn and Anthony Arnove that was published in 2004. In their introduction to the book, they wrote, 'Whenever injustices have been remedied, wars halted, women and blacks and Native Americans given their due, it has been because ‘unimportant' people spoke up, organized, protested and brought democracy alive.'

"Zinn and Arnove are bringing this work to film with the support of Matt Damon and Chris Moore, who previously collaborated as producers on the television series Project Greenlight, and whose formidable powers as producers enabled them to greenlight such a unique project. In this special Mavericks presentation, the audience will be treated to a sneak preview of clips from the documentary The People Speak, along with a discussion on stage between Zinn, Damon, Moore and actor Josh Brolin (who performs in the project) about the process and their motivations. This continues a Mavericks tradition of giving Festival audiences a sneak peak at works-in-progress. In 2006, Michael Moore tried out early clips of Sicko, and in 2007, Larry Charles and Bill Maher showed samples of Religulous, which premieres at this year's Festival.

"The People Speak combines archival footage with new performances, the actors embodying voices full of courage and passion. For anyone who found school-book history dull, this version is an invigorating change."

http://tiff08.ca/filmsandschedules/films/peoplespeak

And see also the coverage in the New York Times:

More Fun, Less Politics, at Toronto Film Festival
By MICHAEL CIEPLY
September 5, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/06/movies/06fest.html

Macky Auditorium Concert Hall
University of Colorado at Boulder
Boulder, CO

Join Howard Zinn, David Barsamian, and Anthony Arnove, along with local performers to be announced, for a reading of Voices of People's History of the United States.

Ticket information forthcoming.

For directions see:
http://www.colorado.edu/macky/maps.html

Hotel Marlowe, 25 Edwin H. Land Blvd, Cambridge, MA (http://www.hotelmarlowe.com)
Friday, September 19, 2008

SJW! Awards Dinner 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
SJW! Party at 8:00 pm - Midnight

Honorary Chairperson Matt Damon
featuring Howard Zinn presenting a sneak preview from the film THE PEOPLE SPEAK and the first annual SJW Aaronson Fund Grant Awards.

A ticket for the Awards Dinner is $250, and includes admission to the Party at 8:00 pm.

The SJW! Party will feature the celebration of our first grant recipients, our guest DJ, and a continued focus on networking and celebrating 41 years of progressive education! A ticket for the SJW! Party is $50.

For ticket purchases by credit card (our preferred method), click here: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=28445

To order tickets and pay by check, download a registration form from the SJW website and mail to the address listed on the form: http://www.sjwtheaaronsonfund.org/NEWS_EVENTS.html

See you on September 19th! Spread the word - sign up early!

For two reviews of the event see:

"Acting on History"
By DAVID CARR
August 27, 2008
THE CAUCUS | New York Times

DENVER - The Starz Green Room sits just inside the security perimeter at the Democratic convention, but it is worlds away from the hardcore politics inside the Pepsi Center.

People who journeyed over Wednesday afternoon watched rapt as the likes of Ben Affleck, Josh Brolin and Rosario Dawson read from famous speeches in American history. The program, entitled "The History of Progressive America," included a sung tribute to labor hero Joe Hill and his song "Rebel Girl" by folksinger Jill Solbule, while Josh Brolin was cast as psychiatrist Daniel Ellsberg explaining why he turned over the Pentagon Papers. Marian Wright Edelman's speech to Milton Academy about the country's willingness to ignore the needs of its children, which was read by actress Kerry Washington, was a big [hit]. Then it became apparent that Ms. Wright Edelman was in the room, and a huge round of applause ensued.

Near the end of the program, a bearded Ben Affleck performed an impassioned rendering of abolitionist John Brown's courtroom speech in response to being sentenced to death.

. . .

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/the-carpetbagger-acting-on-history/

*

"DNC: Affleck, Brolin & Moore Bring Howard Zinn to Stage and Screen"
By Karina Longworth
SPOUT Blog
Daily coverage of what is truly interesting in the film world

. . .

Moore began both sessions by showing a trailer for his doc, which is essentially a concert film comprised of footage captured at events where Moore’s celebrity friends dramatically read the words of historical thinkers, rebels and rabblerousers, from from Frederick Douglas to Emma Goldman to Muhammed Ali.

. . .

Some of said money shots are, well, priceless. Marisa Tomei throws her voice up to My Cousin Vinny register to take on the role of Cindy Sheehan; Hill Harper gives the poetry reading to treatment to the lyrics to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power”; John Legend is surprisingly credible as Muhammed Ali. It all has a variety show feel, and with Zinn seemingly functioning like as the elder-statesman master of ceremonies, it almost plays like a Prairie Home Companion for a new generation of old-school-style, aggro lefties.

On the panel, Lux expressed concern that today’s Democrats are––at the risk of putting too fine a point on it––lacking in balls in comparison to previous generations of leftists. “Caution kills,” he warned. “Caution kills anything significant or historic.” An hour later, Moore took the stage to inform the crowd that the live performances were getting off to a late start because 6,000 Iraq veterans were outside protesting the war, causing a security lock-down around the perimeter of the Convention that even movie stars couldn’t get through. Though Moore apologized for the fact that some of the expected performers would be tardy or absent altogether (Affleck snuck in as Brolin was taking the stage for the first reading), of the protesters, Moore said, “I’m very happy for them.”

Maybe fittingly considering the climate just outside the room, the most explosive performance of the afternoon involved an outpouring of anger over this war and the way it’s been fought. Kerry Washington’s rendition of the Cindy Sheehan speech read by Tomei in the film brought reluctant but undeniable tears to this dispassionate reporter’s eyes. The black, 30-something Washington absolutely disappeared into the character of Sheehan, the white, middle-aged, slightly batty mom who became an early icon of the modern day anti-war movement when her son’s death prompted her to camp out outside George W. Bush’s vacation ranch. If Washington’s performance yesterday is any indication of the sheer commitment of these actors to bringing the radical voices of the past and present to vibrant life, then The People Speak is going to be one hell of an experience.

http://blog.spout.com/2008/08/28/dnc-affleck-brolin-moore-bring-howard-zinn-to-stage-and-screen/

For more information on Sami Al-Arian's case, please visit http://www.freesamialarian.com/.

Historian and social activist Howard Zinn is out with a new graphic-style book, A People's History of American Empire. We speak to Zinn about his experiences as a young soldier in World War II and about today's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.here-now.org/shows/2008/08/20080805_5.asp

Rob Kall Radio Show (WNJC Philadelphia)
August 20, 2008

Howard Zinn is a national treasure whose approach to history should be taught in every school in America. If you don't know his work, be sure to tune in or download the interview later.

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=8723

Uprising Radio
August 22, 2008

Howard Zinn on Obama, McCain, and the State of American Politics

http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=3020

Free Speech Radio News
August 22, 2008

As Democratic convention protestors put the finishing touches on their protest plans, debate over the relevance of the protests exists among the left. Pacifica's Verna Avery Brown spoke with historian Howard Zinn and Labor Activist Bill Fletcher about protest tactics on her show What's At Stake. Professor Zinn encourages protest at the Democratic Convention.

http://www.fsrn.org/content/election-unspun-aug-22-dnc-protest-preview/3103

The Nation
July 30, 2008

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080818/open_letter

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/07/17/memo_to_obama_mccain_no_one_wins_in_a_war

(Note that due to an editorial error the article mentions "hundreds" of refugees rather than "hundreds of thousands" of refugees.)

Click on the following link: http://howardzinn.org/video/thepeoplespeak.mov

In addition, some new outstanding footage of performers such as Viggo Mortensen, Danny Glover, Marisa Tomei, Josh Brolin, Staceyann Chin, Allison Moorer, and Steve Earle, and others reading and performing material from Voices of a People's History of the United States can be found on YouTube at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/arnove

There are 33 videos currently posted, but watch for more . . .

Viggo Mortensen

Danny Glover

An Interview with Howard Zinn on Anarchism: Rebels Against Tyranny
Howard Zinn interviewed by Ziga Vodovnik
Counterpunch
May 12, 2008
http://counterpunch.org/vodovnik05122008.html

Zinn Speaks: An Interview with Howard Zinn on the State of the Empire
Howard Zinn interviewed by Wajahat Ali
Counterpunch
April 19, 2008
http://www.counterpunch.org/waj04192008.html