HOUSTON, March 23, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- So Act Network, Inc. (OTCBB:SOAN), which is endorsed by William Shatner as "a ray of hope amidst all the gloom," and by Ed Asner as "the best place to make a difference," announced today that Danny Glover and Mickey Rooney have joined So Act's 24 Celebrities and Experts team.
About Danny Glover
Danny Glover has been a commanding presence on screen, stage and television for more than 25 years. His film credits range from the blockbuster "Lethal Weapon" franchise to the cult classic "Saw" to smaller independent features, some of which Glover also produced. He has also had success in the television arena, with a recurring role on the hit NBC drama series "ER" during the 2005 season and with a role on the popular ABC drama "Brothers and Sisters."
Most recently, Glover can be seen in the role of The President in the Sony Pictures action thriller "2012." He also recently completed work on Neil LaBute's dark comedy "Death at a Funeral" for Screen Gems, "Honeydripper" for director John Sayles, "Be Kind, Rewind," co-starring with Jack Black and "Dear Alice."
Glover appeared in the critically-acclaimed feature "Dreamgirls" for director Bill Condon, co-starring Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy and Beyonce. The Paramount Pictures film, based on the Tony Award-winning musical, was released in 2006 and received two Academy Awards and additional honors. Also for Paramount, he appeared in "Shooter" for director Antoine Fuqua, starring opposite Mark Wahlberg.
A native of San Francisco, California, Glover earned a degree in Economics from San Francisco State University and also trained at the Black Actors' Workshop of the American Conservatory Theater. He started his acting career on the stage, appearing in numerous plays, including Athol Fugard's "The Island" and "Sizwe Banzi is Dead." However, it was Glover's Broadway debut in Fugard's "Master Harold…and the Boys" that first brought the actor national recognition.
It was after seeing his performance in "Master Harold…and the Boys" that film director Robert Benton cast Glover in his first leading role in 1984's Oscar®-nominated Best Picture "Places in the Heart." The following year, Glover starred in two more Best Picture nominees: Peter Weir's "Witness" and Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple."
In 1987, Glover partnered with Mel Gibson in the first "Lethal Weapon" film, earning an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actor. He went on to star in three hugely successful "Lethal Weapon" sequels. Glover has also invested his talents in more personal projects, including the award-winning "To Sleep With Anger," which he executive produced and for which he won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor; "Bopha!"; "Manderlay"; "Missing in America"; and the film version of Athol Fugard's play "Boesman and Lena." Glover's many film credits also include "The Royal Tenenbaums"; "Beloved," for which he won an Image Award for Best Actor; "The Rainmaker"; "Angels in the Outfield"; and Lawrence Kasdan's "Grand Canyon" and "Silverado." Glover has also lent his distinctive voice to such animated films as "Antz," "The Prince of Egypt," and the upcoming "The Barnyard."
On the small screen, Glover won an Image Award and a Cable ACE Award and earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the HBO movie "Mandela." He has received three more Emmy nominations for his work in the acclaimed miniseries "Lonesome Dove," "Fallen Angels," and the telefilm "Freedom Song," the last of which Glover also executive produced and for which he garnered another Image Award, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In addition, he won an Image Award for his work in the miniseries "Alex Haley's Queen," and received Image Award nominations for his roles in "Buffalo Soldiers" and "Good Fences," which he also produced. Behind the camera, Glover executive produced and hosted the Fox Family Channel series "Courage," and executive produced and starred in the Showtime movie "3 A.M." As a director, he earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for Showtime's "Just a Dream."
In 2003, Glover made a triumphant return to Broadway in a revival of "Master Harold…and the Boys," winning applause from both critics and audiences. In 2005, Glover co-founded Louverture Films (www.louverturefilms.com), with his producing partner Joslyn Barnes. Louverture Films is dedicated to the development and production of films of historical relevance, social purpose, commercial value and artistic integrity. The company's credits include the award-winning features BAMAKO, SALT OF THIS SEA and THE TIME THAT REMAINS, the Oscar® nominated documentary TROUBLE THE WATER, the music documentaries AFRICA UNITE and the Oscar® shortlisted SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION.
He has also gained respect for his wide-reaching community activism and philanthropic efforts. Glover currently serves as a UNICEF Ambassador and, in recognition of his dedication to public service, has received numerous prestigious honors including the 2002 Marian Anderson Award, the 2003 NAACP Chairman's Award, the 2004 BET Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2009 CBCF Phoenix Award. He is also Chairman of the Board of TransAfrica Forum, a non-profit global justice organization whose focus is on fostering a closer alliance amongst, and addressing issues facing, African Americans and peoples in Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
About Mickey Rooney
The honorary Oscar is the motion picture industry's highest acknowledgement of film legends. It is given only occasionally, and the select recipients include such names as Charles Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Henry Fonda, Joan Crawford, Laurence Olivier and Deborah Kerr. In 1983, it was presented to Mickey Rooney. 2007 marked Mickey's 85th Anniversary in show business.
Mickey was born Joe Yule, Jr. on September 23, 1920 in Brooklyn, the son of well-known performers Joe Yule and Nell Carter. The consummate performer, he made his first stage appearance at the age of two when he crawled out on stage during his parents' vaudeville act. All of Mickey's eighty-plus years have been busy. At four, he made his motion picture debut, as a midget in "Not To Be Trusted." A year later, he became Mickey "himself" McGuire for seventy-eight short film comedies based on Fontaine Fox's tough little cartoon character. He outgrew the role at twelve and went on the road, taking the name Mickey Rooney.
In the 1930s, he signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for whom he made the famous "Andy Hardy" series. Box office receipts for 1938-1940 made him the number one star in the world. In 1939, he received a special Academy Award for the film "Boys Town" with Spencer Tracy and for his work in the Andy Hardy series. This was also the year he made his first major musical with Judy Garland, "Babes in Arms," which earned him an Academy Award nomination for best actor. It was the first time a juvenile had competed with adult stars for the honor.
The next time he was so honored was in 1943 for his work in "The Human Comedy." In 1944, he made "National Velvet" with Elizabeth Taylor, before joining the army in World War II. As a regular GI he entertained frontline troops with "The Jeep Shows." "The Jeep Shows" consisted of three men in a jeep who delivered much needed entertainment to the troops in foxholes at the front. For his services in the war, he was awarded the Bronze Star with clusters.
After the war, Rooney set about rebuilding his career. He would make several classic films including "Killer McCoy," "The Fireball," "Baby Face Nelson" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's." His list of credits for the past eight decades is impressive, containing more than three hundred fifty films, including "The Black Stallion," for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Continuing to be a forceful presence in the motion picture industry, in 2006 Mickey co-starred with Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson and his old friend Dick Van Dyke, in the 20th Century Fox's major Christmas release, "Night At The Museum." He also continues his work promoting and developing new generations of filmmakers by producing and starring, with his wife Jan, in small films such as "The Yesterday Pool," "To Kill A Mockumentary" and "A Christmas Too Many."
With the advent of television, Mickey dove into and conquered the new medium. During its "Golden Age" he appeared in many classic dramas, such as "The Comedian" with famed director John Frankenheimer, (for which he received an Emmy nomination) and the classic "Twilight Zone" episode "The Last Night of a Jockey." In 1982, he portrayed Bill Sackter in the television film "Bill" and received an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and the Peabody Award for his performance. He repeated the role two years later in "Bill On His Own." He has starred in numerous television series including "Hey Mulligan," "Mickey," for which he won the Golden Globe in 1964 as Best Actor in a Television Series, "A Year At The Top" with Sammy Davis, Jr., "One Of The Boys?" with Nathan Lane and Dana Carey and "The Adventures of the Black Stallion."
In 1979, Mickey achieved a new triumph, which took him to the cover of "Life" magazine, the starring role in the theatrical production of "Sugar Babies" for which he received a Tony nomination. The show ran successfully on Broadway for three years and had a record-breaking eight-year run on the road. In 1988, he wowed London's West End audiences in "Sugar Babies." His stage success continued in 1989 when he and Donald O'Conner made a twenty-city tour in "Two For The Show," which they co-wrote. In 1990, they enjoyed similar success, with a thirteen-city tour in Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys." He returned to Broadway in 1993 to appear with Larry Gatlin in "The Will Rogers Follies." He successfully revived "Sugar Babies" in 1995 at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas with Juliette Prowse and appeared in Toronto at Royal Alexandra Theatre in "Crazy For You." In 1997, he toured the United States and Canada as "the Wizard" and "Professor Marvel" in Madison Square Garden's acclaimed production of "The Wizard of Oz."
In 1999 Mickey and his wife Jan launched a successful tour of "The One Man One Wife Show" in Australia and New Zealand. The show delighted audiences throughout the United States and Europe for its entire five-year run.
In 2004 Mickey and Jan triumphed Off-Broadway in their new autobiographical musical, "Let's Put On A Show!" at the Irish Repertory Theatre. They followed their successful New York run with long-term engagements at the prestigious Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and in Branson. In 2006 they repeated that triumph with a 15-city tour of the United Kingdom and many U.S. cities. At the end of the year they made their British pantomime premiere in the wildly successful Sunderland Theatre production of "Cinderella." They did 50 performances. 2008 was particularly busy with the sell out performances in various Performing Arts Centers across the U.S. and at the Resort and the Hilton Casinos in Atlantic City.
Mickey is also an accomplished musician and can play almost every instrument in an orchestra. As a member of ASCAP, Mickey has composed numerous pop songs, a symphony and several film scores.
His entire achievements pale in comparison to what Mickey considers his greatest life achievement. That is Mickey's 25-plus year marriage to Jan (Chamberlin) Rooney. A stellar talent in her own right, Jan is a multi-faceted Singer, Actress Songwriter and Abstract Artist. The recipient of three stars on The Hollywood Walk of Fame, in April of 2004, Mickey was honored to receive a Fourth Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. He proudly shares that star with Jan for their achievement in live entertainment. They remain deeply in love with one another. They currently reside in Ventura County, California. There they enjoy the pleasure and quiet of the country with the other loves of their lives, children, grandchildren, their two birds and their beloved dog, Digby. They are both strong Animal Rights Advocates.
About So Act® Network, Inc.
Endorsed by William Shatner as "a ray of hope amidst all the gloom," and by Ed Asner as "the best place to make a difference," So Act Network (OTCBB:SOAN) is recognized by many socially conscious celebrities and experts young and old as the place to pursue and create social change to improve our world. http://soact.net/celebrities_experts.html. In his book "What Are You Waiting For? So Act Already!" Social Media author Jon Hansen calls So Act "The 60 minutes of Social Networks, where you engage, mobilize and empower people into action." Whatever the mission, cause, product, service, program, cure, or solution, So Act can help you expand your sphere of influence and crystallize forward thinking into positive action on a larger scale, while harmoniously merging economic and socially conscious goals. While the network is free to everyone, So Act provides partnerships, affiliate programs and profit-sharing opportunities for companies and individuals seeking to increase their foothold in the Social Networking space and increase business and customers. Bring us all of your opportunities and we will consider partnering with you. Recently added affiliate groups include an Insurance Network Group - Cutter and Company, a new Traveler Network Group - Priceline and some of So Act's better known retail brands now available are GoDaddy, Staples, Fandango, Payless Shoes and Turbo Tax. So Act is in development of others for investing, real estate, medical and legal, with plans to eventually have social networks or affiliate groups for most categories of products and services that will offer greater opportunities and benefits for its members. So Act's innovative technologies provide a global social network where its members are able to build Communities of Purpose, and accomplish and promote all of their important goals without being subjected to spam or ads, and without having personal information used by marketers. So Act's cutting edge communication platform improves on the social networking theme by providing businesses and individuals with project building tools, alerting, and secured network file sharing and previewing, all in a personalized, private, format that crosses global boundaries to connect like-minded individuals, while allowing an unlimited number of members to simultaneously participate in small, or large, online meetings. So Act includes a "top 10" filtered results ad-free web search engine, and its press club allows members to share their important news with their followers and the media at the most economically available rates. While membership is free, several features to increase network size and capability for those with greater needs will be available for $1, $2 and $5 monthly fees as member use expands. Get more information at www.SoAct.Net. Watch the Commercial - http://www.soact.net/bigvideo
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may include statements regarding stock-based compensation charges and our plans to invest in our core business and make significant capital expenditures. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted include, among others, unforeseen changes in our hiring patterns and our need to expend capital to accommodate the growth of the business, as well as those risks and uncertainties included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, which is on file with the SEC and is available on our investor relations website at SoAct.Net and on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Additional information is also set forth in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, which is also on file with the SEC. All information provided in this release is as of March 20, 2010 and So Act Network undertakes no duty to update this information. So Act is a registered trademark of So Act Network, Inc.
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