Use the Force For Good! Lucasfilm Launches Initiative to Benefit Stand Up To Cancer

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucasfilm announced today that in celebration of the September launch of Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray, it is linking up with celebrities, eBay and Major League Baseball to ask fans to Use the Force for Good to support Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C). SU2C funds groundbreaking cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives.

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"Lucasfilm joining with eBay, Major League Baseball and a wonderful group of actors is an amazing force for good being brought to bear in Stand Up To Cancer's fight against this disease, and we are profoundly grateful," said SU2C Co-Founder Sue Schwartz. "With one in two men and one in three women diagnosed in their lifetimes, cancer affects us all.  SU2C's mission is to persuade each and every person to support the scientists working to end cancer, and this initiative gives legions of Star Wars fans fun and easy ways to do that."

The campaign will launch today with a video featuring celebrity Star Wars enthusiasts encouraging fans to Use the Force for Good and join Lucasfilm in donating to Stand Up To Cancer.  SU2C Ambassadors Aziz Ansari, Zach Galifianakis, Bill Hader, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Jaime King, Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg and Emma Stone – along with Star Wars alum Samuel L. Jackson – will each Use the Force for Good as they recreate classic Star Wars scenes to raise awareness for cancer research.  The all-star video tribute appears on the Star Wars YouTube channel youtube.com/starwars.

Also, eBay will use the Force of its 97 million active members to give fans an online destination for browsing unique and special Star Wars items: ebay.com/usetheforceforgood.  The destination will allow fans to bid on rare and exclusive items like a one-of-a-kind Star Wars edition 2012 Volkswagen Passat and a once-in-a-lifetime experience; dinner with prominent Bay Area filmmakers George Lucas, Chris Columbus, Francis Ford Coppola, Philip Kaufman and John Lasseter. All charity auctions will begin on September 16th at 4:00 p.m. PDT, and continue until 4:00 p.m. PDT on September 23rd.

Star Wars and SU2C have also created a Stand Up To Cancer line of Star Wars t-shirts.  The tees will feature iconic Star Wars artwork alongside SU2C's signature upward arrows, with slogans like "Blast Cancer" and "Use the Force for Good."  The exclusive tees are available now and can be purchased through the end of the year at store.standup2cancer.org/shop with proceeds benefitting SU2C.

Then, throughout the month of September, select Major League Baseball Clubs across the country will feature Stand Up To Cancer/Star Wars themed nights in their respective ballparks. The special events will offer Star Wars themed ticket packages with a portion of proceeds benefitting SU2C. Most packages will include appearances by Star Wars costumed characters, VIP fan photo ops, giveaways and the Star Wars Stand Up To Cancer exclusive t-shirts. For a list of participating Clubs, game schedules and ticket information, please visit MLB.com/StarWars. Since its launch, Stand Up To Cancer has grown significantly with support from players, fans and all 30 MLB Clubs. Major League Baseball was a founding donor to Stand Up To Cancer in 2008, and has donated more than $30 million to the groundbreaking research organization since its inception.  

"We are thrilled to be using the launch of Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray as a call to action for our fans to Use the Force for Good," said Kayleen Walters, Senior Director of Marketing at Lucasfilm. "We are happy to use the power of Star Wars to support this noble cause."

About Stand Up To Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) -- a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c) (3) charitable organization -- raises funds to accelerate the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C facilitates collaboration among the best and the brightest in the cancer research community. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., conduct rigorous, competitive review processes through which SU2C's grantees are selected. By galvanizing the entertainment industry, SU2C generates awareness and builds grassroots support for this new approach to ending cancer.

To view the recently televised Stand Up To Cancer fundraising special, please visit: www.su2c.org/2010show. For general information, please visit www.su2c.org.

About eBay

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is about connecting buyers and sellers. We do so through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, which allows users to buy and sell on eBay platforms in nearly every country on earth; through PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments; and through GSI Commerce, which facilitates ecommerce, multichannel retailing and digital marketing for global enterprises. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

About Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball (MLB) is the oldest professional sports league in the United States and consists of 30 member Clubs in the U.S. and Canada representing the highest level of professional baseball. Under the guidance of its ninth Commissioner, Allan H. (Bud) Selig, MLB has experienced dramatic changes including Interleague Play, the introduction of the Wild Card, a more comprehensive drug-testing program, significant revenue sharing among the Clubs and a growth in revenue from $1.2 billion in 1992 to $7 billion in 2010. The last seven seasons have been the best attended in MLB history with each year, including 2010, eclipsing the 73 million mark. In addition, 14 Clubs saw double digit percentage increases in their local television ratings. With the continued success of MLB Network and MLB Advanced Media and the 2011 launch of the MLB Fan Cave, MLB continues to find innovative ways for its fans to enjoy the National Pastime. For more information on Major League Baseball, visit MLB.com.  

About Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray

Relive the unforgettable moments and experience the spectacular adventure of STAR WARS The Complete Saga in a way only Blu-ray can deliver. This incredible collection unites all six Episodes together for the first time in stunning high definition with the purest digital sound in the galaxy. With over 40 hours of thrilling special features, including all-new content created exclusively for this release, you can journey deeper into the Star Wars universe and discover more than ever before. Feel the Force of STAR WARS The Complete Saga on Blu-ray this September!

About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.

Lucasfilm, STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd.  All rights reserved.  All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

SOURCE Lucasfilm Ltd.