Screen Actors Guild Celebrates ADA 20th at White House, L.A. City Hall Events
(July 27, 2010) — On Monday , Screen Actors Guild joined advocates and officials to mark the 20th Anniversary of the American Disabilities Act (ADA) at events held at the White House and Los Angeles City Hall.
At a White House event celebrating the historic ADA 20th anniversary, President Obama announced an update to the “milestone in the journey to equality.” The president signed an executive order establishing the federal government as a “model employer” of people with disabilities. Members of SAG attended as well as Adam Moore, SAG associate director of Affirmative Action & Diversity. Robert David Hall, ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"), National Chair of the Tri-Union (SAG, AFTRA and Actors' Equity) Performers With Disabilities Committee, spoke and introduced Obama.
In L.A., led by L.A. City Councilmember Tom LaBonge, the ceremony opened with speakers including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Council President Eric Garcetti, Councilmembers Tony Cardenas, Janice Hahn, Jan Perry and Bill Rosendahl, and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich along with key leaders in the disability rights movement. Following the ceremony, SAG Affirmative Action & Diversity hosted its inaugural “Dare to Be Diverse” screening with the film "Sympathy for Delicious," starring Christopher Thornton, Mark Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Orlando Bloom and Laura Linney, written by Christopher Thornton and directed by Mark Ruffalo. A Q&A with Ruffalo, Thornton and casting director Heidi Levitt was moderated by actor Ron Livingston.
Actor Ron Livingston and actor/director Mark Ruffalo at the screening of Ruffalo's directorial debut Sympathy for Delicious.
Rebecca Yee, SAG National Director, Affirmative Action & Diversity
Christopher Thornton (writer/producer/actor Sympathy for Delicious)
Mark Ruffalo (director/actor Sympathy for Delicious)
Ron Livingston (Q&A moderator, actor The Music Within, Office Space)
A Q&A moderated by actor Ron Livingston featured Mark Ruffalo (director/actor Sympathy for Delicious), Christopher Thornton (writer/producer/actor Sympathy for Delicious), and Heidi Levitt (casting director, Sympathy for Delicious).
