Sustainable Table, a leading resource designed to celebrate the sustainable food movement and educate consumers on food related issues, and Participant Prods., a socially conscious film company, launched an animated short, THE MEATRIX II 1/2 online (www.moremeatrix.com) to promote the live-action theatrical, FAST FOOD NATION, and its social action campaign, produced by Participant. FAST FOOD NATION will be released Nov. 17, 2006, by Fox Searchlight. Sustainable Table produced THE MEATRIX films with Free Range Studios.
THE MEATRIX II 1/2, a 2:30 Flash animation film, is live at www.moremeatrix.com. Its message to consumers is, "the more fast food meat we consume, the more dangerous and unsanitary the slaughterhouse and meatpacking industry becomes," according to the announcement. The continuation of the award-winning THE MEATRIX II: REVOLTING, THE MEATRIX II 1/2 takes on another facet of the factory farm industry, exposing the meatpacking industry and how the industry's labor practices affect workers. This may be the first time an animated short film has been used to promote a major motion picture.
FAST FOOD NATION, based on material from Eric Schlosser's bestselling book of the same name, explores the fast food industry and ultimately reveals the dark side of the "All American Meal." Directed by Richard Linklater, the cast includes Greg Kinnear, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Wilmer Valderrama.
Each Participant film has its own social action campaign that provides people with specific actions they can take to get active in their communities. The FAST FOOD NATION campaign encourages consumers to use Sustainable Table's Eat Well Guide (www.eatwellguide.org), an online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs in the U.S. and Canada. The campaign can be found at www.participate.net/fastfoodnation.
"We're extremely excited to be working with Participant Prods. to help raise awareness and create broader social change in the food industry," said Diane Hatz, exec producer of THE MEATRIX films and founder of Sustainable Table. "We're not only educating consumers about the realties of fast food, but through Participant's social action campaign, we're offering a specific action step by directing consumers to our EAT WELL GUIDE."
Spoofs on THE MATRIX films, THE MEATRIX II 1/2 follows the action from the original THE MEATRIX and THE MEATRIX II: REVOLTING, which have reached more than 15 million viewers worldwide. This MEATRIX introduces more action, adventure and insight, starring farm heroes Leo, the young pig who wonders if he is "the one;" Chickity, the feathered family farm defender; and Moopheus, the trenchcoat clad cow with a passion for green pastures.
Picking up from their last adventure at the dairy farm, Leo and Chickity are rescuing Moopheus, who has been kidnapped and taken to a slaughterhouse. During the rescue, the trio learns firsthand "the ugly truth about the dangers of the meatpacking industry," and finds it is time to take the fast out of fast food.
"Large-scale, unsafe and unsanitary slaughterhouses are a result of trying to keep pace with today's fast food demand," said Hatz. "Consumers have a right to know how their food is produced so they can make the healthiest choice for themselves and their families."
Sustainable Table works to promote sustainable food and includes the Eat Well Guide (www.eatwellguide.org), an online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy and eggs in the U.S. and Canada. Free Range Studios (www.freerangestudios.com) offers top- quality design and animation services to organizations whose vision goes beyond turning the world into a strip mall.
Participant Prods., a Los Angeles-based company, focuses on compelling entertainment that highlights important social issues in order to awaken, inspire and empower audiences to make a difference in the world around them. Most recently, Participant produced the critically acclaimed documentary AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, currently in release from Paramount Classics. In 2005, the company's first full year in business, Participant was honored with a remarkable 11 Academy Award nominations (for the dramas GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK., SYRIANA and NORTH COUNTRY and the feature documentary, MURDERBALL).
