Jack Black & Prop 8

Since Proposition 8 passed in California, much of Hollywood has been
up in arms. Now, they are singing and dancing, too, in a new Web video
called "Prop 8: The Musical."
The video was posted on
FunnyOrDie.com, the video site co-founded by Will Ferrell and Adam
McKay. The site has found a niche in getting professional talent to
quickly create topical comedy videos.
"Prop 8: The Musical" may
be a 3-minute Internet video, but it has a blockbuster cast — including
Jack Black (who plays Jesus), Neil Patrick Harris, John C. Reilly, Andy
Richter, Maya Rudolph, Margaret Cho, Rashida Jones and others.
Though
Jesus doesn't bring the two sides together, Harris has better luck. He
argues gay marriage could save the economy: "Every time a gay or
lesbian finds love at the parade, there's money to be made."
The
video was conceived and written by Marc Shaiman, the Tony-winning
composer of "Hairspray" and "South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut."
McKay, who had previously collaborated with Shaiman on the
song-and-dance routine Ferrell, Black and Reilly did at the Oscars
earlier this year, sent him an e-mail floating the idea of a video.
As
of Thursday, the clip had clearly ascended to viral status, with more
than 1.1 million views on FunnyOrDie.com. Given the sensitivity of the
issue, comments also have been flying, with well over a thousand posted.
Shaiman had been involved in a more serious debate over Proposition 8.
After
voters approved Proposition 8, which changed the state's constitution
to ban same-sex marriage, it was revealed that Scott Eckern, artistic
director of the California Musical Theater in Sacramento (the state's
largest nonprofit musical theater company) had donated $1,000 to the
"Yes on 8" campaign.
Shaiman's "Hairspray" had played at the
theater and he said he would never allow anything he wrote to play
there because of Eckern's donation. Others protested and Eckern
resigned in November.
In an interview Wednesday, Shaiman
regretted that it came to Eckern losing his job and said: "It's a
tragedy for everyone involved. You'll certainly see that no one called
for him to resign."
The video for Funny or Die was a lighter-hearted protest.
Shaiman wrote the piece in a day, recorded it the next and shot it in a single day last week.
"It
was like, `Eureka! That's right, that's what I do!" said Shaiman of the
mini-musical. "If I'm going to stand on the soap box, at least let me
sing and dance."




What are your views on this Proposition 8?