Eli Roth Teams With Rainforest Preservation Campaign for ‘Green Inferno’
Eli Roth is teaming with a campaign to preserve at least 20,000 acres of the Amazon rain forest as part of the promotion for his upcoming horror-thriller “Green Inferno.”
The director-producer has joined rain-forest information website Mongabay and charity fundraising platform Prizeo for the preservation/awareness effort. Mongabay will establish a journalism fund to produce stories on threats facing indigenous people and forests in the Amazon along with distributing funds to nonprofit organizations working with indigenous populations to protect forests and cultures in the Peruvian Amazon.
“The Green Inferno” centers on a group of student activists traveling to the Amazon to save the rain forest. They soon discover they are not alone after crash-landing on a remote location, and are held hostage by the native tribe they set out to help save.
“I’m thrilled to be partnering with two terrific organizations that will help fans channel their goodwill towards helping the unprotected tribes of the Amazon in a truly effective way,” Roth said. “Horror films have always provoked discussion by pointing out a social injustice in the world, and I made ‘The Green Inferno’ to spark discussion and bring awareness to the devastation these tribes face at the hands of corporations.”
Horror film specialist Blumhouse announced in June that it was teaming with Universal and Focus Features to release “The Green Inferno” on Sept. 25. Blumhouse’s BH Tilt label is handling the release in collaboration with High Top Releasing — part of Universal — on approximately 1,000 screens.
“While my film is a work of fiction, sadly what is going on in the Amazon is all too real, and after we screened the film for Mongabay we all agreed that we could use the film’s publicity to help connect fans with them and support the incredible work they’re doing to help the rain forest and protect the people who live there peacefully,” Roth said.
Donors to the campaign will be entered into a sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip for two to Los Angeles to have lunch with Roth, tour the Crypt TV studio and attend a private screening. Rewards include movie props and memorabilia along with a development deal with Crypt TV.
Mongabay CEO Rhett Butler said, “Although this may seem an unconventional partnership for Mongabay, it presents us with a great opportunity to connect with a highly engaged and socially aware audience around issues that are directly relevant to all of us. We have been speaking with BH Tilt and Eli Roth for several weeks, and it’s clear that we have the support of a filmmaker who cares passionately about the issues that Mongabay stands for.”
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