Baldwin Ent. takes on tree tale
- The Hollywood Reporter. By Chris Gardner
October 4, 2004

Baldwin Entertainment Group, the company behind the upcoming Ray Charles biopic "Ray" starring Jamie Foxx, is gearing up for another true-life tale, acquiring Julia Butterfly Hill's book "The Legacy of Luna" to develop into a feature film.

The tome, which will be adapted for the screen by David Ward, centers on Hill's two-year stint living in a tree she called Luna in an attempt to thwart Pacific Lumber's plans to destroy a forest of California redwoods. In December 1997, Hill climbed the tree and refused to come down, hoping to bring attention to her cause and save the forest.
She came down 738 days later, after reaching an agreement that provided permanent protection for the tree and a buffer zone around it. Her book is described as part diary, part treatise and part New Age spiritual journey.

For the film, company topper Howard Baldwin said the producers plan to film on a very green set. "We want to show that an ecology-minded production is doable. We hope it will start a trend in the film industry by encouraging others to follow suit," said Baldwin.
Said Hill: "I believe that anything of real value is worth going to any length of love and respect to safeguard. I know that Howard and Karen Baldwin and Andy Cohen are committed to making a great film that does justice to this message."

Baldwin is producing the project along with his wife, Karen Baldwin, and producer Andrew Cohen, the son of Richard Cohen, who was previously partnered with the Baldwins in Baldwin-Cohen Entertainment. "Having Andy Cohen involved with us as a partner in this project has special meaning to Karen and to me," Baldwin said. "It is a way of continuing the tradition of the long partnership we enjoyed with Richard Cohen, who was also a dear friend."

The Baldwins created BEG after running Phil Anschutz's Crusader Entertainment for the past three and a half years. During their tenure there, they produced the biopic "Swimming Upstream" starring Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis, "A Sound of Thunder" with Ben Kingsley and "The Game of Their Lives" starring Wes Bentley and Gerard Butler.

Hill is repped by manager Paul Bassis.