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Motion Picture Television Fund board member George Clooney this morning announced the launch of a $350 million fundraising drive at the organization over the next three years. During a breakfast at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills, MPTF brass said that $238 million has already been raised in the effort, with key contributions from the likes of Clooney, Steve Bing, Tom Cruise, Barry Diller, Fox Entertaiment Group, David Geffen, Michael Lewis, Jerry Perenchio, Joe Roth, Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg, Todd Phillips, Patrick Soon-shiong, Thomas Tull and John Wells, among others. That’s in addition to the $100 million already on hand according to Katzenberg, chairman of the MPTF Foundation. 
Over the past 20 years, the fund has raised $200 million. MPTF president Bob Beitcher said the fundraising push comes as an 75,000 baby boomers will be retiring from the industry over the next 20 years. “This is a safety net for them,” he said this morning. The fund’s biggest fundraising event of the year, the annual “Night Before” Oscar party, is set for Saturday at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
It’s always been a mixed bag of news at the MPTF — Clooney, a board member for a year, said today that Katzenberg told him, “If you think the Sudan is tough, just try the MPTF.” The organization that provides long-term health care and services for members of the entertainment industry was fined $80,000 by the state yesterday for its part in the death of a patient in 2010. Beitcher addressed the citation this morning, saying the MPTF brought in outside safety consultants and conducted special training for staff so “this won’t happen again,” he said. “This is important but is ancient history for us.” The Woodland Hills-based nursing facility last month announced that it had reorganized enough to reverse a 2009 decision to shut it down — a move that drew criticism and lawsuits. The reopened facility will house as many as 40 patients at any given time going forward. Last week, the MPTF also announced a tie-up with UCLA Health System and its Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital that will offer a geriatric psychiatry unit at the fund’s Wasserman Campus. It will provide inpatient and outpatient services and is expected to be up and running in early 2013.
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Again, like the “ruby red slippers,” Debb & Steven, it’s the decent, right thing to do. Shame that it has to resort to ‘fundraising.’ This IS yet another difference between a wonderful Entertainment Industry, professional, dignified, with that deep human factor and the ‘other.’ There is,… no place like home.
The MPTF board would have you expect that this was all their idea. “Let’s return the long term care to the huddled masses of below the line schnorers in our industry”.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The MPTF wanted to scrap long term care. If it weren’t for Nancy Biederman and her Saving the Lives of Our Own, the board would tell you to pound sand when your children came knocking.
Let them take all the credit as long as they keep the nursing home doors open. From this actor, I will say a heartfelt ‘thank you Nancy’. You will not soon be forgotten.
Hear, hear. It’s about g-d time that Clooney, Katzenberg et al stood up and put their money where their mouths are. Just sad that so many elderly people had to be put through such emotional and physical trauma to get to this point. The bigwigs should’ve done this IMMEDIATELY when they began having issues with closing the home.
Unfortunately, they had to be shamed publicly and even then it took them another year to get their asses in gear.
And the Time is right. None of this would’ve happened without Nancy Biederman. A heartfelt thanks.
You gotta believe sometimes that there is Good in Motion Picture Exeutives and Actors/Stars. Katzenberg was blasted years back at his attempt to close it down. But the protesters were heard and heard again. So on this occasion I thank you all,..but as to Steve Bing stop bank rolling movies and make one yourself. I know you to be a creative guy..make the time and direct. And to all the people listed above, Pleae have fun at the Oscar Parties. And thanks for your movies. Those theaters would be lonely places without them. Bettheduck
Is all this fund raising and the tremendous amount of cash on hand solely for the critically ill that need intensive nursing care, Is there no longer residennces for individuals to move into justfor assisted living. I see a number of 40 patients that can be attended to in the story,above.Is that a correct interpretation.
Robbie Goldstein
At last, a happy Hollywood ending is being written at the MPTF! CONGRATULATIONS and HEARTFELT APPRECIATION to all who worked so hard – in the spotlight and behind the scenes. DEEP GRATITUDE (in alphabetical order to avoid further conflict)to: BOB BEITCHER, who accepted the challenge to find a solution; GEORGE CLOONEY, who trained in the Sudan to do battle at “Home” and JEFFREY KATZENBERG, who knew the right thing to do…and did it! And, as the guiding force at “Saving the Lives of Our Own” a Lifetime Achievement Award to NANCY BIEDERMAN. She made a difference.
Robert. Other stories about this news mention that the residence areas will benefit from this campaign and so will all of the programs and services that MPTF has. The 40 patients is for the long term area. The Alzheimers area has patients too. The assisted living continues on into the future with improvements.
Nice man George Clooney – he really gets it – from the heart.
No matter that their wouldn’t have been a Home without Saving the Lives – the important thing is that Mr. K did the right thing – he really seems to understand now. Hopefully Mr. K will soon recognize the need to open up more than 40 beds for the Home which is available to an audience of hundreds of thousands, especially going forward.
This is all good, except for the hold overs – those who were the architects and their cowardly “facilitators” of the utter destruction of the lives and mental and physical well being of sick old people, those who still don’t give a crap and who are hiding their venom and anger toward the elderly. What are they doing there? Time to get rid of them now – then the residents of the Home can sleep tight, and then – we can all go home.
“If you think the Sudan is tough, just try the MPTF.” — What a hurtful, cynical remark, but, what do you expect from this jerk. They should give him a one-way ticket to the Sudan for what he tried to do to the MPTF Hospital! And, who’s he kidding? He was backed onto a corner! Don’t understand how he’s been allowed to keep his Foundation Chairmanship!
Note to Friend in comment above.
Yes, those who advocated closing the Home, those who went out of their way with a vengeance to push the sick old residents out should leave now. How can the residents trust them? The COO Seth Ellis, who said something like “no one wants to see sickness on Campus” and then “kaboom” he actively pushed for closure of the Home and ignored the written and verbal concerns of the sick residents and family members addressed to him about safety and mental well being of the residents and the place being under staffed – he was hostile to the concerns, and wasn’t he in charge of the place day to day as the COO when 89 year old resident Carrie De Lay fell down a staircase at the Home and smashed herself to pieces and died a horrible death? She had dementia and limited mobility, how did she move her wheelchair over 100 feet and open a heavy fire door and wheel herself through holding the fire door open. What did Ellis say about her journey to the fire door and staircase despite her having to pass by nurses stations to get there? Rumor has it he said “it was lunch time [even though it wasn’t, not that it matters.” Quite the guy to leave in charge of the residents now. I’d sleep eyes wide open. Wasn’t the Fund just fined $80,000 because of this? The residents deserve peace after this horrendous period – they deserve peace and respect – it’s time to move on and this guy and his cohorts should go. Bob Beitcher is terrific, but the day to day at the Home needs to be run by people who actually care about sick old people, who don’t think they should be discarded.
What is a life worth to the MPTF? The Carrie Delay ‘incident’ may be ‘ancient history’ to MPTF but it’s a history lesson that should not be forgotten.
Spot on! Why hasn’t Clooney and the other Board Members – and the attorneys representing the Hospital – insisted on a complete and transparent investigation of both the Hospital and the finances of the Foundation?! Shameful!
When does MPTF get this $350 million?? MPTF needs the money now, not in 30+ years. And no amount of money will help MPTF until they stop giving the executives bonus’s. And why should all the execs get bonus’s and the worker bees get nothing? Instead of firing all the worker bees, they should look at all the managers and above. They have managers who have no one to manage, and there are a few departments that have have more managers and above than workers. Cut the top brass by 50% and also cut out all the consultants. Why does MPTF have so many highly paid consultants when they have highly compensated executives? MPTF would proabably save $10 million if they did that. And why are Seth, Ken, Frank,Susan and Lance (what does he do exactly?) still there.
Until someone really looks at the operations, MPTF will always need a $350 million campaign.
That’s the question “Why does MPTF have so many highly paid consultants when they have highly compensated executives?” Unbelievable that they had to pay a safety consultant to tell them how to make the nursing home safe. Seth and Susan in charge making the big bucks didn’t know how to keep patients safe. Disgusted.
Here’s another question, how much did they waste over the past three years trying to get rid of the nursing home? The 350 million pays for that too.
Over the past 20 years the fund has raised over 200 milion and with the Katzenberg-Clooney push they have raised $238 million more? It took 20 years for 200. It will take 3 years for $350 million. Wow.
Just like she said, more money would be raised if the Board asked. Why didn’t any of the board members share Nancy’s view when the Long term care thing came up for a vote? She saw it all so clearly. I’m still amazed. I’m still happy that Mr. Katzenberg is doing the right thing. He does it the best. I’m still wondering if he and the board are talking to her. They should be. I’m still thanking Nikki.