The Magic 7

1990 · UNEP In the Service of the Earth · 8 minutes

In 1990, Olivia Newton-John became a goodwill ambassador for UNEP, In the Service of the Earth, to raise public awareness on environmental conscientiousness. "Every night I'd hear about another oil-spill, pesticides spraying, air polution labels being unsafe, I started to feel what I now call ecological depression. She found supporters in other celebrity mothers, including Meryl Streep and her Mothers & Others organisation. Together with Bette Midler, Kevin Bacon and others, Newton-John appeared in this 8 minute public service announcement.

Cast & Characters

Olivia Newton-John, Ted Danson, Henry Winkler, Meryl Streep, Bette Davis, Kevin Bacon

Production Notes

On her segment in “The Magic 7”, Meryl Streep said, “Having children makes me realise how quickly time passes. It really does. My son is a grown-up practically and I can’t believe how fast that’s happened. Before he is a grown-up and has children on his own I wanna make sure that it’s ok, because really we don’t have any time left”. “The Magic 7” was also planned to be an animated feature for children and initially planned for a theatrical release in 1997. Production on the film began in 1990 already and has been delayed many times since then. Subsequently, two of the actors who recorded voices for the parts in film are now deceased: John Candy died in 1994, Madeline Kahn died in 1999. Other actors, such as Michael J. Fox, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Ice-T and Dirk Benedict, all recorded their voices in the early 1990s. Kevin Bacon, Bette Midler, and Judy Collins appear as themselves. Meryl’s participation has been limited to the segment shown in the public service announcement, which was taped during a press conference for her Mothers & Others organization.

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