Stars come out for pair’s anti-bullying video drive
A COUPLE from Caerphilly have made a moving anti-bullying video with appearances from Hollywood celebrities – alongside a starring role for local school pupils.
Laura and Dan Curtis, who are both composers who write for musical theatre, live in Hengoed and once a year put together a musical project to raise money for good causes.
This year they are raising money for Bullies Out charity and managed to get the backing of Friends star Courteney Cox, Avengers star Josh Brolin, legendary talkshow host Larry King, Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker and many more famous faces to spread the message of “choose kindness”.
Alongside the celebs, pupils at Dan’s former school, St Martin’s Comprehensive, appeared in a touching interpretation of how it feels to be bullied and isolated.
Laura told the Echo: “The pupils were absolutely amazing, they were from Year 8 and were so thoughtful.
“We only had a couple of hours to get it shot, they all decided where they were going to stand and how, then we did two or three takes.”
Laura added that many of the celebrities were happy to get on board with the charity project after the couple reached out to publishers and managers with whom they had worked before.
She added: “We had half who were Avengers fans so they were excited about Josh Brolin – I think one of the kids might have snapped their fingers in the video!
“Then the other half were excited by Courteney Cox.”
Last year’s The Hero, which raised money for Help For Heroes, saw the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Whoopi Goldberg and Jack Black add spoken contributions to the video.
For Dan, the project for Bullies Out was close to his heart after suffering bullying while he was at St Martin’s, but he and Laura returned to a much-changed school.
Dan added: “It was amazing. The whole ethos of the school has changed. The buildings are exactly the same but the attitude to bullying is different.
“It was very emotional to get taken back to those moments and remember those things that happened. The school shaped who I am and that was a big reason to do the project here.”
■ You can find out more about the anti-bullying campaign at bulliesout. com