HRC Blog

In advance of the Los Angeles Gala and Hero Awards, HRC wants you to select the best online video of 2008. The Internet has become such an important tool in our fight for equality. In 2008, enterprising and passionate individuals and organizations brought us together through online videos in a variety of creative and entertaining ways. To honor their activism and celebrate their ingenuity, one of these videos will be presented with the HRC E-Hero Award at the Los Angeles Gala Dinner on March 14th. The HRC E-Hero Award will be presented to the year’s most influential, inspirational and entertaining online video supporting LGBT equality. To qualify for the E-Hero Award, nominated videos had to be six minutes or less in length and must have been created specifically for online viewing and posted on the Web in 2008. Five finalists have been selected out of the hundreds nominated for the award. The E-Hero Award finalist videos will be screened at the HRC Los Angeles Gala and Hero Awards on March 14, but can also be viewed online here. Watch them all and vote for your favorite through March 13! Guests at the gala will vote via live text messaging on their cell phones to choose the top online video of 2008 from the finalists. Online votes will be added to votes taken at the gala, and the E-Hero Award winner will be announced at the end of the gala. Bruce Cohen, co-producer of Milk, will present the award. In addition to Cohen, Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black will also attend the event. The top five nominees to compete for the “E-Hero” Award are:

Prop 8 - The Musical (courtesy of Funny or Die) Director, Adam Shankman; Writer Marc Shaiman; Produced by Mike Farah; Starring Jack Black and John C. Reilly

Fidelity (courtesy of the Courage Campaign) Producers Rick Jacobs and Shaun Kadlec

DOMA (courtesy of Join the Impact, founded by Amy Balliett and Willow Witte) Director/Producer Sean Chapin

And She's the California Constitution (courtesy of Homotracker) Director Jonah Markowitz; Writer Ray Lancon; Producer Chris Panazzon; Executive Producers Dayna Frank Starring Angel Lopez, Andrew Oldershaw, Courtney Sexton and Todd Shotz

What about Gay Marriage? (courtesy of 236.com) Director A.D. Miles The 2009 HRC Los Angeles Gala and Hero Awards will be held March 14th at the Hyatt Century Plaza in Century City, California. The gala is one of the largest LGBT fundraising events in Southern California, drawing more than 1,400 guests in past years. Attendees typically include national leaders in entertainment, community service, business and politics. Confirmed to appear are keynote speaker U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); featured speaker NAACP Chairman Julian Bond; special guest host Wanda Sykes; Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; HRC Community Hero Award recipient the Honorable John Duran; actors T.R. Knight, Jane Lynch, and Michelle Clunie; and the LA Derby Dolls. There’s still time to get your ticket to the dinner! Go to http://www.hrcladinner.com to learn more and purchase tickets.