Academy award-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi has enlisted some celebrity friends to help him retell a very special story.
Acting legend Meryl Streep and brothers Chris and Liam Hemsworth are among the stars helping the “Jojo Rabbit” director raise smiles during the coronavirus pandemic with a charity reading of Roald Dahl’s cherished children’s book “James and the Giant Peach.”
The series, titled “James and the Giant Peach with Taika and Friends,” will see stars narrate the entire story in 10 episodes.
The online series aims to raise money for Partners in Health (PIH), a global nonprofit which is fighting Covid-19 in vulnerable areas. The Roald Dahl Story Company will match the first $1 million of donations to PIH.
In episode one, Waititi, 44, reads with “Thor: Ragnarok” actor Chris Hemsworth, his brother Liam Hemsworth, best known for starring alongside Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games,” and “Sausage Party” star Nick Kroll.
Streep and Benedict Cumberbatch are featured in the second installment of the virtual series.
Children and families currently in lockdown around the globe are able to listen to the first two episodes now on the Roald Dahl YouTube channel. New episodes will be published on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1 p.m. ET.
A host of other stars will join Waititi in later episodes, including Lupita Nyong’o, Ryan Reynolds, Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, Roman Griffin Davis, Cara Delevingne, Cynthia Erivo, Beanie Feldstein, Josh Gad, Mindy Kaling and Billy Porter.
“Being an adult child myself and having read ‘James and the Giant Peach’ to my girls multiple times, I’m excited to be able to partner with my friends, the Dahl team and Partners In Health and re-tell this story to help those most in need right now,” said Waititi in a statement.
The father of two described the beloved Dahl classic as a “wacky, wonderful tale” about “resilience in children, triumph over adversity and dealing with a sense of isolation which couldn’t been more relevant today.”
Dahl’s daughter, Ophelia Dahl, the founder of PIH, said her father had instilled in his children “the notion that imagination will spark a chain reaction of possibilities — we can dream endlessly about ideas and make them real.”
Waititi is preparing to write, direct and executive produce two animated series based on Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” for Netflix.
Celebrities are coming up with creative ways of entertaining fans while at home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this month, actor and director Andy Serkis read the entire J.R.R. Tolkien novel “The Hobbit” in one marathon sitting to raise money for charity.
Stars have also participated in viral challenges and virtual singalongs.
