Hollywood and Harvard join forces to promote healthier work-life balance in America

CAMBRIDGE, MA – The Labor & Worklife Program at Harvard Law School, the premiere online resource for the world of wages and work, teams with filmmaker and multiple-Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler in response to what many consider a work-life crisis, with sometimes devastating effects of long hours and sleep deprivation taking tolls on the lives of workers and their families.

While many are escaping the heat to enjoy summer box-office hits, this partnership aims to raise awareness about the realities of the American entertainment business. Through the WorklifeWizard.org (www.worklifewizard.org) and its Spanish-language ElMundoLaboral.org websites, Harvard’s team considers the well-known perks of the industry – relatively high wages and glamour for some – while Wexler’s documentary WHO NEEDS SLEEP? provides compelling insight not only on the film industry but also commentary on Americans’ quality of life broadly.

When in 1997 assistant cameraman Brent Hershman died after falling asleep at the wheel on his way home from the shoot of PLEASANTVILLE, Wexler began exploring behind-the-scenes dynamics and motivations of his own trade. Interviewing everyone from the biggest movie stars to below-the-line workers, he reveals, in 12ON/12OFF, an enduring grassroots movement dedicated to limiting hours in support of safer, more productive workplaces. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Frank Pierson: “It is an issue of life and death.” Lending support to Wexler’s work are notables from throughout the film and scientific communities.

The Academy Award winner explains, “If I have 12 hours, then I know the crew has a fighting chance at a nap.” Fellow Oscar-winner Paul Newman echoed, “The people on the line though who don’t get that chance to rest, you can imagine what 18 hours does to their concentration.” Co-director of the Stanford Sleep Center Dr. Nelson Powell discusses empirical results, “We compared the sleep patients with patients who got drunk and essentially they had the same performance. The sleepy people acted just like the drunk people.”

Darrel Drobnich, Powell's colleague at the National Sleep Foundation continued, “This is not an issue where management can put its head in the sand and say, ‘I hope it goes away.’” In response to the partnership, producer Tamara M. Maloney stated, “We are thrilled to be teaming with the Labor & Worklife Program to raise awareness and promote meaningful action.” Harvard Wertheim Fellow Terry Babcock-Lumish agreed with Maloney, calling it a “tremendous service to their industry but also to audiences worldwide to help us look behind the glittering curtain of Hollywood while also empowering people within their own communities.”

WHO NEEDS SLEEP? joins WorklifeWizard partners such as BusinessWeek, United Professionals, the AFL-CIO's Working America, the Communications Workers of America, SmartEconomist.com, and PhDs.org. ###