Gwyneth Paltrow-SU2CGwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Michael Douglas, Jessica Biel, and Samuel L. Jackson…

When enough A-list Hollywood actors come together for a cause, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox networks will cooperate — and even donate commercial-free air time. Tomorrow night, at 8:00pm Eastern/Pacific and 7:00 Central, even cable channels will clear their schedules to broadcast a continuous one-hour fundraiser produced by the entertainment-industry-favorite, Stand Up to Cancer, co-founded by Katie Couric.

The telethon is designed to build public support for groundbreaking research and accelerate the delivery of new therapies to patients, getting them from the “bench to the bedside” as quickly as possible. What makes Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) unique is its primary mission to bring together scientists from different disciplines across various institutions to work together.

Woven between powerful stories and a moving call-to-action Friday night will be performances by Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, and Tim McGraw. The program includes a celebrity phone bank (and social media outreach) that will allow viewers to interact with participating talent.

The first two SU2C telecasts, in September 2008 and 2010, and efforts since then have raised more than $180 million for innovative cancer research.

Since 2008, SU2C has made grants to seven multi-disciplinary “Dream Teams” of researchers as well as to 26 young innovative scientists who are undertaking high-risk, potentially high-reward projects to end the reign of cancer as a leading cause of death in the world today.  Eighty-five institutions are currently involved.

stand-up to cancer-logoThis year’s event boasts Gwyneth Paltrow as its Executive producer. Additional stars set to appear on the broadcast include Jeremy Renner, Seth Rogen, Chelsea Handler, and Emma Stone.

The live broadcast from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles is also slated to be carried by cable networks: BIO, E!, ENCORE, HBO, HBO Latino, ION Television, LMN (Lifetime Movie Network), Logo, MLB Network, mun2, Palladia, SHOWTIME, Smithsonian Channel, STARZ, STYLE, TBS and VH1.

WATCH the promo video below.

For more detailed information, visit www.standup2cancer.org  Features of the website include The Constellation: for a dollar donation or more, users can launch a star in honor of anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis and a blog that describes cutting-edge research.

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