RAUL JULIA LEVY , JOHNNY DEPP KILLER WHALE

Raul Julia-Levy Interview at Tony Tarantino\’s VIP Bash August 23, 2009

Actor, Philanthropist Raul Julia-Levy

Actor and Philanthropist Raul Julia-Levy Assembles His Cast to Release Lolita

Raul Julia-Levy, actor and philanthropist, announces exclusive alliance with the Free Willy Keiko Foundation / Earth Island Institute to reunite captive orca, Lolita, with her pod in Puget Sound.

Much has been made in the news in the last month about a coalition of recording artists, actors and producers teaming up in hopes of helping Miami Seaquarium’s performing killer whale Lolita rejoin her family group in the Pacific Northwest. Actor Raul Julia-Levy, the official spokesperson for this coalition, announced today that he is continuing a campaign designed to gain public awareness and ultimately the release of one of the last remaining wild captive orcas, Lolita.

This elite coalition includes national/global partners around the world, including Ed Elbert, Richard Donner, David Permut, Steve Longi, Johnny Depp, Cameron Crowe, Jonathan Sanger, Harrison Ford, Elton John, 50 Cent, Hayden Panettiere, Placido Domingo, Lindsay Lohan, Janet Jackson, Truth Hurts, Richard Grieco, Billy Zane and recently the international auto maker Saab. In the Saab commercial, it features Lolita in her tank, along with a chained dog, and a bird flying against glass window, with the theme, “Release Me”, including a tagline, “The Power of Nature Just Wants to be Free.”

In announcing this alliance, Julia-Levy states that http://www.keiko.com [The Free Willy Keiko Foundation has unique expertise in the capture and the care of orcas. They are the only non-government, non-profit organization in the world with experience in successfully translocating an adult killer whale over long distances. (Keiko, from Mexico City to Newport, OR, and then from Newport to Iceland.)

The Free Willy Keiko Foundation assembled an A-list team of veterinarians and handlers and an extraordinary amount of expertise. Although Keiko never found his family, the project is considered by many to be successful in fulfilling a promise made to millions of kids around the world — to make Keiko free. Now they’re confident if given a chance, they can help write that Hollywood ending for Lolita.

Unlike Keiko, Lolita’s family exists in the waters of the Puget Sound, and she still vocalizes her family recognizable call, and through the past three decades, the Southern Resident Orca Community is now considered to be one of the most studied groups of orcas in the world. Bringing Lolita back home to her family (pod) could be a boon to the whale population in Puget Sound, as well as sending a loud and clear message to the world that animals on our planet do have a voice–it is our voice.

“There’s no other group out there with the kind of knowledge and resources that the Free Willy Keiko Foundation has that can give Lolita the best chance of retirement,” says Julia-Levy. “But the bottom line is, we don’t own the whale,” Julia-Levy is quick to note. “The Miami Seaquarium does.”

However, the Seaquarium is concerned about the welfare of Lolita because she never had to find her own food, and has had constant human contact for nearly four decades; therefore, a move across the country could be too stressful. Some scientists have suggested the transport could even kill her.

Julia-Levy has a different opinion. He says, “Based on the reports we have received from leading scientists is that she’s in incredible health, and that’s solely because of the love and care that she’s received at The Miami Seaquarium. That also makes her an exceptional candidate for safe transport and reintroduction to her natural habitat.”

“Although we appreciate the support in-kind, from organizations and individuals who have come forward to yield expertise, ownership and credentials in this effort.” Julia-Levy goes on to say, “It is through our exclusive alliance with the Free Willy Keiko Foundation that we can build the best bridge with the Seaquarium to work together to do the right thing for Lolita.”

SEATTLE — Some big Hollywood names are behind a push to free a captured orca whale and return it to Puget Sound.

Protesters have hounded the Miami Seaquarium for years, urging it to free its star, Lolita. The orca was just seven years old when she was captured in 1970 in the waters off of Whidbey Island, and has been performing daily shows ever since.

But now actor Raul Julia-Levy is getting Hollywood involved. He is the son of the late Raul Julia who starred in “Addams Family” films. Also involved in the effort are Ron Howard, Johnny Depp and Harrison Ford.

“I believe we’re going to get her back,” said Julia-Levy.

The Hollywood figures are asking producers and directors to boycott film shoots in Florida.

“I believe Hollywood represents three (hundred) to 400 million dollars in films. We have CSI Miami that brings a lot of money into the state,” he said.

But the Miami Seaquarium says Lolita couldn’t survive in the wild.

“She has entertained and educated millions of children. We think letting her go would be an irresponsible act on our behalf,” said Robert Rose of the Seaquarium.

Aquarium officials point to Keiko, the killer whale who was freed after he starred in “Free Willy.” He died before learning to live on his own.

But activists say Lolita is different. She was captured after she learned to fish and could be reunited with her family, the “L” pod in Puget Sound.

And if Julia-Levy gets his way, she will be back.

HOLLYWOOD—A killer whale at the Miami Seaquarium has recently gained the attention of Hollywood celebrities that are now campaigning for her freedom. Since 1995, activists have endeavored to return Lolita to her native waters and her family off the coast of Washington State. However, not everyone agrees that Lolita should be released into the wild.

Lolita’s capture Courtesy of the Orca Network

Lolita was three years old when she was first captured from the Puget Sound in 1970. Aircraft and capture boats threw bombs into the water to herd the family of orcas towards their nets. Six calves were separated from their mothers and sold to marine parks worldwide. Lolita was taken to Miami and placed in a pool 18 feet deep and 35 feet by 80 feet across. She has remained there for 37 years.

Lolita At Miami Seaquarium Courtesy of the Orca Network

Before the practice was outlawed in 1976, a total of 134 orcas were snatched from the ocean and only 44 of those have survived. At the age of 42, Lolita is a true exception as the average life expectancy of a captive whale is 25-35 years. Miami Seaquarium owners say she gets daily check-ups and receives only the best care.

The Seaquarium is concerned about the well-fare of Lolita because she never had to find her own food, and has had constant human contact for nearly four decades; therefore, a move across the country could be too stressful. Some scientists have suggested the transport could even kill her.

Howard Garret, Board President of the Orca Network has been striving for Lolita’s freedom since 1995 and says a careful transport and reintroduction program has been developed to bring the orca home safely. “Moving orcas by transport aircraft is routine and has never resulted in any harm to an orca,” Garret says. The estimated time from pool to ocean is about 12 hours. Lolita will be kept in a sea pen, re-taught to eat live fish, and other skills to live in the wild. “Every step of the way Lolita would be accompanied by the care staff she has grown to trust,” Garret explained.

Producer and philanthropist Raul Julia-Levy has recently become involved in the effort and has gathered some star-studded support. “This beautiful animal deserves to be free, she won’t live another five years in that stinky tank,” declared Levy. Richard Greco, Johnny Depp, Harrison Ford, Jonathan Silverman, and Billy Zane are just a few of the celebrities that have joined the campaign. “We are not activists. We are directors, we are producers, we are actors that have a tremendous love for animals and this is a very sad story,” stated Levy.

The Swedish auto maker Saab has even produced a commercial featuring Lolita in her tank. The commercial’s message is “the power of nature wants to be free, release it,” and it presents images of a butterfly trapped indoors, a chained dog, and Lolita.

The Earth Island Institute (EII) has also come on board. In 1994, the EII established the Free Willy Keiko Foundation and with the help of the executive producer of the film “Free Willy,” Richard Donner, eventually reintroduced the Orca back into the wild. Keiko starred in three films before he was rescued from an aquarium in Mexico City, rehabilitated, and released near Iceland in 2002. Unfortunately, about a year later Keiko died of acute pneumonia in the Taknes fjord, Norway.

At 27 years old, Keiko was the second oldest male orca in captivity. David Phillips of the EII said in a press release, “Keiko was a trailblazer, the first orca whale ever rescued from captivity. Keiko showed what is possible if these animals are just given the chance.”

Orcas are very social and normally stay with their family pods for their entire lives. Scientists were never able to locate Keiko’s family which might have improved his chances for survival. However, scientists have studied Lolita’s family and the pod still appears in the Puget Sound. Howard Garret says, “The very fact that Lolita’s family has been thoroughly documented for over 30 years and predictably appears along San Juan Island every summer guarantees that Lolita will have the opportunity to communicate with her family.”

Raul Julia-Levy says, “We are getting ready to negotiate with Mr. Hertz (Miami Seaqurium owner) and I believe, in my heart, he will do the right thing. Whales are not pets to make money off of.” With some of the most powerful movie producers, influential actors, and top scientists on hand, Levy is confident of Lolita’s inevitable freedom.

According to the Orca Network, actors, producers, singers and philanthropists have volunteered as spokespersons for the campaign to release of Lolita from the Miami Seaquarium to her native habitat in the Pacific Northwest after 37 years of captivity.

The list of celebrities and philanthropists for Lolita includes Johnny Depp, Hayden Panettiere, Lindsay Lohan, 50 Cent, Jean Claude Van Damme, Raul Julia-Levy (http://rauljulialevyphilanthropist.com), Bokeem Woodbine, Harrison Ford, Paul Rubio, Damon Whitaker, Robert Downey Jr., Jonathan Silverman, Jennifer Finnigan, Billy Zane, Bob Barker, Francesco Quinn, Gladys Portugal, Joan Fontaine, Mekhi Phifer, Mike Amato, Sticky Fingaz, The Game and Truth Hurts. Prominent producers who support Lolita’s release are Ed Elbert and Jonathan Sanger, along with director Isaac Florentine.

Leading the campaign to free Lolita is the co-founder and president of the Orca Network Howard Garrett and philanthropist Raul Julia-Levy. Garrett has drafted a proposal for the safe retirement of the captive orca whale and has submitted it to the Miami Seaquarium where Lolita currently lives in a confined man-made pool that is not as deep as her body’s length.

When Julia-Levy heard of Lolita’s plight, he contacted Garrett to lend his support by rallying the celebrities for her release.

“Lolita’s already made her captives millions of dollars. How much is enough? Greediness has its limits and it is time Lolita goes back to her family,” said Julia-Levy. “We need to make Lolita’s voice heard,” Julia-Levy pleaded.

Executive director and research biologist for the Center for Whale Research Kenneth Balcomb III mirrored Julia-Levy’s sentiments. Balcomb III said, “Lolita deserves to retire in her home waters. She’s made millions for the marine park. It’s past time she had a chance to retire and enjoy the rest of her life.”

In a letter to supporters of Lolita’s release, Garrett explains Lolita’s history and describes the distinct culture and complex languages of orca whales. The letter also addresses the fact that although Lolita has lived in captivity for 30 years, she will be able to recognize her family and will remember her lifelong membership as a Southern Resident orca.

Bokeem Woodbine, known for his role as Fathead Newman in the major motion picture Ray, understands the parallels between orca whales and humans. He believes that no animal of that size should be held captive for so long just to entertain people.

“No one has the right to kidnap these animals. Imagine if one of your sons gets kidnapped to entertain people in another country. In my world that’s a high crime,” said Woodbine.

Evidence gathered through the intensive study of killer whales shows that these mammals are family-oriented creatures who maintain family bonds and patterns that have been established from generation to generation. In 1995, Lolita made national television when Dateline NBC played a recording of Lolita’s family to her. Based on her reaction, Lolita recognized her family’s distinct call.

Along with the celebrities, a handful of politicians support Lolita’s speedy release. U.S. Senators supporting her release include Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. U.S. Representatives include Rick Larson, Norm Dicks, Jim McDermott, Adam Smith and Linda Smith. The Island County and San Juan County Board of Commissioners and King County (Seattle) Executive Ron Sims also want Lolita released.

Martial arts extraordinaire Jean Claude Van Damme called for more help from the government. He said, “We live in the most powerful country in the world. It’s time to urge Congress to create laws to protect and ensure the freedom of the whales. We must let this animal go free.”

In the draft proposal for retiring Lolita, Garrett details the procedures for her release and dispels many objections held by representatives of the Miami Seaquarium and other individuals. For example, a feeding and care station will be provided should Lolita need man’s help for a smooth transition.

“Lolita can go home without any risk to her. We cannot guarantee that she will successfully rejoin her family,” said Garrett, “However, the best place for her is her native home.”

With the support of prominent actors, producers and philanthropists, Garrett wishes to create more awareness of Lolita’s dire circumstances among the general public. He said, “The celebrities can help us (Orca Network) make the point that Lolita’s in a terrible situation. She’s isolated and alone. Yet we can bring her home.”

Actors Jonathon Silverman and his wife Jennifer Finnigan are also calling for Lolita’s release and want to create more awareness of her situation.

Silverman said, “This cause for Lolita deserves immediate attention. We can also ask the authorities to prevent this from occurring in the future. The release of Lolita will help establish awareness in Congress.”

Garrett attributes Lolita’s longevity in captivity to the fact that she does remember her family. Sadly, other members of her family captured at the same time as Lolita have died in captivity. Celebrities, philanthropists, politicians and many members of the general public do not want the same fate for Lolita.

Johnny Depp and Snoop Dogg are joining forces with Harrison Ford, Fifty Cent, R&B singer Truth Hurts, and several politicians to appeal for the release of Lolita the killer whale. Currently, Lolita is being held in the Miami Seaquarium where she has been performing for about 37 years. She is now is 20 feet long, weighs 7,000 pounds, and lives in a tank that measures 80 feet across at its widest and 20 feet deep. Howard Garrett, who with Susan Berta founded the Orca Network are the organized force behind the freedom rally. From the article,

“Newsweek says Levy is working on a benefit concert that would support the Lolita movement. ‘This beautiful animal does not deserve to die in a stinky little tank, and we are not going to take less than a full victory,’ Levy told Newsweek. Garrett said it’s too early to announce any particular concert plans but admitted that ‘we’re working on it. Momentum is building,’ he said. ‘A publicity campaign is in the works being directed by people in Hollywood.’”

Organizers say that Lolita’s best chance at survival would be in the waters of San Juan Island’s Kanaka Bay, which was used to hold killer whales during the roundup days of the 1970s. She could stay with her trainers and staff from Seaquarium before acclimating and venturing off on her own. Garrett discredits those who believe she’s too tame to return to the wild saying, “The idea that she’s habituated, that she’d be totally out of her element if she were brought back, ignores the intelligence of the species and their family bonding for life.”

His chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is a take-no-prisoners politician known for his willingness to butt heads with adversaries. Mr. Obama’s top liaison to Congress, Phil Schiliro, is a skilled political infighter. His press secretary, Robert Gibbs, is no shrinking violet, as one of the few people who can boast of shouting down Sean Hannity of Fox News on Mr. Hannity’s own show.

And then there’s the consideration that Mr. Obama is giving to Lawrence H. Summers, the outspoken former Harvard president, as Treasury secretary, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, a move so explosively bold that it has sent the Washington press corps into overdrive.

Some kind of shift was inevitable in the transition from politics to governing, political experts say. But by surrounding himself with forceful personalities, Mr. Obama may also be preparing himself and his administration for real battles.

Aides to Mr. Obama say that he intends to run a tight ship, and that an Obama administration would not be a return to the factional fighting of the Clinton White House. They say that his choices of Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Mr. Emanuel — and potentially of Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Summers as well — reflect a self-confidence and a willingness to tolerate internal dissent.

“ ‘No-Drama Obama’ during the campaign meant that if you had something to say, you said it,” one Obama campaign aide said. “You didn’t go around people, or try to undermine people, you said what you thought. That’s how he’s going to run his administration.”

Added Stephanie Cutter, Mr. Obama’s transition spokeswoman: “He doesn’t put up with drama, but he encourages strong opinions and advice. In that environment of mutual respect, there tends to be little drama.”

Mr. Obama sought to put aside some of the vitriol of the campaign on Monday by meeting with Senator John McCain at his offices in Chicago. The two men joked stiffly in front of reporters, with Mr. McCain needling Mr. Obama about the thrashing the Chicago Bears sustained on Sunday from Green Bay.

An Obama aide said the 45-minute meeting signaled a willingness to work together but said Mr. Obama did not offer Mr. McCain a formal role.

Back in Washington, the day’s main event was a visit to Georgetown Day School by Mr. Obama’s children, Sasha and Malia. They were accompanied by their mother, Michelle, who had visited the school last week. They plan to visit another school, Sidwell Friends, on Tuesday.

The tense history between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton could still pose an obstacle to a close partnership. Aaron David Miller, a Middle East negotiator at the State Department under the last three presidents, said: “He needs to trust her implicitly; she needs to operate in a way that makes it unmistakably clear that his interests are her top priority. She must be the White House’s woman at the State Department.”

But some described both Mr. Emanuel and Mrs. Clinton as having the ability to be good team players.

Dan Gerstein, a Democratic communications consultant, said that while Mr. Emanuel had a reputation for clashing with others, he also got things done. “He wasn’t able to round up votes for Nafta by being a bullying, hyperpartisan ideologue,” Mr. Gerstein said of Mr. Emanuel’s role at the Clinton White House, where he helped secure passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. Summers has drawn fire from liberal bloggers who are hoping to sink his chances of becoming Treasury secretary by recalling the turbulent five years that Mr. Summers spent as president of Harvard, where he angered many women and blacks before resigning in 2006.

“The problem with Larry is that he often shoots off his mouth without thinking first,” said a former Clinton Treasury Department staff member who worked with Mr. Summers. But, that person said, Mr. Summers was also respected by his underlings, who viewed him as high-handed but highly intelligent and willing to cede a point when proven wrong.

“Barack Obama is bringing in all of the pit bulls and attack dogs and spear hunters into his administration,” said Steve Clemons, a fellow at the New America Foundation who also writes a blog called The Washington Note. “We all thought he was going to be a ‘tending the fields’ type.”

Indeed, Mr. Obama bypassed Tom Daschle, the mild-mannered former Senator from South Dakota, in choosing Mr. Emanuel as chief of staff job. Asked to comment, Mr. Emanuel quipped, “Since the election was about change, I’m taking it to heart.”

Since he left office in 2000, former President Bill Clinton’s presidential library and foundation and his philanthropic Clinton Global Initiative have grown into a multibillion-dollar web of relationships extending through some of the world’s richest and poorest countries - not all of them democratic.

Sen. Clinton has engaged three prominent lawyers to help President-elect Barack Obama vet her candidacy, The Associated Press reported last night, even as some insiders criticized the pick and advisers to the former first lady said she was weighing whether to take the job if Obama offered it.

“He [Obama] is trying to figure out how to handle Bill, and quite frankly she’s trying to figure out how to handle Bill,” said a source familiar with the confirmation process. “You can’t have foreign dictators financing the pet projects of a husband of a secretary of state.”

Attorneys Cheryl Mills, David Kendall and Robert Barnett are working with the Obama transition team to review information about the Clintons’ background and finances. All three represented the Clintons on legal matters in the White House, including Bill Clinton’s dalliance with intern Monica Lewinsky that led to his impeachment in 1998.

Officials knowledgeable about the vetting said it has gone smoothly and that both Clintons were cooperating fully. Bill Clinton already has suggested he would step away from day-to-day responsibility for his charitable foundation while his wife served and would alert the State Department to his speaking schedule and any new sources of income, they said.

Since he left office, former President George H.W. Bush has made millions of dollars from speeches and kept up ties with the Saudi royal family. Jimmy Carter has monitored elections in multiple countries and met with Hamas.

But Bill Clinton is in a class by himself, experts in nonprofit conflicts of interest say.

“The size of Clinton’s operation is a factor that dwarfs the other folks,” said Pablo Eisenberg, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute. “It’s both a national security and a diplomatic issue. . . . Clinton has got to agree up front should Hillary be named that he will disclose his donors.”

Manhattan attorney William Josephson, former counsel to the Peace Corps and head of the state attorney general’s Charities Bureau, said he believes the former president will have to step away for now from the philanthropy he has built. ” . . . I would think that he would need to stop raising money from foreign sources - at a minimum,” Josephson said. “. . . People give money for many reasons, and one is to exercise influence. . . . If he believes the work that’s being done is valued and should continue, then it should be carried on by someone else.”

Eisenberg and others also point to Bill Clinton’s 2005 trip to Kazakhstan with Canadian mining executive Frank Giustra, who received preferential access to state-controlled uranium after Clinton gave a speech extolling reforms planned by the president of a country his own wife had sharply criticized for its human rights record. Giustra later made a $31.3-million donation to Clinton’s foundation, The New York Times reported.

Paul Light, professor of public service at New York University, said he believes Bill Clinton’s reputation for undisciplined remarks could be a particular problem.

“Because they are husband and wife . . . it’s natural to assume that he may be speaking for the administration at any point in time . . . ” Light said. “The world will say, well, is there an extra meaning to what the former president is saying?”