Zach Braff Is Speechless

The latest Hollywood celebrity to participate in the Speechless Internet campaign spearheaded by a group of Writers Guild of America members is none other than Zach Braff, the star of the NBC sitcom Scrubs, as well as several successful feature films.

If you’re not familiar with the movement that officially began last Thanksgiving Day, it revolves around a series of video public service announcements released on the Web, the medium at the center of the dispute between entertainment writers and production companies.

Each video features one or more Screen Actors Guild members who support the efforts of the writers’ union. The first PSA released starred Oscar-winning actress Holly Hunter. Braff’s spot is the 30th in the series slated to continue throughout the strike.

A press release initially posted at Deadline Hollywood Daily explains:

Here’s how the PSAs came about: During the first day of the strike, director/writer George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl) and writer Alan Sereboff (The Red House) were struck by the talent surrounding them on the picket line. Hickenlooper suggested to Sereboff that they focus their energies on a creative campaign. That night, they met at WGA Headquarters with writers Ian Deitchman (Life As We Know It), Justin Zakham (The Bucket List) and director Josh Marston (Maria Full of Grace). After conferring, the team came to an agreement: What better way to bring attention to the issues regarding the Internet then to use the Internet itself?

The “Speechless” idea quickly took off and, after a single day of filming, the team learned that the support of major A-list SAG talent was so overwhelming that many wanted to do more than just a screen test. After extensive conversations with various actors, it was decided that the screen tests might be expanded to improvisational scene work that would be done to entertain those of the public who might not be aware of the importance of the writer, and at the same time create mystery and intrigue surrounding the UnitedHollywood.com website.

Take a look at Braff’s PSA after the jump and also visit the Speechless site for more installments featuring other well-known entertainers.