This ad, along with details on a hotline that whistleblowers who witness abuse on movie sets can call, appeared in Variety magazine this week

A while back a whistleblower from the set of Speed Racer reported that one of the chimpanzees used to play Speed Racer’s sidekick, Chim Chim, was beaten during filming and bit a human actor. The Speed Racer movie is coming out next week, and while the industry’s fleeting attention is attuned to the issue of animal abuse in Hollywood—especially after a bear used in the recent Will Ferrell movie attacked and killed his trainer—we figured now was the perfect time to encourage Hollywood insiders to speak up when they see abuse. Because nobody else is doing it right now.

A full-page ad prominently placed in yesterday's Variety magazine calls on Hollywood insiders who witness or suspect animal abuse in the production of a movie to immediately report the incident to PETA via a special hotline. Here’s what PETA Director Debbie Leahy told the media:

The story’s been making its way around the blogosphere today. There’s a good write-up on Deadline Hollywood Daily, and there’s tons more info on our campaign to prevent animals from being abused behind the scenes in movies and on TV on our cleverly titled “No More Monkey Business” website.

P.S. Check out the sweet article about the issue on HuffPo.

P.P.S. You can tell Warner Bros. that you’re boycotting their Speed Racer movie through this webform.

comicbookmovie/Creative Commons

So the Wachowski Brothers (the geniuses behind The Matrix) have been holed up for a while working on a live action version of the '60s cult cartoon Speed Racer. Sounds pretty awesome, except that they've made the decision to use a real chimpanzee to portray Speed Racer's simian friend Chim Chim. And, as always when a primate is used in filming, it is an absolute guarantee that there's behind-the-scenes abuse—even when those half-awake film enthusiasts at the American Humane Association are on the job. The fact is that while the original, animated Chim Chim never had any trouble mugging for the camera, the new guy on the job can think of about a million things that he'd rather be doing than performing for the Wachowski brothers. For most chimpanzees used on set, this natural aversion to stardom means that severe beatings, intimidation, and all-round lousy treatment are standard tools of the trade for the trainers who are paid to make them perform. And according to our source on set, the chimp being used for this movie is no exception, which may well explain why he recently deviated from the script and bit a child actor.

ucla/Creative Commons

We've been communicating back and forth with the movie's producer, Joel Silver, asking that he make the humane decision and use animatronics instead of live animal actors. I'll keep you posted on any developments with this one, and you can read more about how that discussion's been going here. Incidentally, my favorite movie blog, I Watch Stuff, also covered the story, which pretty much made my day.

And finally, please click here to learn more and to ask that the Wachowski brothers use animatronics instead of live animals.