Actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, owners of Welsh soccer club Wrexham AFC, star in this short film in which a friendly wager ultimately results in both of them getting, filming and broadcasting their colonoscopies
The video, from Reynolds’ creative agency Maximum Effort, promotes the Colorectal Cancer Alliance’s Lead From Behind initiative designed to raise awareness that colon cancer is preventable–the best way being to get a colonoscopy. In 2021, guidelines were revised, lowering the recommended age for a first colonoscopy from 50 to 45 for men. Reynolds and McElhenney both turned 45 this year.
“I’ve been on camera a lot. But this was the first time one was shoved up my ass,” said Reynolds. “The procedure and prep were painless but the discomfort of filming and sharing the process was the hardest part. Rob and I did it because we want this potentially life-saving procedure to be less mysterious and stigmatized.”
“Ryan and I both turned 45 this year and this is just a rite of passage,” added Rob McElhenney, “and a great one because it can literally save your life. It’s obviously a procedure that makes people uncomfortable but it sure beats getting cancer. We wanted to have fun with this because as with all the weird things that happen in life, why not make it fun instead of scary?”
Lead From Behind is founded by Brooks Bell, tech entrepreneur and colon cancer survivor, and powered by the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, the largest colon cancer nonprofit organization. Lead From Behind’s goal is to make colon cancer famous, inspire millions to get checked and save 100,000 lives.
“I was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer at 38. I’m a trend, not a tragedy,” says Brooks Bell, founder, LEAD FROM BEHIND and self-proclaimed Colonoscopy Enthusiast. “Around one in three people has a polyp by the time they are 45. Polyps usually have no symptoms. A colonoscopy will find them, and snip them out on the spot, preventing cancer down the road! After I was diagnosed, my 35 year old sister got her first colonoscopy and they found and removed a large polyp. It may have saved her life.”
“This year, 150,000 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer. They don’t need to be because colon cancer is preventable,” says Michael Sapienza, CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, who lost his mother to the disease in 2009 and created the Alliance that has served nearly 2 million patients and caregivers. “From a colonoscopy to an at-home FIT kit, to a Cologuard test, there’s a way for everyone to get checked. But first they need to want to. That’s why we’ve launched Lead From Behind, and we are beyond grateful to Ryan, Rob and the whole Maximum Effort team for shining a light on a 30-minute action that saves lives.”
Lead From Behind was created in partnership with Maximum Effort and brand marketer Chrysi Phialithes, former chief digital officer of (RED).
CreditsClient Colorectal Cancer Alliance/Lead From Behind initiative Agency Maximum Effort
Filmmaker Natalie Johns Creates Spec Gun Violence Prevention PSA
Her social media feed is filled with frustration and “prayers” for families torn apart by yet another mass shooting as filmmaker Natalie Johns is engaged in the morning ritual of negotiating school attendance with her 4½-year-old. Between laughing and arguing with their daughter, the Johns think deeply about the prospect of waking up without her--deeply enough to feel an inch of what it might be like to lose her--a feeling profound enough inspire her most personal commitment to date as a filmmaker.
“Gun violence should not be a normalized part of life in America,” she noted. “I felt it was worth putting my whole heart on the line to deliver this message.”
The director invited her long-time collaborator and cinematographer, Bill Kirstein (Mean Girls, Happyend), to capture their family’s experience over several mornings in a spec PSA. She wanted to capture her own joy and truth as a parent with a view to inspiring action from the deepest love she has known.
On the third day of filming, Johns received an email from their daughter’s preschool notifying parents of a lockdown that had occurred due to a gunman outside the school. The children, aged 2-5, were gathered in a small bathroom for an hour, singing songs with their teachers while the man was apprehended by law enforcement. This was the family’s first narrow escape from tragedy.
“The coincidence of filming this PSA and experiencing my family’s first lockdown was both shocking and surreal. I simply could not wrap my head around it,” said director Johns.
Even more terrifying for Johns was discussing the incident with other parents who had already experienced several lockdowns with their older children. This reality is all too common and far too... Read More