Ecollywood: The Genesis Awards, the Humane Society's Oscars

The Cove wins Best Documentary (again) and the stars reveal their "pet" causes.

By Gerri MillerThu, Mar 25 2010 at 2:47 PM EST

THE CAT'S MEOW: The director of 'The Cove', Louie Psihoyos is surrounded by Keely Shaye Smith and Pierce Brosnan. (Photo: Nikki Nelson/WENN.com)

Editor's note: This week's Ecollywood column was so long, we split it in two. Read the other half, about our trip to the 'How to Train Your Dragon' red carpet premiere.

Two weeks after winning an Oscar for Best Documentary, The Cove received Outstanding Documentary Film honors at the Humane Society of the United States’ 24th Genesis Awards, which honors entertainment and media for raising awareness of animal protection issues. “It’s the Academy Awards for animal rights. We’re all working towards the same goal: to raise the consciousness of humanity, one little step at a time,” said Cove director Louie Psihoyos on the pre-awards red carpet, where we gave him the chance to give the Oscar speech he was prevented from making when producer Fisher Stevens used up all the allotted time.

“I would have said, ‘We made this film to give the oceans a voice. We told the story we told because we witnessed a crime, not just a crime against nature, but a crime against humanity. We made this movie because due to pollution, plundering, acidification, burning fossil fuels, all ocean life is in peril, from gray whales to dolphins to plankton, which by the way, is responsible for two out of every three breaths that you take.’ I would have thanked the black ops team and I would have asked the Japanese people to please see this movie and decide for yourself whether these animals should be used for entertainment and food,” he said.

Psihoyos confirmed reports that the Japanese dolphin killers are now going offshore to carry out mass slaughter. “It looks like we forced them out of this national park, this nature preserve. They’re having to do their dirty business out in the open. This kind of evil can’t stand the light of day.” He also helped to expose Santa Monica restaurant The Hump that was serving whale meat. Crystal Galbraith, a vegan, and a friend went undercover, ordering -- and tasting -- the banned cetacean. “It was for the cause. It was dead animals that I had to eat but it was to save them.” It was worth it: “They closed their doors, so I feel really good.”

For Glee’s Jessalyn Gilsig (pictured right), attending was about “encouraging people to live consciously and realize we’re sharing the planet with other creatures. We’re responsible for them,” she emphasized. Gilsig’s 13-year-old deaf Dalmatian died recently, but she’s already planning to get another deaf dog. An avid gardener, she’s not letting her garbage go to waste. “I made a commitment to myself to start composting,” she told us.

Glee returns to Fox Apr. 13, with some major musical names attached: Olivia Newton-John and Idina Menzel (Wicked, Rent) are confirmed, Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez are rumored, and the Apr. 20 episode is devoted to Madonna’s music. Neil Patrick Harris and Molly Shannon will also guest.

Reid Scott, who owns two pit bulls, is active in the organization End Dog Fighting. “It targets inner city areas and tries to educate people that these dogs are family dogs, not fighting dogs,” explained Scott, a self-described “notorious recycler” of everything from wire hangers to toilet paper rolls, paper towels and tissues. “I drive a hybrid, the Lexus 400h. I do bits here and there, whatever I can.” Currently recurring on ABC Family’s Secret Life of the American Teenager, he’ll return to TBS for season four of My Boys in July. Changes are in store: Jim Gaffigan is out and Rachael Harris will join the cast.

“Cruelty can’t stand the spotlight and that’s why we’re here tonight, to bring important issues to the forefront and help people become more conscious,” said actress Wendie Malick (pictured left), whose own menagerie includes “two horses a dog and a husband.” An early-model Prius owner who composts, she closely monitors her consumerism: “Every time I buy something, I give something away.” Malick will be back on TV this summer in the TV Land comedy series Hot in Cleveland, about a trio of Paris-bound L.A. friends whose plane is diverted to Ohio, where they decide to stay. Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves and Betty White co-star.

The Mentalist’s Tim Kang tries to balance his affinity for motorcycles -- he has two Ducatis -- by otherwise driving a Lexus 400 hybrid. Kang, who found his five-year-old Catahoula leopard dog Scout at a New York shelter, shared some series scoop. Coming up, “We have Malcolm McDowell and Fisher Stevens on the show, and we’re going to revisit the Red John storyline.”

The event drew other animal lovers like Kang’s co-star Amanda Righetti, who owns a rescued Chihuahua-miniature greyhound mix, Jon Lovitz, who has two cats, NCIS’ Pauley Perrette, who lives with two dogs and a cat, all rescues, and long-time vegans Emily Deschanel and Moby. The Closer’s Tony Denison, who has three cats, follows a pescatarian diet. “I’m not vegan anymore. I like parmesan cheese too much,” he admitted, noting that he finds it much easier now to find meatless options at the local supermarket. “Even Ralph’s has vegan entrees.”

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Additional photo credits: Jessalyn Gilsig and Wendy Malick by Apega/WENN.