See Brendan Fraser, Christina Applegate, and more bring the holiday cheer in It's A Wonderful Life table read
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No man is a failure who has friends — especially talented ones like these.
Actors Brendan Fraser, Christina Applegate, Ken Jeong, Fred Armisen, Jean Smart, and more kicked off the holiday season by sitting down for a charity table read of the 1946 film It's A Wonderful Life on Sunday. All of the proceeds from the livestream, which you can see in encore presentations all the way up to New Year's Day, will be donated to the Ed Asner Family Center, which provides mental health and enrichment programs to children with special needs and their families.
At the table read, Fraser starred as George Bailey, a hard-working family man who contemplates taking his own life on Christmas Eve. He's stopped from doing so by his guardian angel, Clarence (Seth Rogen), who shows George how the ripple effects of his life have positively affected the world around him.
As even the best-intentioned Zoom conversations tend to go, there were a few technical hiccups throughout the cast's performance. During one scene, Fraser motioned for a time out, saying, "I'm having a technical in George Bailey-land over here, in case you haven't noticed! My iPad is dying!"
"You better get a plug!" Applegate yelled back, while J.K. Simmons and James Cromwell chuckled.
"I'll keep reading until it croaks," Fraser joked before launching back into his monologue.
Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images; Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images
In a later scene, Fraser mimed making a phone call, holding an imaginary receiver at a comical distance from his ear. When it was Applegate's turn to make a call, she joked, "Well, I'm going to hold my phone as far away from my ear as Brendan did!" Her quip earned laughs from Fraser, Jeong, and Sue Ann Pien.
In addition to the table read, a series of events hosted by Tom Bergeron also helped raise awareness and funds for the charity. An honoree presentation was held for Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, Jennifer Hudson and the band Wallows stopped by to sing a few songs, and a collection of signed movie and TV memorabilia was also auctioned off to the highest bidders.
You can find out more information about the livestream, including how to purchase tickets, here.
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