'Waiting For Superman' Can Bring 'Real Change,' Stars Say At Premiere

'A lot of people drop off their kids and hope for the best when they go to school,' Cheryl Hines tells MTV News.
By Kara Warner

Cheryl Hines at the "Waiting for Superman" premiere
Photo: MTV News

LOS ANGELES — It's already taken the Sundance Film Festival by storm — both with critics and audiences — creating buzz from within the U.S. Department of Education, and it has found major-league celeb support from the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. So what more can "Waiting for Superman," Davis Guggenheim's glaring examination of our nation's school system do?

MTV News hit up the film's L.A. premiere Monday to find out.

"The movie has a chance to help change our schools," Guggenheim said. "We really need to do it. I think our schools are in big trouble — not just in schools 'over there'; schools everywhere are in trouble. It's a great film, because it brings people together to see it, and it also shows people that it's possible to give every kid in America a great education. That's what's so exciting: It brings people together around this issue [to] make real change."

"Superman" supporter L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa agreed, equating the film's impact on education to that of Guggenheim's last film, "An Inconvenient Truth."

"This movie has got to be a catalyst for real change. It's got to do for education what 'An Inconvenient Truth' did for climate change and the struggle to educate people about global warming," Villaraigosa said. "This is the pre-eminent challenge facing America. It is the civil-rights issue of our time. When you look at the kids in urban schools, the level with which they're dropping out and the abysmal success rate of our urban public schools."

"I think this film and our show 'School Pride' will be eye-opening for a lot of people in this country," actress and "School Pride" host/ executive producer Cheryl Hines said. "I think a lot of people have no idea how bad it is, and I think a lot of people drop off their kids and hope for the best when they go to school. Now is the time to really show people what is happening and inspire them to do something about it."

For more information about the film and how to help schools within your cities and neighborhoods, visit WaitingForSuperman.com.

Check out everything we've got on "Waiting for Superman."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Samantha Mathis Samantha Morton Samantha Mumba Sanaa Lathan Sara Foster