Hugh Laurie 'stars' in Writers Give Back event

Turns out, Hollywood's writers' strike had at least one upside: It inspired a few writers to be a little more selfless. The organization Writers Give Back, founded during the strike by producer Brian Pines, is now seeking to help people in need and writers in need, often at the same time. Based in Los Angeles, WGB is staging table readings of unproduced screenplays — asking stars to donate their time to play the roles — and then finding creative ways to turn the events into fund-raisers. First out of the gate: House star Hugh Laurie, Ugly Betty star Chris Gorham, and others will perform a table read of Pines' own screenplay, the romantic comedy Now in Paperback, at the Actors Gang Theater in Culver City on Monday, May 5. The event is by invitation to industry insiders only, and guests are asked to bring at least one book as the price of admission. All books will be donated to the children's literacy organization, First Book. And here's the best part: If the screenplay is sold, the writer will donate a percentage of the sale to First Book, too. "We already give 10 percent to our agent, 15 percent to our manager and 5 percent to our lawyers," Pines says. "Why shouldn't we give a percentage to the world at large?"

Pines, a former production exec on House, hopes to turn these table reads into a monthly series. First Book won't always be the benefactor, though. Pines is looking to find ways to pair the theme of each screenplay with an appropriate charity. Now In Paperback is about a rich-girl novelist whose ex-boyfriend writes a scathing tell-all about their relationship. The feuding former sweeties find themselves on dueling book tours. Pines figured a book drive was a prefect fit for this subject matter. In the future, though, WGB will look for other types of script-charity pairings. Hypothetically, a screenplay about drug addiction, say, might be used to stage a table reading to benefit a rehab facility.

In the meantime, Pines, whose day job is as an executive at Josephson Entertainment, has also launched the group Actors Give Back. He's looking to add a Musicians Give Back arm as well. "People want to do something," Pines says. "They just don't know where to start." Pines got the idea for WGB not just because he had free time during the strike, he says, but because of what he saw happening during it. "Joss Whedon had 200 fans show up on the picket line one day to support him," Pines says. "Imagine if Joss went to Habitat for Humanity and 200 fans joined him there. They would have had a Whedon house or a Whedon block built by the end of that day."

Monday's event at the Actors Gang Theater begins with cocktails at 7 p.m., and is nearly sold out, but anyone who wishes to donate books to First Book can drop books off at the theater anytime on May 5. For more information on Writers Give Back, and to learn about upcoming events, check the WGB website.