Ellen asked Nicholas D. Kristof:

I really enjoyed the PBS documentary based on "Half the Sky," and I read that there is another film coming out for "A Path Appears." I think the documentaries' involvement of celebrity activists is an interesting touch. How are these celebrity activists chosen? More generally, how much influence do you have over the documentary?

Nicholas D. Kristof We involved the celebrities as a way to bring more people into topics that we care deeply about. We figured that there are plenty of people who may not be eager to engage with sex trafficking or inequality (topics of A Path Appears) but who may be interested in George Clooney or Eva Longoria or Blake Lively. The production team doing the documentary did most of the work identifying the celebrities, and they weren't paid. We worried a little the first time around that using celebrities might cheapen topics dear to us, but in fact they were great to work with and helped draw in a larger audience. Some were the absolute opposite of prima donnas: Mia Farrow washing her clothes in the sink in her hotel room in Nairobi, for example. You'll see the A Path Appears doc on PBS beginning Jan 26, 10 pm

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