Hollywood's Collette to sing for the planet

Australian actress Toni Collette poses for a portrait during an interview in Sydney July 4, 2007. Collette, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000 for her acting in ''The Sixth Sense,'' will help kick off the global Live Earth concerts with her band Finish on Saturday.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Maybe it's not just rock and roll after all. Hollywood actress Toni Collette says music can save the environment too.

The 34-year-old Australian, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000 for her acting in "The Sixth Sense," on Saturday will help kick off the global Live Earth concerts with her band Finish, which includes her husband Dave Galafassi.

Collette will share the Sydney stage with Jack Johnson, Wolfmother and other artists to belt out rock tunes to help raise environmental awareness.

"It's not a time to be ignorant about what is happening to the planet," Collette told Reuters in an interview.

Collette's debut vocals album, "Beautiful Awkward Pictures" released last year, contains mostly love songs, but one single, 'Look Up', speaks of the impact of climate change with sass and verve.

"Look Up is also about remaining positive and not letting the knowledge of what could be very horrible get you down," she said.

After Sydney, Live Earth moves to Tokyo, Johannesburg, London, New York and other cities with performances led by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, The Police and Smashing Pumpkins.

KEEPING IT GREEN

Collette says the work started by Vice President turned environmental activist Al Gore demonstrates the power celebrities can wield to make positive changes to the planet.

"It can be a great pressure, but the more people know, the more they will hopefully feel they have a responsibility to the planet," Collette said.

"Certainly Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" spoke to a lot of people and if the message can get out in any shape or form that's a good thing. Music can create unity."

Collette, who drives a hybrid car, recycles her household waste into garden compost and tries to be energy efficient, hopes Live Earth will motivate more people to clean up their acts.

"The great thing about Live Earth is it's helping people to understand they can make small changes in their daily lives that will have a huge impact in the end," she added.

Acclaimed for her portrayal of the overweight and determined bride-to-be in the 1994 underdog triumphs movie Muriel's Wedding, Collette says her early bohemian days in Ireland sparked her concern for the environment.

Now, she says, most of her friends and colleagues, including A-list movie stars, try to lead more environmentally friendly lives, but added that ordinary people should also embrace the environment, with or without celebrity involvement.

"I do hope it is not just a fashion or a trend and people just think it's something cool because Cameron Diaz or Al Gore is involved. It's very real and it's not going away."