Taika Waititi Hosts Celebrity Reading of ‘James and the Giant Peach’ To Help Fight Coronavirus

Academy Award-winning director Taika Waititi assembled a star-studded cast to read Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach to raise money for coronavirus aid organization Partners In Health.

Waititi will host a reading of the entire book in 10 installments, which will air on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays, featuring guests Utkarsh Ambudkar, Cate Blanchett, Jamie Cullum, Benedict Cumberbatch, Roman Griffin Davis, Cara Delevingne, Cynthia Erivo, Beanie Feldstein, Josh Gad, Chris and Liam Hemsworth, Mindy Kaling, Nick Kroll, Kumail Nanjiani, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Billy Porter, Gordon Ramsay, Eddie Redmayne, Ryan Reynolds, Ben Schwartz, Meryl Streep, Tessa Thompson, Olivia Wilde, Ruth Wilson and Archie Yates.

The episodes will be available exclusively on the Roald Dahl YouTube channel, where you can already find the first two readings: featuring the Hemsworth brothers alongside Kroll, and Streep alongside Cumberbatch.

Prior to the celebrity reading, Waititi was already working with the Roald Dahl Story Co. to write, direct, and executive produce two Netflix animated series based on Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

“Being an adult child myself and having read ‘James and the Giant Peach’ to my girls multiple times, I’m excited to be able to partner with my friends, the Dahl team and Partners In Health and retell this story to help those most in need right now,” Waititi said in a statement. “This wacky, wonderful tale is about resilience in children, triumph over adversity and dealing with a sense of isolation which couldn’t been more relevant today.”

The book reading will benefit Partners In Health, a global health nonprofit founded by Dahl’s daughter, Ophelia Dahl. The Roald Dahl Story Co. promised to match donations of up to $1 million and has already donated $1.3 million to the organization for maternal health in Sierra Leone.

Watch the trailer above, via Youtube.