New York - UPI
Movie star and former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is collaborating with Spike TV to organize Rock the Troops, a Veterans Day variety show to entertain and honor deployed members of the U.S. military.
Set to air on Nov. 11, 2016, the cable television special will be taped at a military base overseas and will feature performances from headliners from the music, film, comedy and sports industries.
"Dwayne Johnson has always made supporting the brave men and women serving overseas a priority throughout his career. Our mission is to honor, inspire and entertain in an epic way, as only The Rock can. He'll bring all the heart, humor and big-bad energy that the world loves him for, to this show. I couldn't have more dedicated partners than Dwayne, Dany and the Seven Bucks team for this very worthy event," Casey Patterson, the program's executive producer, said in a statement.
"Supporting troops and veterans is part of Spike's DNA," added Spike TV's president, Kevin Kay. "Spike has actively supported America's heroes throughout the last decade from helping to build a hospital for troops with brain injuries, to the 'Hire a Vet' campaign, to the VOW initiative focusing on veterans' health and wellness."
"The Seven Bucks [production] team and I are honored to help create this special project that is going to give back to our troops and thank them for all their dedication, bravery and sacrifice," Johnson remarked.
"We are going to make something truly monumental," promised Johnson's producing partner Dany Garcia.
Johnson recently starred in the back-to-back blockbusters San Andreas and Furious 7, guest hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live and competed on Spike's Lip Sync Battle.