Showbits

Iron Man: fights corporate moguls, ancient wizards, and … cancer?

Iron Man 2, currently slated for release on May 2, 2010, is offering fans the opportunity to be a part of comic book history. By bidding on this eBay auction, you can win a walk-on/extra role in the sequel, as well as a meet-and-greet with the cast, and a walk down the red carpet at the film's premiere. How much fun would that be? I can imagine smiling and waving at the papparazzi as they ask, "Who's that?" "I don't know, but he must be famous!"

Of course, there are caveats: "Role and length of screen time to be determined by Marvel"; "Role and length of screen time to be determined by Marvel, and there can be no assurance that the role will appear in the final version of the film"; "If experience cannot be fulfilled, Marvel will provide alternative set visits/premieres based on Marvel’s availability". Them's the breaks of working in Tinsel Town.

I've detailed my experiences working as an extra and how ot requires patience for long hours and minimum wage. If that wasn't appealing enough, now you can pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege! It might be cheaper to just move to L.A. and sign up for any of the many casting companies that handle such crowd scenes. But if you're bidding on this auction, chances are your goal is not to grab your 15 seconds of fame, but to support a noble cause: proceeds from the auction go to Stand Up To Cancer (a charity I could find listed at neither Charity Navigator nor GuideStar non-profit profile and rating services), making this bidding war a more philanthropic exploitation of geek culture than some other auctions.

As a sci-fi geek and a former participant in cancer fundraisers, the angles of this auction piqued my interest. Though I'm not sure if an eBay auction can be limited to pre-qualified bidders, this one claims to require screening of interested parties. Curious, I filled out the last Wednesday, back when the going price was only $8000. I received a call back Thursday afternoon on my voice mail. I returned it on Friday and left them a voice mail. No progress has been made beyond this game of tag, and with the auction ending in 13 hours, it looks like I will not be able to contribute my entire life savings toward this auction.

(Hat tip to ComingSoon.net)

When I mentioned to a co-worker that I was looking forward to The Bucket List, he sighed in disgust. "Why are they putting Nicholson and Freeman through that? They deserve better," he muttered. Such disparaging remarks seemed a typical reception to this film, so I avoided all commercials, trailers and reviews. I feared I'd be similarly infected, and that the interest and enthusiasm the cast and concept alone piqued in me would be dashed.

I'm glad I dismissed the naysayers, as The Bucket List was a fun film. Morgan Freeman plays a father and husband who finds himself in the hospital with cancer at at the same time that Jack Nicholson — a rich, single, lonely tycoon — is similarly afflicted. One whimsically drafts a list of things to do before he dies, from the profound (see something majestic) to the frivlous (race a Shelby). Nicholson suggests they go out with a bang by making the list a reality and offers the funds with which to do so. Freeman's family is upset — they want to be with him until the bitter end — but it's too late, and a moment later the dynamic duo is jetting off to foreign countries.

Their activities aren't the stuff of legend, but among the more boyish antics is dialogue that's both amusing and pithy. There is little about this film that's original, but how can these two actors not make a good time of even the tired routine of two diverse individuals hitting the road and discovering themselves? I've never heard of a spell between chemotherapy and cancellation that embues patients with the strength to scale mountains; in that sense, the film defies reality right along with the characters. But compared to the weight and substance of other morbid films like Wit, this lighthearted comedy touches on the reality of the situation just often enough to keep viewers engaged while Freeman and Nicholson live our own boyish dreams of going out not with a whimper, but a bang.

Mike Evans died from cancer on 14-Dec-06 at the age of 57. He played one of two Lionel Jeffersons on The Jeffersons. [Story continues]