Crowdfunding Campaign Aims To Raise $99M To Bring Home 'Martian' Matt Damon
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — How much of your dough would you give to rescue a character from a fictional scenario based on a blockbuster movie?
A GoFundMe fundraising page hoping to "rescue" actor Matt Damon from Mars - the location where his current film, Ridley Scott's "The Martian", takes place - has raised about $50 so far.
That's about $98,999,950 short of the campaign's stated goal of raising $99 million.
User Kyle Douglas, who started the page to promote his own humor website, says he got the idea while "lying in bed in my apartment in Chicago with tears streaming down my face with the thought of Matt Damon stuck on Mars."
"Let's bring him home!" wrote Douglas.
Using the hashtag #bringhomeMatt, the page says "one of the greatest actors in Hollywood is currently trapped on Mars after a failed exploration", a reference to Damon's hit film that drummed up an otherworldly $55 million during its opening weekend.
But why the dramatic rescue plea?
Not only does the GoFundMe page call for Damon to return to his former role in the "Bourne" series, but it also reminds fans that Damon's longtime cohort Ben Affleck could use a friend right about now.
"Matt is also a loyal friend to another Hollywood great Ben Affleck who needs Matt Damon's support as he goes through a divorce," Douglas wrote.
Despite the modest fundraising total so far - including one donor who gave $25 - some visitors to the page wondered why anyone would actually give money to this funny but fictional cause.
"This is funny, but please don't fund it," wrote commenter Sandy Cheairs.
"I'd be more tempted to donate if the money was going to charity. You should donate all money earned to a charity of Matt Damon's choice," commenter Cheyanna Duncan wrote.