Yeah, I don’t know quite what to make of this either. But let’s begin at the beginning.

You may have seen celebrities participating in the “Stand Up To Cancer” ad campaign recently. While I think we can all fully support research and development in the cancer area, I find the theme of the ads a little insulting. They’re always like “IT’S TIME TO STAND UP TO CANCER ALREADY. COME ON GUYS. LET’S DO IT.” As if we’ve been completely ignoring cancer for the past thirty years.

In any case, Stand Up to Cancer is holding an auction on - where else? - eBay, and the winner of that auction will be entitled to a SPIDER-MAN 4 VIP EXPERIENCE!

Straight from the horse’s mouth, here is what that experience will entail:

* A visit to the set of Spider-Man 4 (one shooting day)
o Location of visit will be determined by Sony Pictures based on scheduling of visit
* A meet and greet with the cast (1 hour)
* A walk-on/ extra role in the film for the auction winner only
o Role and length of screen time to be determined by Sony Pictures
* Trip to the New York premiere
o Location of American premiere may be changed at Sony Pictures’ discretion
* Designer outfits to wear to premiere for winner and guest from top designers
o Designers to be chosen by Sony Pictures
o Winner and guest may keep the outfits
* Winner and Guest will walk the premiere’s red carpet

Sure, it sounds exciting. But there’s a catch:

If experience cannot be fulfilled, Sony Pictures will provide alternative set visits/premieres based on the provider’s availability

So, before you go wildly bidding on a Spider-Man 4 VIP Experience, bear in mind that it might very well end up being Some Other Movie VIP Experience.

Bidding currently stands at $5,200 with five days left to go. Now, call me crazy, but is it possible that they might have been a bit more successful with this auction if they’d - I dunno - waited until a script, cast, and/or director had been announced? A cast, at the very least. Nobody even knows who’s going to be playing Spidey at this point.

My recommendation: if you feel honor-bound to donate $5,200 to charity, please do so - but pass on this auction. Your “walk-on role” will probably be in the background on a speeding train, and even you won’t be able to find yourself.

Popularity: 4% [?]