‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Director To Auction Off Zune Signed By Chris Pratt, Cast To Help The Rainforest
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 director James Gunn has apparently found a clever way to please Marvel fans and help the rainforest at the same time.
Gunn shared the news during a live broadcast on his Facebook page, promoting the auction of an operational Zune media player signed by the majority of the cast from the Guardians of the Galaxy follow-up sequel.
For those who have already seen the blockbuster hit movie, the Zune made an emotionally-stirring appearance towards the end of the movie – building on the ongoing theme and sub-plot surrounding Peter Quill’s love and appreciation of classic songs from Earth.
James mentioned towards the beginning of his big announcement that he got the idea from the spark of merchandise sales that emerged after the theatrical release of Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014. Sales on the specific type of headphones worn and Walkman used by Chris Pratt’s character in the movie skyrocketed – even after the bidding prices reportedly soared from the exposure in the Marvel movie.
According to Gunn’s announcement of the auction, he has partnered with The Rainforest Trust – a nonprofit organization established to help preserve and protect rainforests around the world. James explained that they buy acres of rainforests to protect not only the land from deforestation but also the animals that live within those rainforests.
Very special announcement about how you can get a Zune signed by the entire #GotG cast! https://t.co/3Xvhj1UyKZ pic.twitter.com/2d1x9xoFMT
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) September 26, 2017
The Rainforest Trust essentially encourages donors to save these endangered plots of land and animal life one acre at a time. According to the website, the average cost of buying and protecting an acre of tropical rainforest is approximately $10. With that simple fact, they effectively stress the monumental value that a seemingly insignificant $10 donation generates toward their overall mission.
According to its website homepage, this organization has already preserved and protected 17,617,561 acres of rainforests since 1988 and are eager to save even more in the years to come.
In the video, James Gunn states that the Rainforest Trust has agreed to match the winning bid dollar-for-dollar. To add a little more icing to the cake, Gunn pledged to match the winning bid himself up to $12,000. This means that the winning bid is going to be tripled for charity.
This is not the first time that the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy screenwriter and director has used autographed memorabilia to raise money (and awareness) for the Rainforest Trust. He also promoted the giveaway of an autograph poster in June 2016 both through Facebook and blog post on the Rainforest Trust website.
As of the time this article was published, the auction for the Zune media player signed by James Gunn, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and several other cast members from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has already reached $2,900 in less than 2 hours.
It will be very interesting to see exactly how this auction ends: who will win the Zune, how much money will be raised and how many rainforest acres will be saved by this Guardians of the Galaxy-inspired auction.
[Featured Image by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP]
