It arrived last week like a bolt from Heaven itself: RestoreStephenBaldwin.org, your one-stop shop for charitable contributions to the most famous bankrupt born-again Christian in Hollywood. Its mysterious provenance and outlandish ambition was the stuff of near-instant Internet legend, and today, as if to burnish that legend, Stephen Baldwin would just like to explain that it's not his fault.
Grateful as he is for the consideration (and agreeable as he is to the proprietor's use of his likeness), the actor told PopEater that this is all just another variation on the unending battle between good and evil. I think:
I'll be honest with you, I wasn't sure whether or not this thing was going to get any attention or have any awareness. I don't even know how long it's been out there, but it sat around for a while initially. As the result of one blogger writing something pretty nasty, that's what kind of became the catalyst for the awareness that we see now. Interestingly enough, I don't have any numbers, but a significant response in regards to donations has been triggered as a result of that. So, in other words, somebody wrote something mean, and Christians said, "Whoa, wait a second, maybe that isn't such a bad idea."
And yes, Baldwin will accept whatever donations are gathered on the site, and yes, he hopes that this merely supplements its contributors regular charitable giving. Because in the end, Baldwin says, he's going to be fine. He's even started taking meetings again, though from this anecdote, I'm not sure how much progress he's making:
I just had lunch with one of the biggest agents in Hollywood, who is considering working with me, and it was all about business. He sat me down and said, "Let me get to know you. Who are you, what do you stand for and what do you look to do?" I just had a two hour meeting with the guy and his reaction is the usual reaction I get from people, particularly in the film business who don't know me. They usually have an automatic reaction to any individual who publicly makes the statement: "I'm a born-again Christian."
Or to any beneficiary of other Christians' noblesse oblige who publicly makes the subsequent statement: "I've been asked to direct three films in the next year -- as I continue to focus more on those projects, I'll still have the ability to stand up for what I believe in." I can hear the Say Whaaaa? Singers a mile away.
ยท Stephen Baldwin Explains RestoreStephenBaldwin.org [PopEater]