The film actor and star Gerard Butler, noted for his appearance in such films as 300 (2006) and Law Abiding Citizen (2009),
has attracted favorable media attention in the 2010 period for reasons
other than his film career, namely that of his work with the Global
Poverty Project. In order to launch his participation with the
initiative, Gerard Butler appeared at the premiere, held at NYC’s Museum
of Modern Art, of a movie about the project, entitled 1.4 Billion Reasons. In this project, Gerard Butler has had help from fellow film star Hugh Jackman, of the X-Men films, who together have pledged to devote time and resources to the alleviation of poverty throughout the world.
As
such, Jackman, as Butler’s partner in the initiative, pledged to
auction off a personal workout session as one of the times offered to
solicit financial contributions for help with the anti-poverty
initiative. Jackman also assisted Gerard Butler with the anti-poverty
effort by acting as host for the 1.4 Billion Reasons benefit,
together with his wife, Deborah-Lee Furness. A month before Gerard
Butler appeared at the October 20 film premiere, Jackman had also spoken
on behalf of the anti-poverty initiative at NYU. Gerard Butler came to
the 1.4 Billion Reasons premiere
after a previous personal appearance, this one at the kick-off for
Michigan State University’s Spartans basketball team. The impetus for
the 1.4 Billion Reasons project,
and for the involvement of celebrities such as Gerard Butler in it,
came from Australian anti-poverty activist Hugh Evans.
