I sat through the movie “Six Degrees of Separation” twice and I still couldn’t follow what was going on (my boyfriend at the time finally gave up trying to get me up to speed). Apparently, I am in the minority when it comes to understanding the movie’s nuances because not long after the film debuted a parlor game called the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” debuted and has become as popular as the movie, which inspired it.
Ironically, Bacon admits that he is mystified by the game’s popularity, but he’s decided to put it to good use anyway. According to news reports, Bacon is using the game to raise money for charity. Last week the actor officially launched SixDegrees.org, an online network that gives visitors a chance to learn about and donate to celebrities’ pet charities.
“People pick up celebrity magazines to see how people dress, which handbags are hot, which cars to buy,” Bacon old reporters. “Why not look at what (celebrities) care about?”
Among the A-listers who have already agreed to be featured on Bacon’s site: Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Tyra Banks, Jessica Simpson and Kanye West. You can get in on the action by logging on and collecting celebrities’ icons, or “badges,” and attaching them to e-mails to create your own badges and link to your own favorite charity. According to USA Today, Bacon has pledged to personally match the donations (up to $10,000) of the first six users who create badges.
As I mentioned earlier, Bacon went public with his ambivalence about the “six degrees” game years ago. In 2003, he told PEOPLE Magazine, “I joke that my epitaph will be, ‘No Oscars, but at least he had a game named after him.’ ”
But, now, he says after thinking about how to get deeper into philanthropy, he realized he could make the game work for those less fortunate.
Have you ever played the game?
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