James Franco defends crowdsourcing initiative

James Franco has defended his new online campaign to raise funds for a new movie project, insisting any profits he makes from the venture will be donated to charity.

The 127 Hours star opened a page on fundraising website Indiegogo.com last month (Jun13) to generate the cash needs to adapt his 2010 short story collection Palo Alto into three films.

Critics took aim at Franco for asking fans to help him reach his $500,000 goal instead of using his own money, but he insists the project will help both filmmakers and charity.

He tells entertainment website Bttm.co.uk, "I'm not doing this for my own project... I'm not using my celebrity to get money for a project that I'm going to direct. This is really to give a chance to talented people that deserve it but maybe wouldn't have the opportunity to otherwise. (Any profits from the movie will go to) raise money for a charity that I care about a lot.

"My intention is not to go on Indiegogo and ask people to donate money that will then eventually go into my pocket."

Scrubs star Zach Braff has also come under fire for using Kickstarter.com make a sequel to his cult drama Garden State, but insisted he did not have the money needed to fund his dream project: "People seem to think I have Oprah Winfrey money. I've done well in my career, but I am not sitting on $22 million."