- Sam Raimi Wants to 'Get Back to the Basics' on Spider-Man 4 (111 Comments)
- Must Watch: Teaser Trailer for A Nightmare on Elm Street! (109 Comments)
- Must Watch: Intense Trailer for Mel Gibson's Edge of Darkness (81 Comments)
- Must Watch: Second Official Trailer for Lee Daniels' Precious (78 Comments)
- Check These Out: High Res New Na'vi Photos from Avatar! (77 Comments)
- Paul Blart Director Steve Carr Hired for the Short Circuit Remake (Oct 27, 2009)
- Hitman's Xavier Gens Set to Direct Action Thriller 'The Fallout' (Oct 27, 2009)
- Bruckheimer & Straczynski Adapting 2K's Shattered Union (Oct 27, 2009)
- Steve Carell on Par for Rick Reilly Golf Comedy 'Missing Links' (Oct 26, 2009)
- Jason Reitman Calls Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim 'Matrix for Love' (Oct 26, 2009)
- Matt Damon & Josh Brolin Joining the Coen Brothers' True Grit (Oct 26, 2009)
- Ricky Gervais to Host the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards (Oct 26, 2009)
- Woody Allen's New Film Titled 'You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger' (Oct 26, 2009)
| Inglourious Basterds | 10/10 |
| It Might Get Loud | 9/10 |
| Inglourious Basterds | 8.5/10 |
| Star Trek | 9/10 |
| Monsters vs Aliens | 5/10 |
The Mad Hatter Needs Your Help, Follow Him for Treasure!
I'm really digging the social/viral marketing Disney is doing for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. When the first trailer debuted in July, they used Facebook to build lots of early buzz. Now they're using Facebook again to debut another new series of posters (as far as we know). The Mad Hatter has posted a message on his fan page saying that if he gets 7500 "likes" on that message, he'll give us more "treasure." The first poster, seen below, reveals a good look at all the Alice in Wonderland characters, including the caterpillar (as it was leaked earlier this week). But of course, we're waiting for the full high res version!
J.J. Abrams' Next New Super Top Secret Project: 500 Rads?
Can you remember back to July 3rd, 2007? You were probably sitting in a theater, and some random trailer started playing that had footage from a surprise birthday party for some guy named Rob. That was the start of Cloverfield. They hadn't even shot any real footage, it was a super secret project, and that first trailer captured everyone's interest. Jump ahead a few years and now J.J. Abrams is done with Star Trek. We don't yet know if he's directing the sequel and his go-to guys from Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, Drew Goddard) are both off doing other projects. So could he be working on another secret project? One called 500 Rads?
New Sherlock Holmes Facebook Viral Game Launches Online
I'm not entirely sure if this is connected with the "Widen your gaze Mr. Holmes" mini-viral from August, however, I get the feeling that this is the next step in that game. Earlier today I received an email in my inbox with a telegram saying: "London seethes with crime — STOP — find your partner upon whom you will rely — STOP — evidence secured for your advance assessment — STOP — the game is afoot — STOP — make all haste to 221B now." It then linked to a site located at 221B.sh where users can visit and participate in a viral game on Facebook for the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie. It's not amazing, but it is a lot of fun.
Orson Welles' Original War of the Worlds Broadcast Returns
With our society's extensive use of the internet, viral marketing has become an invaluable tool for movie marketing. In recent years I think it's safe to say The Dark Knight is the reigning champion for best viral marketing campaign which inspired activity from people all over the world. However, the greatest publicity stunt ever achieved goes all the way back to 1938, when Orson Welles' radio broadcast of H.G. Wells novel War of the Worlds created unparalleled panic and fear of a real alien invasion. Now, exactly 71 years later, the broadcast will return as a live stream brought to you by the upcoming film Me and Orson Wells.
You Are the Experiment: Richard Kelly's The Box Has a Viral
If you've seen any of the TV spots for Richard Kelly's The Box, they all include the phrase "You are the experiment." What does it mean? Well, we're not entirely sure yet, but a new viral website has popped up: youaretheexperiment.com. Warner Bros is obviously not trying to cover it up (their info is at the bottom, as is a link to buy tickets), but it does have some interesting videos labeled Exhibit A, B, and C. If you watch the three of them, you'll notice that they are all about NASA's Viking program from the 1970's where they sent two space probes to Mars. What does Mars have to do with The Box? Another answer we don't know yet.
Avatar Launches its Own Unimpressive New Viral Website
"You are not in Kansas anymore. You are on Pandora, ladies and gentleman." Just listen to Col. Quaritch, he'll keep you safe on Pandora. I was first sent a link to this new viral site last week but was so unimpressed, I decided not to mention it until it got some more content. Given its a slow news day today, everyone else is picking it up as news today, so I thought why not finally mention it. The site is located at AVTR.com and is all about becoming "a part of the program." The viral AVTR site is self-described as "your daily source of the latest information about the Resource Development Administration's AVTR Program." Read on for more.
Sherlock Holmes Viral Has Been Around Since Comic-Con?
A few days ago we ran an article looking at a new viral marketing game for Sherlock Holmes. I wrote that "Warner Brothers has kicked off their viral" with a website located at 94.236.57.221 that essentially was a glorified sign-up form. It turns out, thanks to some updates from our good friends at MovieViral.com and Unfiction, that this viral has actually been around since Comic-Con, remarkably. It looks like Warner Bros' attempt to kick it off at the Con failed. The only reason its gaining traction now is because @wbpictures tweeted it out and I was told by others to check it out. Oh and some other websites got cards in the mail.
Sherlock Holmes Goes Viral - Do Not Under-Estimate It!
I definitely didn't see this coming, but it actually makes a lot of sense. Warner Brothers has kicked off their viral for Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes with a nifty little website and sign-up form. I'm not sure if this came from other sources, but I first noticed on Twitter this URL: http://94.236.57.221. The mysterious IP points to a page with five boxes containing question marks. Find out the secret password (answer is Irene referring to Rachel McAdams' character Irene Adler) and you'll be shown a short video of a weird hooded man. From there it shows you a sign-up page - and Sherlock Holmes needs your help, so sign right up!
For Humans Only: A Look Back at District 9's Success Story
It all began at Comic-Con last year. Banners and signs were placed throughout the San Diego Convention Center proclaiming in big block letters: "For Humans Only, Non-Humans Banned!" Either no one noticed them or, more likely, no one cared much about them. It wasn't until I got home from the Con and started thinking back - what the heck were they for? They all included a link to D-9.com and that was it. But even that site was mysterious. So I settled in, did some extensive research, and published the world's first article on District 9. It was an early look at the viral, and what it might be about, and from there we were off!
Basterds Goes Viral - Fredrick Zoller's Nation's Pride Trailer
This isn't really a true ARG viral or anything, but it is pretty damn cool anyway. Apple has debuted a trailer for the German WWII film Nation's Pride starring Nazi hero Fredrick Zoller. What the heck is Nation's Pride? It's the movie-within-a-movie that plays an integral part in the plot of Inglourious Basterds. In the movie, this has its world premiere at a theater being run by Shosanna Dreyfus, and everyone last prominent German figure, including Adolf Hitler, will be attending the premiere, which is exactly why the Basterds show up there as well (to kill 'em all). This trailer was dubbed in English, so it is still watchable.
Marvel's Iron Man 2 Goes Viral - Join Stark Industries Now!
Out of all the movies coming up in the next year, Iron Man 2 is one (of a few) that I don't think really needs a viral to build any buzz. But then again, anything set in the Marvel Universe has a lot of good viral potential, so why not? Marvel made an announcement today on their website about Stark Industries accepting job applications. All you need to do is visit this site: starkindustriesnow.com and click on the "Join Stark Industries" button. There's not too much more found there (yet), except an amusing press release written by Tony Stark on his drink napkin. "Pepper, please post exactly as is!" Oh that Tony Stark!
Comic-Con: Take a Look Inside of Flynn's Arcade, Circa 1982
One of the highlights of Comic-Con this year is easily the Flynn's Arcade viral for Tron Legacy. Without a doubt, the greatest viral marketing stunt at Comic-Con, which is quite an achievement. I stopped by Flynn's Arcade for a second time on Saturday night, where the line extended around the block, to snap a few better photos of what the atmosphere and insides of this highly secretive and special place looked like. Everyone I talked to who stepped foot in here came out with a huge smile on their face. Many said it took them back to their childhood. And of course, it ended with a very exciting look at what's to come in the future. Read on!
Flynn's Arcade is in San Diego - Amazing Tron Legacy Viral!
While I got to see footage from James Cameron's Avatar, Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass, and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland today, my favorite part of the day had to be the awesome viral ARG (alternate reality game) for Tron Legacy, as it's now known (instead of just Tron 2), that I participated in tonight. We've been covering the early details but it all came together tonight in the ultimate reveal - Flynn's Arcade exists and you can even play Space Paranoids the game. And if that wasn't enough, hidden in a secret room in the back was an actual new lightcycle from the movie. But you have to hear about how we got there, first!
Flynn Lives - Tron 2 Viral Kicks Off in San Diego Tonight
Just a few days ago we mysteriously received two tokens for Flynn's Arcade and we followed the start of what promises to be a great viral and ARG for Disney's upcoming Tron 2. Throughout that afternoon on Tuesday, we followed the clues and uncovered the phrase "Flynn Lives" (which seems to be a bigger part of this) and a series of interesting websites: flynnlives.com and homeoftron.com. If you click on the bouncing spider icon at the bottom of the Flynn Lives site, you'll see a countdown. It expires at 9:30PM on Thursday and has now been updated with a meet-up location in San Diego. Looks like something big kicks off tonight!
Flynn's Arcade Exists? New Viral Game for Tron? Updated!
Wow something strange is going on out there. I woke up this morning to find a FedEx package from some address listed in San Diego called PMB. Inside the envelope were two arcade tokens (see above) for the once thought to be mythical Flynn's Arcade. Yep, the very same Flynn's that is the "Home of Tron" from the movie, uh, Tron. If I can put two-and-two together, a San Diego location this week might mean that Disney is doing a little Tron 2 viral marketing at Comic-Con. Sounds good to me! In addition to the tokens, there was also a thumb drive with an image labeled "4.gif" that is a coded animated gif. Check that out below.