COOL STUFF
You Are the Experiment: Richard Kelly's The Box Has a Viral
by Alex Billington
October 29, 2009
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.
Beyond getting a sense of the 70's look that Richard Kelly is going for and hearing some of the score, I think there's something to be uncovered in these videos, hence why they're all labeled as Exhibits, like evidence in an ongoing investigation. But what does Mars have to do with The Box? Well, we already know that James Marsden's character Arthur Lewis works at NASA and from the trailer we know that he loses his job. But this movie is supposed to be about a mysterious guy who delivers a box to the Lewis family with a button that when pressed gives them a million dollars but kills someone else in the world. So how does this all connect?
Exhibit B has some footage of a weird structure dubbed the Lunar Landing Research Facility and at the end explains that it was destroyed by extreme weather that was manipulated by an "unknown entity." The plot thickens. The video labeled Exhibit C is all about the Advanced Research Lab at NASA, where Arthur works. It claims that the Mars project was, again, manipulated by some "unknown entity." Whenever I hear that I think alien, but that's a bit too creepy for me to even think about. Did they also design some spaceship? It talks about schematics and you can see a ship off to the side in a few shots. What the heck is going on?
I really don't know what's going on in these videos, but I can tell you it has certainly made me more excited to see The Box. I've been looking forward to this movie for a while because I know that with Richard Kelly it's always more than just a simple story, and that certainly seems to be the case here. And now I really want to know what is going on and what this is all about. Check out the viral website and let us know if you find any else on there, as there may be more to uncover in the next week. Visit: youaretheexperiment.com.
26 Comments
1
Mars...as in where the aliens studying us are from?
Tra la la la la di da on Oct 29, 2009
2
one of the most eagerly awaited films on my list of must-see it's good that they keep the suspense level up, way up don't give away too much, I want to be surprised by movies
greg on Oct 29, 2009
3
I checked it out and I gotta say I'm much more interested in seeing this. The trailer was definitely a mindbender, but this viral adds a whole other level of mental thriller. The exhibits are not 'thrilling' but based off of the ambiguity of them, I could tell their approaching this plot very seriously. I agree with greg, don't give away too much!
Nick Sears on Oct 29, 2009
4
Kelly has such a wild imagination. I'd love to see what he could do with a James Cameron-sized budget.
Shane on Oct 29, 2009
5
Damn...that really was intriguing....cant wait...next week!
Trey m on Oct 29, 2009
6
When you go to http://www.youaretheexperiment.com, something does appear before the actual website starts: "00:00:00:99". Once the website has started you can watch the clips or you can click on 'more information forthcoming'. Once you've clicked the last option, you'll be directed to the official website of The Box. You can watch the trailer, or click on 'ENTER (fullscreen)'. When you click 'ENTER' a lot of digits apear. I don't know what they mean. Hmm.. that's weird: the more you click 'ENTER', the amount of numbers will decrease and the first numbers will change everytime you visit the website. When the numbers disappear, this line will appear: "'Any suficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic' Clarke" Strange enought there is one 'f' missing in 'suficiently'. I've typed the line at Google and this was the first hit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke's_three_laws Still don't know what it all means.. I think it's about Clarke's three laws.. Does anybody knows how this is connected to the movie?
Robbie on Oct 29, 2009
7
What the hell is this? The whole website of The Box is fucking weird!! Digits everywhere, strange photo's/pictures. It just doens't make sense.. Which makes me even more excited!!
Robbie on Oct 29, 2009
8
Yeah, I wasn't that interested in this movie at first. I figured it would be mainstream, Hollywood-shoveled crap, but this makes me think otherwise. My interest is sparked. I like how mysterious it is.. they're not giving anything away. And the music is perfect! Damn, I'm excited to see more!
Dude on Oct 29, 2009
9
And why, when you hover the mouse over the foot x-ray in the full site, do lines appear linking to Cameron Diaz' eyes? How weird...
Dude on Oct 29, 2009
10
weird I saw...weird
Trey m on Oct 29, 2009
11
I'm beginning to think there will be no middle of the road with this movie. It's either going to be really freaking awesome or really freaking bad. Here's hoping on awesome.
Joshua m on Oct 29, 2009
12
If the movie has the same feel that those viral videos and the website have I will be very happy. I love the eerie ambient music and I hope that is used in the film. I love the way everything is filmed on the website and on the viral videos. I don't like how they presented the movie in the trailers. It seems like too shallow of a movie. Maybe that's a good thing though because as stated by others, it's better to not give too much away. I wasn't as interested in the movie as I now am. Anything with space or "entities" or NASA or any of what has been shown in the virals gets me interested. Here's to hoping the movie is as good as the website and virals are.
Dan W on Oct 29, 2009
13
OMG, this was soooooooo boring. I hope the movie isn't going to be as lame as this.
Smitty on Oct 29, 2009
14
At the end of Exhibit A, literally 3 seconds before it loops, you see the ground move at the middle left. what is this?
Vincent Cipollone on Oct 29, 2009
15
#14: don't see it..
Robbie on Oct 29, 2009
16
17
Everytime you click something, it looks like RANDOM (?) digits appear. And what's with all the weird pictures and drawings and all that crap? I don't understand :'(
Robbie on Oct 29, 2009
18
saw this last night in aus, the movie completely changes halfway through and from there on in I had no idea what to expect next..
brendan on Oct 29, 2009
19
#18: is that a positive thing?
Robbie on Oct 29, 2009
20
Saw it last night (its already out in Australia) and I must say, I'm a kind of disappointed. It is literally nothing like the trailers, its not a horror and its not much of a thriller... more of a slow-burn drama with mild thrills. It is simply Donnie Darko-lite, the comparisons are all there but the film seems to lack the things that made DD so amazing. It isn't a bad film by any measure, it just feels empty, but I'll buy it when it comes out and watch it again cause it is one of those films.
Ben on Oct 29, 2009
21
We must have gotten it earlier than the states down here in Australia as I saw it last week too. Great story. Really terrible acting from Diaz. There is an important scene near the beginning with her husband where the mood is supposed to serious and contemplative, but her delivery is just all ham and cheese. Pulling me right out of the moment and clearly others in the cinema. She doesn't ruin it, just thought a warning was in order.
Julius on Oct 29, 2009
22
Does the viral website make sense after watching the movie??????
Trey m on Oct 30, 2009
23
The three paintings that are at the end of the Exhibit C video are by Francis Bacon — "Three Studies for a Portrait of George Dyer, 1963". Bacon is probably strange enough to be called an unknown entity…… I'm interested to see how these paintings, or Bacon himself, might be related to anything else in this movie.
Patrick on Oct 30, 2009
24
I love that people are falling for a viral. This is hilarious!!! Seriously, great viral so it must be a great and original movie!!!
Tra la la la la di da on Oct 31, 2009
25
It will all make sense in the end.
Theman on Nov 2, 2009
26
what does it mean?... http://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/YATE http://www.archive.org/details/YATETheBox
yate on Nov 8, 2009
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