cinema HYPE

2010-04-22T21:30:00.005-04:00

by: Marc Ashed

For weeks, the movie “Hot Tub Time Machine” has been filling up the commercials. Why? Great question. Not only does this movie look terrible, but the jokes that are supposed to draw you into the theatres are not funny. The plot is of four friends using a hot tub and it miraculously taking them back to the 1980’s. Throw an over-the hill John Cusack, and some D list celebrities and this is the movie you get. http://hottubtimemachinemovie.com/

The commercials have been frequent, and on nearly every channel you can watch. You could not escape seeing at least two commercials every hour that you watch TV. This movie was hyped up quite a bit and I am curious as to why. The website is quite clever with a hot tub temperature gauge as the loading icon and a hot tub bubbling the whole time as well as quotes from the movie. MGM is putting very heavy emphasis on spreading this movie around by word of mouth which is the way recent popular movies like the Hangover were promoted. The trailer was released on the Internet and to blogs. The release to the Internet creates buzz and in term stirs interest up. The buzz through Twitter and Facebook were through the roof according to MGM’s marketing team. http://mashable.com/2010/01/22/hot-tub-time-machine/ . Personally, I am not buying into the hype.

As Daniel Kimmel from the New England Movies Weekly said,

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/articles/1877172/ “The mystery isn't that it took three credited writers to come up with this material, it's that they could find three writers willing to take credit for it.”

Back-up Plan

2010-04-15T07:44:00.004-04:00

by: Elissa Goldberg

After dating for a long time, Zoe (played by Jennifer Lopez) hasn’t found the right man who she wants to marry nor have children with. She is strong-minded to become a mother and makes a plan to have a child on her own.

From the Publicity side of the movie, the CBS Films website is great. There is a lot of fun and exciting tabs on the site that really help you want to go see the movie. The tabs include: games, gallery, about the film, downloads, Hudson Mutts and downloads. The partners tab promotes different companies such as, Motherhood Maternity clothing store, Arden B., and the Humane Society of the United States. Having this tab on the movie’s website is a good way to publicize what brands that are occurring in this movie. Facebook has a fan page which will lead you back to the CBS website. There is this game on Facebook called Love Shot, which lets you unlock clips from the movie. This game is certainly a good way to promote the movie because viewers will be seeing clips and hoping to want to go see it in theaters. Finally twitter has a page where you can follow the movie and write reviews. This movie is Due in theaters April 23. Click here to see the trailer for more!

2010-04-14T22:47:00.009-04:00

by: Joanna Grillo

Writer-director Matthew Vaughn has a new movie coming out this Friday, Kick-Ass. That’s a lot of pressure to be, well, “kick-ass” right in the title, luckily for Vaughn and Lions Gate productions it looks to be pretty awesome. The movie, though about super heroes isn’t just for nerds.

What’s interesting about the PR is that a lot of the ad’s have been shown to specific markets. This past week on E!’s The Soup they had their weekly segment "clip of the week" sponsored by Kick-ass. The soup’s audience is young, into pop-culture and generally looking for what Joel says is the next train wreck shoe to watch, so when he says something is good, its gotta be.

There have also been cross promotions with the NHL, they don’t seem like your typical “graphic novel” fans but it works-mostly. The ad was for the best saves of the year and has the movies super hero’s saving people spliced in. It makes sense and it takes what otherwise might seem like a dorky subject and makes it a little more tough and cool. Still, hockey isn’t as main stream as say baseball or basket ball so it kind of makes you wonder how this whole thing came about.

MTV is also on the Kick-Ass bandwagon, dedicating their site, splashpage.mtv.com to kick-ass for the week. The site has posts and clips all about the film. MTV news has been doing reports on the film as well as its stars. This, demographically, makes a bit more sense then the NHL promos.

There is still a common theme to these otherwise uncommon promotions though. If you keep the ads to specific groups I think it keeps the movie looking like something cool, less main stream though it clearly is. What more could a super hero wanna be want than to be cool and in-the-know.

Q&A with Steven Rea from the Philadelphia Inquirer

2010-04-14T13:44:00.001-04:00

Questions by: Marc Ashed

Steven Rea is a movie critic that writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer and can be easily read off of philly.com.

Q: Do you have a certain criteria or checklist of sorts to review movies?

A: Not anything that's written in stone, or set in concrete. My response to a film remains to a large degree instinctive. If a movie works -- no matter what genre, or what the filmmakers set out to accomplish -- it works, and I try to articulate why. If it doesn't, it doesn't, and I try to articulate why as well.

Q: As a critic, do you see any correlation between money spent advertising and ticket revenue? Can a bad movie still make money due to the constant advertising?

A: Massive hype can make a difference with opening weekend box office, and opening weekends now count for so much of a film's ultimate take. But audiences can still sense a real stinker, no matter how aggressively it's being marketed to them.

Q:Do you feel that movies are beginning to incorporate more than just entertainment value and are now trying to persuade or spin their own messages (the way people say Avatar is a sort of protest against American military actions is an example)?

A: It's not a question of "now." Movies -- some movies -- have always pushed an agenda, subtlely or overtly. After all, there are people with ideas trying to express their passions and concerns, their politics and beliefs, in these films.

Q:You graduated with a degree in Creative Writing; how do you feel that your education has prepared you to write movie reviews?

A: I've been a film lover my entire life, took film classes in school, was a projectionist for the film society and just had the good luck to combine my two passions -- writing and film -- into a job.

Q: With advanced technology, it is much easier for independent film producers to make their movies; do you feel that the big movie companies are in danger?

A: Not in danger of going under, but in danger of only making movies on an epic scale -- big "event" pictures and sequels and remakes -- and losing the impetus to make movies on a more modest scale.

Q: Are there any movies on the horizon that you think will be big hits?

A: I think "Kick-Ass," opening this weekend, will do well, and it's a given that the next "Harry Potter" and "Iron Man 2" will be huge.

Q: What are your personal top 5 favorite movies?

A: It's difficult to answer that question -- I have a rotating list of favorite films. But certainly some at the top include "Sullivan's Travels," "The Wizard of Oz," "Citizen Kane" and "In a Lonely Place," and more recently "There Will Be Blood," "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" and "Goodbye Solo."

Q&A with Joann Butler, Founder and President of Consultancy Media

2010-04-14T10:41:00.007-04:00

Questions by: Christy Quickstad

Consultancy Media is a creative services company that understands their client’s expectations and exceeds them. From conceptualizing multi-media strategies to executing productions of all forms, and cultivating exceptional media placements for brands and their messages on desired outlets.

Founder, Joann Butler is an awarding-winning lifestyle journalist and video producer who has been creating multi-media content for a diverse clientele for more than fifteen years. The world’s most recognized names have relied on Butler to lead media and marketing strategies for their brands. Her long- standing relationships with multi-media outlets and editorial experts garner results for her clients.

As a Lifestyle Editor and Reporter, Butler has traveled the world, covering red carpets, fashion runways, political conventions, and breaking news. She has interviewed everyone from President Bill Clinton and Princess Diana to Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney and has directed a long list of notable journalists, including the late Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, who called her, "one of his favorite editors."

Bio from website, to see more visit

http://www.consultancymedia.com/

Q:How did you get involved in the media/publicity industry?

A:I interned at a television station while in college, I worked in nearly ever department from PR to public affairs, and then ended up in the newsroom. From there I went to the other side--corporate media and broadcast PR.

Q:How are red carpet events used to generate movie publicity?

A:Everyone loves to interview and report on celebrities..so when movie companies promote a new movie, media outlets want to report on it.
It's a two-way street, the media gets to talk to celebrities and broadcast or print the content which is great for their viewership and readership, and the movie companies get great publicity for their films.

Q:What kind of questions do you ask actors and directors about the movie?

A:Usually ask them how they got involved with them film, what the experience was like, how they relate to the characters they play etc..

If we're covering a movie premiere for a client, we are simply functioning as the movie companies "house crew" which means we're hired by the publicity department to cover the event, as a media outlet would, then make footage available to those outlets that were unable to attend the premiere on their own.

Q:What type of content do you include in the VNRs for your clients?

A:A well produced content package for a movie premiere would include
ALL of the celebs that walked the red carpet, interviews with all of them and obviously the stars and key players of the fim, whether it be a Director or writer of interest, along with the movie trailor.

Q:How do you distribute and control the audience who view the VNRs you produce?

A:We create very specific distribution strategies, plans and methods depending on our clients needs.
Each is different, and each affects the way in which it's produced.

Q:Who was your favorite red carpet interview with and why?

A:Hmmmm that's a difficult one. I think Alec Baldwin, about 20 years ago when -I had my first job. After I got a wonderful interview with him on a crazy and crowded red carpet. My videographer informed me that he had no audio.
By this time, alec was way down the line, and about to head inside (to the Tony Awards) after shouting his name several times (alongside everyone else that had yet to interview him) He walked all the way back to us and graciously let us do it all over again! I never forget that story and tell it often.

Tarantino is a Smurf?

2010-04-07T00:25:00.006-04:00

by: Rae Volinsky

The Smurfs movie is finally here! At least the production has begun. A new press release has announced that the film, set to hit theaters in the summer of 2011, has begun production in New York.

The press release has named the numerous actors involved in this film. Hank Azaria, as Gargamel, Neil Patrick Harris and Sofia Vergara will all be playing live-roles. While the actors to lend their voices to the different Smurfs include Katy Perry, Alan Cumming, George Lopez and Kevin James.

The biggest rumor buzzing around this movie was whether or not Quentin Tarantino will be the voice of Brainy Smurf. Sources such as the Los Angeles Times deny this rumor, even though popular website IMDB has had the director as the know-it-all smurf. However, the press release has broke the news that Fred Armisen will be playing this character. Which in my opinion sounds a lot better than Tarantino.

This film has a long way to go before we will be able to see it in theaters, and I can not wait to see what other hype follows The Smurfs.

Q&A with Dr. Shawn Kildea

2010-04-01T08:31:00.020-04:00

Questions by: Elissa Goldberg

Dr. Shawn P. Kildea is a full-time Communication/ Journalism professor at Rider University. He is a Native of Lawrenceville, N.J. and got his Doctorate at Rutgers University. He enjoys spending time with his wife and kids in his free time.

Q: How did you become interested in writing & producing movies?

A: I like specifically working with documentaries. These types of stories fascinate me and I am a minor history buff.

Q: How long does it typically take to write & produce a movie?

A: A small unfunded documentary film takes about 1 year to produce. A movie is typically 20 minutes long and the maximum is 30 minutes long.

Q: How did working on Stills of the Movement: The Civil Rights Photojournalism of Flip Schulke impact your personal life?

A: I researched an extensive archive of photographs from that time taken by a man named Flip Schulke. He documented the funerals of slain civil rights leaders Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King. While using these photos over the past year and a half I have developed a deep and abiding respect for these men whose lives were cut so short. Having four children myself, I understood in a way I couldn't have a decade ago just how much these men sacrificed for their cause. Many of these photographs show the children of King and Evers standing over their father's coffins as their mothers tried to console them. These photographs humanize men who have been rendered immortal by history.

Q: What film festivals have you attended & what awards have you received?

A: 1st place in the National Broadcasting Society, which won best documentary for a drama or comedy. Footnotes on Revolution won honorable mention with the National Broadcasting Society and won 1st place for best student film at Rider's Symposium.

Q: If you could work with any producer in the film industry, who would it be?

A: Judd Apatow- He writes contemporary "R" rated comedies which are raunchy and have "heart". The movies that he writes also are good stories about relationships.

Q: What is your favorite genre of movies?

A: Drama because I like to be moved and also like for movie to have meaning to it. For a movie to be good: all I ask for is for the movie is not to bore me!
For more information on Dr. Kildea and Still of the Movement visit: Story Teller: Shawn Kildea & Still of The Movement.

Interview with Critic Robert Cashill

2010-03-31T22:03:00.006-04:00

Questions by: Joanna Grillo

Film critic Robert Cashill took time out of his busy schedule of writing, blogging and stay at home dad-ing to talk with cinemaHYPE about what’s going on in the film industry today. Cashill’s resume includes editor at both Stagebill and Lighting Dimensions magazines as well as success as a freelance writer. Cashill’s blog has even been picked up by aggregator sites like Rotten Tomatoes. Born in Randolph, N.J Cashill attended North Western University and lived in Hong Kong for some time. Cashill now resides in New York City with his family.

Joanna Grillo: On your blog you have some strong feelings about 3D movies and how they are ripping off movie goers. Do you think this is just movies as the Jetsons intended or passing fad to hike up prices?

Robert Cashill: When I was a kid 3D was gone, it came back in the early 80’s with lots of good movies. I loved it, I don’t mind putting on the glasses but I think it’s a case of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. The technology is the same in all of these movies so you don’t need to pay the extra three dollars or whatever to rent these glasses every time. You can just bring glasses from a movie you already saw. How to Train Your Dragon’s numbers were down and I think that’s because parents are getting fed up with paying what in the city comes out to nearly sixteen bucks a person to take their kids to the movies. Many of the 3D movies out there aren’t filmed for 3D but converted later so it’s just a few things popping at you here and there, something like Avatar that was made for 3D form the beginning to me is worth it. They aren’t giving much bang for your buck. It just seems like the movie industry taking advantage of you, but really, I do love 3D movies.

JG: With movies like the hangover and UP! getting more and more critical success do you think the citizen cane fans of the world are coming off their high horses to have some fun finally?

RC: Among critics reviews are being supportive of movies like that now. Hot Tub Time machine for example, you need to be in on the joke and it seemed like a lot of the critics don’t get the joke there. If it is smart there’s always critics who support the seemingly less highbrow. I don’t think they are as universally condemned as before. It’s something you need to take case by case, the hangover was a really well done comedy and ended up with golden globe nominations. There is defiantly a line in the sand for what’s a Hot Tub Time Machine and what’s a Hangover but I’m not sure where that line is.

JG: I read your post about Tim Burton’s Alice in wonderland, seems like you’re not a huge fan of the box office names he went with. What are your thoughts on directors who partner with the same actors, like Burton-Depp, Apatow- Rudd, Scorsese –DiCaprio.

RC: I think it works within reason. DiCaprio and Scorsese work very well together. I didn’t think Gangs of New York worked but by the time they got to The Aviator I found Leo a very credible Howard Hughes. Shutter Island worked really well. It’s different then when De Niro and Scorsese paired up in the 70’, 80’s and even 90’s. It was explosive; they were both new on the scene. I like film makers to switch it up, but they have been successful. I like Johnny Depp in the horror-fantasy type films Burton puts him in. I wanted different actors for Sweeny Todd, it seemed like the leads couldn’t express themselves vocally very well. Helena Bonham Carter was less comfortable in Burton’s onscreen world then Depp in my opinion.Comedians work well like this. I saw Paul Rudd on the New York stage when he was starting out and expected him to go more serious but he took a turn and does it well. When those actors are used in the right pockets it works.

JG: Having done both, would you rather write freelance or on the clock?

RC: I have never been a full time writer. I have been an editor though and as an editor you end up dealing with a lot of bureaucracy. Writing freelance has given me a lot more free time. I am a stay at home dad now to my little girl, so it helps. Freelance doesn’t have a lot of money in it. Its not much of a profit making venture. It’s becoming like a vocation, like the priesthood, you do it because you love it and need to.

JG: I would imagine that the Hollywood movie scene is slightly different then the New York film students but how did living and writing in Asia compare to the American movie scene?

RC: I lived in Asia 20 years ago, multiplex theaters are common now but they weren’t that big then. Hong Kong was big in the 80’s for films then handed it over to China and they picked up the industry again. Korean film is thriving now more than ever before. There is much more crossover now, actors who are pretty established in one place are moving into another, younger actors are also sometimes making names for themselves in foreign countries and then go back to their home countries. There is a lot of cross fertilization going on.

JG: Any predictions for what will be worthwhile summer block buster’s?

RC: 2023 looks good 3D or not, it should be very entertaining. Inception comes out July 16^th, it’s a sifi, action, romance movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, it should be really good.

Q&A with Brad Miska

2010-03-30T09:20:00.003-04:00

Questions by: Rae Volinsky

Recently, Brad Miska was able to answer some questions about his work with the popular website Bloody Disgusting and other horror film promotions he has done. Founded in 2002, Bloody Disgusting is a top horror movie website, getting around 1 million visitors a month. Brad Miska, under the name Mr. Disgusting, is the Editor in Chief and creator of Bloody Disgusting.

Q: How did you come around to starting Bloody Disgusting? Did you ever imagine it being as big as it is today?

A: We started the website out of the love for the genre and for experience. My friend/business partner wanted to learn web design and asked if I wanted run a horror site that he built. I loved the idea and quickly it was off the ground. He continued to make it better while I continued to deliver quality content. I saw potential after a few months and eventually it took off. But it's all for the lover of the genre, not for the mighty dollar like so many sites today.

Q: What would you say is your favorite thing about working at Bloody Disgusting?

A: I get to talk about horror 24/7 (it can get tiring sometimes, LOL). I get to see movies early and meet a lot of cool people. Although, both of these can have their downsides.

Q: So you get to go to a lot of awesome places and meet a lot of people. Do you ever get star-struck?

A: I used to go on a lot of set visits and get off-the-wall excited, but I'm a bit jaded now. I hate traveling because I need to be updating the site constantly; I literally work 24/7. I used to meet random people like Rob Zombie and get incredibly excited, but after awhile you realize they're just people like you and me - in fact, some of them just plain disappoint you with their manners and attitude.

Q: I saw that you were the Promotions Manager for the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. What exactly did you get to do for the festival?

A: I helped program horror films and read a bunch of the scripts in competition. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. We really delivered some incredible films that year.

Q: How do you feel about social media being a big role in the publicity of movies today?

A: I personally hate it because it means more work for us. I mean, what the heck does a studio need a designated Twitter account for a movie for? So you can learn immediately that a website posted new pictures?

Q: If you had to put your finger on it, what would be your favorite horror film? What about your favorite in any other genre?

A: Aliens, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, Terminator, Predator, In the Mouth of Madness, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, Back to the Future, Jaws, Metropolis, Bloodsport and many, many more.

To read more about Brad Miska, go to his blog or MySpace page.

"A Date You Will Never Forget"

2010-03-24T18:52:00.013-04:00

By: Elissa Goldberg

Date Night is a must see action/comedy, which features SNL's Tina Fey and the Office's Steve Carell. A night of glamour and romance makes its twist and turns when the couple is interrupted at dinner and is mistakenly involved in an identity case by corrupt cops, a mob boss and a crazy cab driver. Their date becomes a night that they will never forget!

"According to "Pop watch" director Shawn Levy told Varity, "He wanted to cast every supporting part with a big-name actor, and it's safe to say he succeeded. Even better, he's not only cast A-list actors, but also people especially adept at comedy, even though the may be best know for their dramatic work."

The official movie website of Date Night has a lot of links to help promote the movie. YouTube has a link called "Date Night Channel" which includes the trailer as well as a various amount of photos and also reviews from critics and even comments from fans that are excited to see the movie. This is a great way for fans to promote the movie since it does have a great cast and hopefully it will get fans excited to go see the movie. Facebook has a fan page which gives a synopsis of the movie and includes tabs on top of the page including: videos, reviews, photos, and wall posts.

The spring flick hits theaters on April 10 and will bring many couples to experience Fey's and Carell's romantic date experience!

It's definitely wimpy

2010-03-12T07:48:00.004-05:00

By: Rae Volinsky

Personally, I have never even heard of Diary of a Wimpy Kid until a friend of mine told me about it. And it is no surprise I have never heard of this film, they barely promoted it. For those of you like me, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is a movie based on the best-selling book of the same name by Jeff Kinney.

This film has the potential of going far, but no one knows about it. The movie has done very few things marketing wise. They have a deal with Cartoon Network for on-line and on-air promotion. This includes behind the scenes exclusive clips. Besides a few TV spots and guest spots by the movie's stars, this was about as much promotion this film has had so far.

Being a film centered around kids and "tweens," this movie could have done a lot to publicize. The Facebook and Twitter page could have been much better and a lot less boring. The stars could have been on many other stations besides Cartoon Network, including all of the Nickelodeon channels. The movie is also based on a recent huge book. The movie could have done so much with this, including a book tour and interviews. There has even been a tie-in book about the film. Who knew?

I'm a sucker for kid movies, so even without all of the promotion I will probably still go see this film. Hopefully others do as well. See the trailer here!

Remember Me….that hot guy from Twilight?

2010-03-10T09:42:00.004-05:00

By: Joanna Grillo

I must admit, I’m no “Twi-heart” and I have no affiliations regarding team Edward or Jacob but I can respect the money making machine that is Twilight . So it only make sense that when Summit , the same people who brought you the Twilight saga made Remember Me they would shove Twilight down your throat like nobody’s business.

Teenage girls LOVE Robert Pattinson , teenage girls have expendable incomes and if Titanic taught us anything it’s that teenage girls will pay to watch movies with hot guys over and over. Pattinson’s interview on the today show was one of the few that actually focused on his new film, but they did not leave twilight behind. In fact, he is referred to as the “vampire actor” who stars in Remember Me. Perhaps I’m just being picky about grammar but wouldn’t this suggest he is an ACTUAL vampire who has chosen acting has her career path? But alas, NBC’s poor grammar is not my focus.

Matt Lauer mentioned in the interview that twilight fans are planning on going out to see the movie in support of their favorite heartthrob on what is being billed as Remember Me Saturday . Lauer was quick to point out how anyone involved in the production or marketing of a movie would be thrilled to have Pattinson’s name connected to theirs. If anything the publicity of Remember Me is basic but effective. If you have a good looking male lead with a strong female fan base, exploit that.

Green Zone means go

2010-03-06T02:05:00.006-05:00

By: Marc Ashed

The director of the Bourne Identity and Matt Damon team up again in this action packed “Bourne Clone” film. See the trailer here.

The movie takes place in the Green Zone, the international safety zone in Iraq. Matt Damon stars as a soldier who catches onto faulty intelligence and investigates who sends it out and why it is sent out. He makes it his personal mission to find out who is responsible for the negligent information and take them out to save the lives of soldiers.

The film has been heavily advertised for the last month and it is anticipated to do very well in the box office. Buzz for the movie started back in October 2009. The films official site is designed like an interactive map of the Green Zone which you can navigate to see trailers, cast, synopsis and multimedia such as pictures or videos.

The movie is similar to the Bourne series, because the director and lead actor are the same but it is in a much more current and relevant twist. There are many war thrillers but not many avoid political bias while being entertaining, the Green Zone looks to fill that spot.

“Let The Ex-Games Begin”

2010-02-28T22:48:00.013-05:00

By: Elissa Goldberg

On March 19 come see Bounty Hunter featuring, Gerard Butler who is a chasing after his "bail-jumping ex-wife" Jennifer Aniston. To see the full synopsis click here. To promote the premiere of the movie Aniston and Butler "were seen on the red carpet cosy together". This is to get the attention of the public to go and see the movie. With the promotion of “Bounty Hunter,” Facebook has a page with the trailer and also comments by people following the page and posting comments saying, “ they can’t wait for the movie to come out." On the Sony Pictures site, you can follow the movie on twitter,Delicious, and dig. This is a great way for viewers to get involved in social media and at the same time follow the upcoming movie. Full of excitement and a great cast, Bounty Hunter is a must see movie.

Extraordinary Measures---extraordinary story

2010-02-25T16:16:00.004-05:00

By: Marc Ashed

Extraordinary Measures is the true life story of John Crowley, a resident of neighboring Princeton, New Jersey. Crowley, played by Brendan Fraser is a former military man who receives his degree in law and an MBA. He makes a small fortune while being a lawyer. While his wife and him start their family, two of their children are diagnosed with a rare, incurable disease, “Pompe Disease’. Crowley then creates his own biotechnology firm and with his wealth and the help of Dr. Robert Stonehill (played by Harrison Ford), he works towards a cure. Sure enough, Crowley finds a cure, saves his children, and has a treatment for Pompe Disease sufferers for the rest of time. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810120879/trailer

“The movie injects doses of humor into a deadly serious subject. Be sure to bring tissues since this crowd-pleaser will elicit tears of sadness, hope and joy.” -Keith Cohen, Entertainment Spectrum http://entertainmentspectrum.com/index/movies/1036/extraordinarymeasures.html

The movie was not very publicized. There was some advertising done on television but most of the commercials were not done in prime time hours and was almost solely on CBS and their affiliated channels. It was produced by CBS Films, and it was the studios first major film release.

The movie is entertaining and even though it shares similarities to many stories, this one is real.

A new kind of chick flick

2010-02-24T19:45:00.007-05:00

By: Rae Volinsky

As March 12 quickly approaches, I have noticed more and more TV spots for She's Out of My League. At first, I figured it was just another Judd Apatow movie, such as Knocked Up. After learning that it wasn't, I realized that She's Out of My League and classic Apatow movies have something very big in common: they are chick flicks for guys.

She's Out of My League is being promoted as a romantic comedy and a date movie. Sounds like a chick flick, right? Wrong! Even though some of the trailers and TV spots have been focused more on women, others are focused directly towards men. Check out the difference between these two TV spots. The first is sweet and romantic. The second has less romance and more jokes, and includes more nudity.

The trailer for She's Out of My League combines the characteristics of promoting for each sex. On one hand, the trailer shows a classic chick flick movie. Guy meets girl, guy loves girl, guy meets girl's ex, guy gets girl. And it still shows those sweet, romantic clips. On the other hand, the movie has a lot of "guy" humor and adult jokes. Check out both trailers here: the original and Red Band.

Whether you are a guy or a girl, on a date or single, She's Out of My League looks like a great movie for everyone.

Iron Man 2

2010-02-18T21:27:00.009-05:00

By: Christy Quickstad

Even though Iron Man 2 does not hit theaters till May 7, the movie website is here and turbo charged! Complete with a to the second countdown till the movie premiere, the website spars no lack of information about anything pertinent to the movie.

A trailer for Iron Man 2 can be seen on the site in HD sponsored by iTunes. If that is not enough for Iron Man fanatics, the website also includes numerous tabs where viewers can learn anything they want to know about the characters in the upcoming action flick.

Although the movie is highlighted, the website acts more as a virtual gift shop. Music, videogames, and comics relating to Iron Man are all available for purchase on the movie’s site.

The cross-promotional website also makes the first Iron Man movie readily available on DVD, Blu-ray, or digital download through iTunes and Amazon Video. By examining the website now we can only imagine what promotional stunts the movie has up its iron sleeve in the months to come.

The Last Song Misses a Note

2010-02-18T16:11:00.007-05:00

By: Joanna Grillo

What do you get when a Disney power house Miley Cyrus and Nicolas -Lord of the Tear Jerker-Sparks team up? This spring’s The Last Song. The film is the sixth of Spark’s books to be made into a movie.

Having last blogged about the romantic comedy Valentines Day I was defiantly let down to see the website for The Last Song. Now granted, after the mega success of A Walk to Remember, The Notebook and the first film to knock Avatar from the number one spot, Dear John, its safe to say- women would go see this even with terrible publicity.

Considering Miley herself has managed to create one of the most popular youtube shows Trailer, Story, Gallery, Facebook and Twitter. Not to mention the gallery only has three pictures. on the web you might expect that between the professionals over at Touchstone and Disney they could put together a better website. There are only five links,

Buzz over the last song first started when celebrity news programs started speculating if Cyrus was dating her co-star Liam Hemsworth since she had just broken up with fellow tween mega star Nick Jonas. Now supposing you are reading this and not a teenage girl you might not see the importance but Miley and Nick had become the younger, richer Britney and Justin. Needless to say the gossip blogs went crazy and the public started doing their own research on the movie. The Last Song isn’t set to come out until March 31st so hopefully the publicity picks up.

Sparks has carved out his niche in the film world, you know you’re going to cry, laugh and wish your boyfriend was a Landon, Noah, John and now a Will.

New 'Toy Story 3 in HD Has More Buzz, Woody …

2010-02-15T16:43:00.009-05:00

By: Elissa Goldberg

HD quality has become the phenomena in television and movies. This summer will mark our first visit with Pixar's 'Toy Story' crew in over 10 years, and as we see in the new trailer for this summer's ‘Toy Story 3’, a lot has happened since then. Our beloved Andy has grown up and is headed off to college, leaving all of his favorite toys Woody and Buzz Light Year. There will be some new surprises and new characters added to the movie. The first ever stuffed animal, Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, according to USA Today,” marks a milestone for the computer-animated franchise that began in 1995 and continued in 1999 as the first plush toy”.

Facebook has a great page where you can interact with the movie. The fan page has tons of photos to look at and interact with. It also has the movie trailer as well to view. There also tabs on the page. The tabs include, fan message board, movie reviews and much more. You can view the movie from Youtube in HD. It is crisp and very clear when watching it. On the official Disney website you can explore the movie in more detail and play games and interact with all the toys. You will feel like you are in the movie. On twitter you can follow the movie with lots of press releases and articles about ‘Toy Story 3’. Join the whole cast this June and relive a Disney classic that everyone of all ages will love!

Promotion as mad as a hatter

2010-02-13T21:34:00.012-05:00

By: Rae Volinsky

Alice in Wonderland has been one of the most talked about movies since 2007 when director Tim Burton agreed to the project. Hype only continued in 2008 when casting and filming began. Now that the movie is about to be released the promotion can be seen everywhere, from the normal to the down right mad.

The film kicked off its marketing campaign in the summer of 2009 with cast photos. These photos revealed the costumes and makeup for each character. Many were anxious and shocked to see Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska as the young adult version of Alice. Also, a teaser trailer was released but shortly disappeared after Disney claimed the trailer was not yet ready. A new trailer premiered at the 2009 Comic-Con. The original leaked trailer was supposed to be used for a Facebook sweepstakes, where three different groups who gained the most members would win the chance to see the teaser.

More unusual promotion tools have been used as well. Many people have received a mysterious looking Alice in Wonderland book. The book opened up to numerous smaller books which eventual led to a key. The key contained new photos and trailers for the movie, as well as special notes.

Recently, Disney has cross-promoted with ABC, ABC Family, ESPN and CBS to show sneak peek footage of the movie. This included spots in between Desperate Housewives, Greek, a Lakers/Nuggets NBA game and of course a TV spot during the Super Bowl.

Alice in Wonderland opens in about two weeks and that is plenty of time for more unusual, but effective promotion to occur.

Love is in the Promotions

2010-02-13T12:50:00.014-05:00

By: Joanna Grillo

To be honest I was going to start this blog off all about how the casting to the film Valentine’s Day probably far exceeds the actual plot. Then I checked out the website. I found the true star on the Newline Cinema/Warner Brothers back lot is actually the folks running the website.

I know we live in an application filled world but a movie site that connects you to a google maps app to locate the best makeout spots in your zip code. Who would have seen that coming?

There is a page with all of the sweepstakes related to the movie you can enter- 29 of them in case you were wondering. There are also Facebook applications and sound track samples with four options for places to purchase the music from.

The cross promotion on this movie nearly has my head exploding. Surprise surprise two of the songs on the sound track are by one of the stars, Taylor Swift?

Maybe social networking is more your thing. They have a Youtube channel where people can post videos talking about their best and worst Valentine’s Day presents. Upload your video and use their tag in order to be featured in the top 100 best and worst Valentine’s Day presents. Meaning you will be featured on the movies site.

Incase none of those videos inspire you feel free to head back to the home page and click on “partners”. Partners is code for products you will see being placed in the movie. Yes boyfriends of the world, if being dragged to a romantic comedy wasn’t enough for you feel free to have Ashton Kutcher tell you the best place to get flowers.

So whether you watch to check out the chemistry between Taylor Squared on screen, have been dragged to the movies or just like romantic comedies enjoy yourself.

"From Paris with Love" is not deserving of much love

2010-02-11T19:41:00.019-05:00

By: Marc Ashed

What do you get when you add John Travolta and non stop action? Well, the answer may surprise you. Travolta has missed the mark with his latest movie in which CIA operatives must thwart a terrorist attack in Paris. Travolta plays “Charlie Wax”, an eccentric CIA operative with a quick trigger finger and an even quicker wit. He takes an aspiring operative (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) on a joyride around Paris, taking on Parisian underworld elements

As Rolling Stones’ Peter Travers says, “From Paris With Love has no vital signs at all, just crushing dull repetition that makes one noisy, violent scene play exactly like the last one.” Rolling Stones Review

The film’s February 5 release was well publicized and finished 3rd in the Weekend Box Office Top 10. The movie grossed $8.2 million in the first week which is a far cry from Dear John’s $30.5 million. Commercials started in the first week of January for the Travolta’s latest film but it still could not compete with Dear John or Avatar.

Based on the trailer, this movie seems very exciting but if it was ever possible for there to be too much action, this film does it. Trailer

DiCaprio and Scorsese go together like Sundays and football

2010-02-08T09:23:00.019-05:00

By: Joanna Grillo

Shutter Island, another Scorsese-DiCaprio collaboration will be released February 19^th. This past Sunday the film was one of a small collection of blockbusters that showcased an ad during the super bowl.

The average price for a 30 second spot in this year’s super bowl was between $2.5 and $2.8 million. This was interesting considering the release date of Shutter Island was said to be pushed back to February from its original October 2^nd date due to financial issues within Paramount.

Paramount moved up the release date of “Up in the Air” starring George Clooney to take advantage of early awards buzz and that its low production cost allowed more spending on promotion.

The films new release date is also the same as 1991’s Silence of the Lambs, supposedly in hopes of borrowing some luck from Dr. Lecter and walking home with several Oscars for their thriller too.

Now, remember back in the fall when all those film makers were trying to defend Roman Polanski because being a rapist is okay so long as you are a quality director? Scorsese was one of Polanski’s supporters.

Maybe its just me, but it seems like pushing the release date back so that our A.D.D. generation doesn't remember this was a good way to make sure no one avoids giving paramount their money in protest of Scorsese’s words of support. Then again, I may just be being cynical.

The Super Bowl ad did do a nice job of working in titles of Scorsese’s past films, including those with DiCaprio. That simple reminder of, “Hey, remember when we made these other totally awesome movie that you loved?” mixed with chilling clips from the trailer certainly seemed to do the job. I will be the first to admit I've screamed in fear of my own shadow, and I still want to see Shutter Island.

Dear John

2010-02-06T14:52:00.023-05:00

By: Elissa Goldberg

What would you do with a letter that changed everything? Based on the novel by best-selling author Nicolas Sparks, this movie tells the story of Channing Tatum,a young soldier home on leave and Amanda Seyfried, a college student he falls in love with over during her spring vacation. Dear John,was released on the first Friday in February, just a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day. It is a love story for all to see. On the promotional aspect, Dear John and twitter have teamed up to promote the movie. Just "Tweet", and tell us when you knew when you were in love and you could win a signed poster from the cast, a copy of the sound-track, and a Sony Reader. Enjoy this movie and find out how a letter can change everything in someone's life!

When in Rome...publicize heavily!

2010-02-04T21:38:00.028-05:00

By: Christy Quickstad

As January comes to an end, moviegoers are inundated with romantic comedies. When in Rome, which premiered last Friday, is just that. As seen in the trailer, When in Rome is a whimsical story of a single New York girl who while attending her sisters wedding in Rome decides to pick coins out of a fountain, casting a love spell on the three men who tossed them.

While the premise of the movie is far-fetched the promotion for the movie proves to be even more out there. With sweepstakes and even an engagement that remained hidden until the release of the film, When in Rome did not hold back.

Robbin Brother’s The Engagement Ring Store and Disney teamed up to offer a chance to win a trip to Rome for whoever shares the most heart wrenching “romantic wish." The winner will be announced on February 15th, and receive the grand-prize of a trip to Rome, an Amsale wedding dress and of course a private screening of the movie, which will also be awarded to the 2nd and 3rd place winners.

An article found on Robbin Brother's website discusses the contest, and ends with a comment from Larry Gomperts, EVP of Marketing for Robbins Brothers. He states, "The movie is delightful to watch and a perfect fit for our brand. It'll resonate well with our customers and we look forward to making many couples' dreams come true."

The movie’s leading lady, Kristen Bell just so happened to publicize her engagement to boyfriend, Dax Shepard (also in the film) this past Monday. It is funny how Bell’s publicist confirmed Bell and Shepard’s engagement just a few days after the movie premiere, even though the two have been engaged since the holidays. Coincidence? Or a blatant appeal to the sentimental types who are already easy targets in this month of celebrating love?

No publicity necessary...

2010-02-04T17:33:00.037-05:00

By: Rae Volinsky

Some have never heard of this movie. Many have not seen trailers or TV spots, but most have heard about its nominations and wins at award shows. This movie is Crazy Heart, starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Colin Farrell.

Crazy Heart is a story about Bad Blake (Bridges), a run-down country singer who tries to turn his life around after starting a relationship with a journalist (Gyllenhaal.)

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Crazy Heart has earned $6,657,379 as of January 31, 2010. That’s not bad for a independent movie open in only 239 theaters and one that is competing against Avatar, one of the biggest movies of all time.

The film has 19 nominations and has won 13 awards, including a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in a Motion Picture. It is up for three Oscars, including Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Bridges.

So why is Crazy Heart so popular? I am going to place my bet on the buzz surrounding the nominations and wins for the movie and not from the little advertisements and appearances done by the actors. We have seen this before in Hollywood, especially in last year's big winner "Slumdog Millionaire." According to The New York Times, Slumdog Millionaire was produced "for peanuts" and "that movie won a best picture Oscar and took in $14.3 million in domestic sales..."

The latest news for Crazy Heart is its Oscar nominations. The Academy Awards will be on March 7 and we can only wait until then to see how much farther this movie will succeed.