Viral

New Trailer for THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Begins the Viral Campaign

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 7th, 2012 at 10:42 am

Last night, Sony Pictures released a new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man.  We should no longer trust trailers to be just trailers.  New policy: when it comes to blockbuster movies, watch the trailer in HD and then go through frame-by-frame for a hint of a viral campaign.  That may sound crazy, but that’s what you had to do if you wanted to catch the beginning of the viral campaign for The Amazing Spider-Man.

Hit the jump for more.  The Amazing Spider-Man opens in 3D on July 3rd.

ALCATRAZ Viral Campaign Recap with Video and Images

by Hunter Daniels    Posted: February 4th, 2012 at 11:16 am

The modern era of media is a fractured landscape. Where once 70 million Americans could watch The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, today networks must fight for viewer attention with TiVo, cable, video games and of course, the internet. Simply making a great show is no longer enough. In order to succeed, advertisers must move beyond their actual programming and create something unique and specific in order to instill a deeper emotional connection with consumers.

Perhaps the master of this approach is J.J. Abrams. Between Lost, Cloverfield and Super 8, Abrams has a proven track record of producing Triple-A content matched with innovative and singular marketing. His newest show, Alcatraz, is taking the Brechtian Meta-Reality antics to a whole other level. We’re only three weeks in to the show’s run and already the producer have pulled off one of the best Alternate Reality Game pieces ever. Last Friday, Fox invited the first 312 fans who lined up at San Fransisco’s Dock 33 a chance to participate in a large-scale scavenger hunt on the real Alcatraz. Collider was on the scene and played the game. Hit the jump for a video summary of the action and a detailed breakdown of the ARG madness.

Reader Report from the ALCATRAZ Viral Scavenger Hunt

by Hunter Daniels    Posted: January 29th, 2012 at 1:23 pm

Fox is trying some very fun and innovated approaches to marketing its new J.J. Abram’s produced supernatural procedural Alcatraz. The network began its viral campaign by sending a mysterious box to the Collider offices, then followed up with a premiere party on the island itself (Click here for our red carpet coverage). Now that the show is on the air, the Alternate Reality Game is moving ahead full steam.

Last Friday, the studio held a massive scavenger hunt inside of the prison as part of the www.legendsofalcatraz.com. Collider reader Tucker attended the event and was kind enough to send us a write up and a photo.  Read on for Tucker’s thoughts on the game and a picture of his prizes.

Bay Area Readers: Attend a Free Exclusive Alcatraz Island Event As Part of Viral Campaign for the Fox Series ALCATRAZ

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 26th, 2012 at 4:11 pm

Attention Bay Area readers: how’d you like to spend a strange night on Alcatraz Island? A special exclusive event as part of the viral campaign for Fox’s Alcatraz is set for Friday, January 27th on Alcatraz Island. The event is free, and will be “an exclusive adventure” for the first 302 people who show up at pier 33 tomorrow night at 6pm. The description for the event is as follows:

“Dr. Soto has arranged exclusive night-time access to the Rock for those interested in helping him solve the mysteries for his new book – Legends of Alcatraz”

I’ve watched the first couple episodes of the show, and I found it definitely intriguing. The J.J. Abrams touch is not lost on the series, and this event sounds pretty damn cool. Those wishing to venture onto the island are instructed to bring a flashlight, warm clothes, and a comfortable pair of shoes. Check out more of our coverage of the Alcatraz viral campaign here and here. Hit the jump to check out the official invite for the event.

Collider Receives Mysterious Box from J.J. Abrams-produced Fox Series ALCATRAZ

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 11th, 2012 at 12:41 pm

As you may or may not have seen, a number of outlets have been sent a mysterious metal box containing contents from the new Fox series Alcatraz.  Produced by J.J. Abrams, the hook of the show centers on the sudden appearance of a number of inmates from Alcatraz prison who mysteriously disappeared decades ago.  The contents of the metal case sent to Collider headquarters include a prison cell key, an Alcatraz tour book, a page from a magazine touting Dr. Diego Soto’s (Jorge Garcia) non-fiction book Inmates of Alcatraz, a newspaper clipping, and some postcards.  It’s pretty impressive stuff.  Hit the jump for more, including images of the box’s contents.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Viral Campaign Continues with Bane T-Shirt and Cylinder Map [UPDATED]

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 15th, 2011 at 12:26 pm

As we continue towards the release of The Dark Knight Rises, the film’s viral campaign soldiers onward.  After letting fans know where they could go to see the six-minute prologue (answer: anywhere but Georgia), various websites have received a cylinder with a map on it with a Bane t-shirt inside the cylinder.  When I first saw the t-shirt, I cracked up.  Apparently, Bane’s goals are to take over Gotham, bring down Batman, and make some money from CafePress on the side.  The map of Gotham City is more interesting.  It contains five “strike zones”, but this isn’t a real-world Alternate Reality Game hunt since—and I hate to be the one to tell you this—Gotham City is fictional.

Hit the jump to check out the shirt and the cylinder map.  The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20, 2012.  The six-minute prologue will be attached to some IMAX screenings of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol tomorrow.

UPDATE: We’ve been sent the t-shirt and map. We’ve added 17 high resolution photos.

Screen Gems to Adapt Tim Schechmeister’s Horror Short VIRAL Into a Feature Film

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 13th, 2011 at 7:49 pm

Recent UCLA film school graduate Tim Schechmeister has spent the last few months on the festival circuit with Viral, the horror short film he wrote with his brother Matt.  Schechmeister met Stephen Susco (writer of The Grudge and its sequel) at a screenwriting event in the summer, and handed him a business card with a link to the short.  Susco was impressed, and showed it to his Grudge producer Roy Lee.  Lee brought fellow producer Lawrence Grey in to pitch it to Screen Gems, who has now picked up the rights to adapt the short into a feature-length movie.  The system works!  The Schechmeister brothers will write the film, with Tim set to direct again.  Susco, Lee, and Grey will produce alongside John Middleton.

Viral is an 11-minute tale about a cyberbully that incorporates supernatural elements.  Hit the jump more info on the short, plus a trailer.

The Red Pill Viral Update: MEN IN BLACK 3, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE DARKEST HOUR and THE HUNGER GAMES

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: December 11th, 2011 at 1:25 pm

As The Dark Knight Rises revved up their viral campaign earlier this week , it overshadowed other movies in the midst of their own marketing. The Dark Knight Rises’ “Operation Early Bird” granted early access to the prologue for people close to specified IMAX theaters and a new trailer is expected to drop on Monday. However, there are other properties that are vying for your attention and your dollars, such as Men in Black 3, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Darkest Hour and The Hunger Games. Hit the jump for an update on each of these unique campaigns.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Viral Campaign Begins? [UPDATED]

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: December 7th, 2011 at 4:56 pm

After The Dark Knight launched its viral “Why So Serious?” campaign way back in 2007, the movie obviously went on to be a smash. How much of that was due in part to alternative marketing is up for debate, but with The Dark Knight Rises just around the corner, it’s no surprise that we might be seeing the beginning of another viral run-up. Recently, The Wrap (via Movie Viral) interviewed Jeff Robinov, the President of Warner Bros. Motion Pictures, who said that the “marketing strategy will definitely evolve” from the previous Batman installment.

Hot on the heels of that quote, Empire and Wired (via Movie Viral) received two separate “CIA documents” concerning a Dr. Leonid Pavel. While that name doesn’t yet ring a bell, readers over at ComingSoon connected Pavel’s mugshot to that of actor Alon Aboutboul, who has a role in The Dark Knight Rises. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but hit the jump to check the documents out just the same. [Update: A new document has been added along with a link to a countdown timer ; you can check them out after the jump.]

New Viral Video for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 20th, 2011 at 11:41 am

The official Tumblr for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, “Mouth Taped Shut”, has released a new viral video filled with fun moments to scour.  For those unfamiliar with the story, Dragon Tattoo centers on a disgraced journalist (Daniel Craig) who’s hired to investigate the mysterious 40-year-old disappearance of a young woman.  The Super 8 style clip from Mouth Taped Shut has the viewer driving down a bridge, but the time period appears to be in the 1960s when the girl disappeared (the novel came out in 2005; I know how to do math…kind of).  One sharp-eyed commenter has pointed out that one of the license plates has the word “Glance” written backwards.  Another deduced that one of the tags on the article, “WIHIS” stood for “What Is Hidden in Snow”, followed to a URL, and then discovered that the grid on the site changed if she added a slash to the URL (although I tried this and couldn’t get it to work).

Check out the video after the jump and see if you spot anything.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opens December 21st.

Check Out a Cool TRUE BLOOD Viral Campaign in Bucharest, Romania

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: October 13th, 2011 at 12:12 pm

As I type these words, I’m sitting in my hotel room in Bucharest.  I’m here in Romania for something that I’ll write about at some point next year.  However, while walking towards Old Town (a very popular location filled with bars and restaurants) with a few people tonight, I came across an awesome viral campaign for True Blood that I had to share.

While True Blood has already aired the 4th season on HBO in the United States, over in Romania, the show only returned a few days ago.  So to help promote it, someone had the great idea to take a busy fountain in the center of town and turn it blood red.  Trust me, it looks fantastic and it’s one of the coolest viral campaigns I’ve seen.  Hit the jump for some images and I also shot some video on my flip.

New Viral Site for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: October 10th, 2011 at 12:14 pm

I’m not really sure about the value of viral marketing, but I guess there’s numbers to back up why studios keep doing it.  I suppose it’s appropriate for David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo since it’s in the mystery genre and now the film’s Tumblr blog, “Mouth Taped Shut“, has led to a new viral site [via /Film], “Comes Forth in the Thaw“.  All that’s on the site right now is some of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ eerie score with an occasional line of dialogue playing over a slide show of images from the movie including Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) leaving a courthouse or an image from outside the cabin where he works with Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) to solve the case of a young woman who disappeared forty years ago.

Click the corresponding link above to check out the viral site.  I’m not sure if it only has new images to offer or if anything else will come forth from the thaw.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo opens December 21st.

SUPER 8 Viral Video Gets Pieced Together

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 9th, 2011 at 11:13 am

Over the past several months, Paramount sent out pieces of a grainy black-and-white footage as part of the viral campaign for J.J. Abrams’ Super 8.  These pieces were shown on websites like /Film, HitFix, io9, and other websites.  Now a day before the film’s release (or really, the afternoon before the film’s release since Paramount sold tickets for showings tonight), all the pieces have been cut together to show an early 1960s “secret military video” showing early scientific research into the alien that breaks free from the train crash featured in all of Super 8‘s TV spots and trailers.  Abrams has tried so hard to keep most of the film a secret so I won’t spoil the video.  I will say that the video itself is part of Super 8‘s plot, so you should consider this somewhat of a spoiler (but I wouldn’t say it’s major).

Hit the jump to check out the footage, which contains a glimpse of the alien. The film stars Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Ron Eldard, and Kyle Chandler.  Super 8 opens tomorrow (or tonight).  Look for my review later today.

First Image of Tom Hardy as Bane in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES; Viral Campaign Launches

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 20th, 2011 at 8:30 am

On the heels of yesterday’s announcement that filming had commenced on The Dark Knight Rises, we now have learned that the film’s viral campaign has begun.  You may recall that the alternate-reality game (ARG) for The Dark Knight was fairly epic and resulted in fun treasure hunts, deciphering, and ultimately tickets to see the film early.  TDKR is over a year away, but viral marketing waits for no one!  Today, the official website (thedarkknightrises.com) launched and had two interesting aspects.  First up, the audio on the website is some weird chanting (The League of Shadows? A poor recording of the 1994 album “Chant”?).  Secondly, every time someone tweets the hashtag #thefirerises, a new image appears on this site. The tiny image is your Twitter profile pic, but they’re being arranged and contrasted in such a way as to show a larger image.  Some smart folks went digging through the source code and uncovered the image being built was the first image of Tom Hardy as Bane.  I suppose a more appropriate hashtag is now “#viralthwarted”.

Hit the jump to check out the image. The Dark Knight Rises also stars Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Caine.  It opens July 20, 2012. [We have now updated the image with a high-resolution version]

New Clips and TV Spots for CARS 2, THOR, SUPER 8, and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 4th, 2011 at 10:32 am

New TV spots and clips have gone online for the upcoming summer flicks Cars 2, Thor, Super 8, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  Hit the jump to check out the TV spots and clips along with a synopsis for each film.

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