Although estimates of weekend box office figures are usually pretty accurate, sometimes we get a bit of a surprise. This weekend was a great example, as new release Kick-Ass barely beat out three week old How to Train Your Dragon, which was expected to win out. However, everything isn’t coming up roses for the superhero flick. See the results of the weekend after the break.
[Read more...]
In our first regular podcast of 2010, Dan, Scott, Iain, and Kris talk about the latest viral news, including The Crazies, Repo Men, LOST, Tron Legacy, Batman, Superman, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and more.
Subscribe to the podcast on 
P.S. Here’s the link to our Boondock Saints Contest: ENTER TO WIN.
Normally any anonymous rumor (especially for big movies) is immediately disregarded and thrown to the rumor mill trash bin, but recent news can support the rumors this time for the potential sequel to The Dark Knight. Brent Sprecher, an editor from comicbookmovie.com, has several little tip-offs from a “Plot Outliner” at Warner Bros, who wished to remain anonymous. Check them out after the jump.
[Read more...]
College Humor is known for their videos that showcase how two movies are extremely similar. The call the series “Deja View”, and they’ve done some great ones in the past, including Star Trek vs. Star Wars, and Dude Where’s My Car? vs. The Hangover. A similarly themed video mashed up Avatar and Fern Gully. Their latest “Deja View” pits Iron Man and Batman Begins against each other. While these videos tend to illuminate the problem of unoriginality in Hollywood, the Batman and Iron Man comparisons go beyond that. Many have said that Iron Man is the Batman of the Marvel Universe. Check out the video after the jump, as well as a Back to the Future spoof the comedy site recently did.
[Read more...]
A report from Deadline Hollywood has Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, taking on a “mentoring” role in the next Superman film that Warner Bros is trying to get off the ground (pun intended). Both DC Comics franchises are WB productions, and many have suggested for the studio to take The Man of Steel in a darker direction. So, what does this really mean for the Super movie?
[Read more...]
Amid reports today that David Goyer is leaving Flashforward, the struggling ABC sci-fi drama he help create, to focus on feature projects, the speculation has already started that he may be working on the third movie in the new Batman series. It seems like before The Dark Knight even opened in theaters, rumors have been swirling on a daily basis about the next film for the real man in black. So, is it true? Is Goyer working on Batman 3D (help me start a rumor that the third Batman will be in 3D!)?
[Read more...]
On the twelfth day of viral, my movie gave to me…..
Public displays
This is it folks. The final piece of MovieViral’s ongoing holiday series. And I saved the best for last. If you want to get people’s attention, then get people to be a part.
If we start with District 9, then you will know that it started at Comic-Con in 2008. Banners were appearing in the halls, the bathrooms, and water fountains all over the place. Right off the bat you have a nice audience participation based off of a website, and of course, these odd posters and banners all over the place. The nice thing about this film, is the fact that it carried out the same style and reasoning behind the banners from Comic-Con right out into the street about a year later.
Tron Legacy went a completely different route with a “scavenger hunt” of sorts. Leading, yet again, Comic-Con (2009) viewers through the streets and alleys of San Diego, looking at posters with blacklights for clues, and eventually leading them to the mecah of all Tron -dom-ness (yes, you can use that), Flynn’s Arcade! This place housed some great old school games, including, but not limited to, the original Tron.
And of course, the jackpot of all finds, the new light bike
Now, if you want to talk participation, there is truly only one film to discuss. The Dark Knight took viral a not only a whole new level, but to a whole new arena of marketing where it reigns king. No other film can close to the participation that film saw. Hell, I’m not even going to call it participation. We’ll call it dedication. You have people lining the streets in Joker makeup. You have people yelling out their believe for Harvey Dent. You even had newscasters wearing the pins!
This was phones is cakes, numbers in the sky, makeup, suits, defaced trailers, and real life bat signals. This was a campaign that will have others knock down the rest by a few notches for years to come. And I bet when it too gets knocked down, we’ll have the scoop on what did it.
I hope you enjoyed the 12 Days of Viral series, and from all of us at MovieViral, have safe, fun, and Happy Holidays!
Other Days In The “12 Days of Viral” Series:
A trailer without a title
A Twitter account with the truth
Three Websites
My face on the site
800 Numbers
Password protection
Facebook interaction
Contests and winnings
Cell phones for calling
Videos and Youtube
Physical mailings
On the eleventh day of viral, my movie gave to me…..
Physical mailings.
These are pretty much what can get a viral started. Yes, a website is the known thing that everyone can see and follow, but they usually come from something. Something physical. We’ll list a few items that have shown up in people’s mailboxes to get the ball rolling.
Sherlock Holmes was a viral that was all set within its makings. You have a film about a genius, who solves clues. Then, you take a site like, oh I don’t know, let’s say MovieViral.com! A site filled with genius’ that solve clues. One of the things that people were upset about was the fact that this film started off online. Yes, the internet didn’t exist back then, but neither did Sherlock. But!
There was a little bit of information that DID exist back then. Actually, two types. Paper, and couriers (nowadays known as the mail). It may not have gotten the attention that they wanted, but the point was made and soon the viral started.
Tron Legacy pretty much stole the show when it comes to mailings. It’s one of those things that when you first get the package, it brings back that nostalgic feeling of the original Tron and thing’s like Flynn’s Arcade. This is shown on the tokens that were sent out, along with flash drives.
And if you listened to our Viralcast with Campfire’s Mike Monello, you would have heard exactly what goes into these mailings. Campfire was actually apart of some great mailings. Here’s one from Shark Week on the Discovery Channel
And of course their multi-award winning True Blood campaign started off with a mysterious letter, that if you could figure it out, then kudos to you for starting the next part. You even got blood in the mail!
-792725.JPG)
Take a look here at a great video of the rest of that campaign.
Stay tuned for the last day, DAY TWELVE, for the results of what can happen when all days are played correctly.
Other Days In The “12 Days of Viral” Series:
A trailer without a title
A Twitter account with the truth
Three Websites
My face on the site
800 Numbers
Password protection
Facebook interaction
Contests and winnings
Cell phones for calling
Videos and Youtube
On the ninth day of viral, my movie gave to me…..
Cell phones for calling
Back on day five, I talked about 800 numbers that you could call and get some information. This one goes about twenty steps further and actually gives you a phone. Some can be simple, others can incorporate different ways to get that phone into your hand.
If you remember, back towards the end of the 2012 campaign, they had numerous drop sites all over the country. Most of these contents will be discussed in future days in this series, however, one of the items was a cell phone. The down side is that when the phone finally came in to use, it was information that we have all heard before. Thanks to unfiction for the following recording:
Phone Message
Now you take a film that created all new levels of viral, that again, will be discussed in future days. With The Dark Knight, you found cell phones hidden in “old fashioned” gangster ways like a cake or a bowling ball bag.
Not only do you get the phone, but once you have chosen your side, you are kept posted on what to do next based on that decision. This campaign could have gone in all sorts of different directions had it not been for this one particular form of viral. It opened up so many levels and split the two sides perfectly.
Other Days In The “12 Days of Viral” Series:
A trailer without a title
A Twitter account with the truth
Three Websites
My face on the site
800 Numbers
Password protection
Facebook interaction
Contests and winnings
follow: Become a fan on Facebook RSS Tweet with me