Live Streaming Movie Premieres Allow Fans to Walk the Red Carpet

Hollywood studios are always looking for the next place to reach out to in order to gain awareness for their movies. Movies not only rely on reviews, but word of mouth buzz to gain traction which could lead to ticket sales for their movies. With social media, the doors are more open than ever for studios to become creative with online strategy to attract fans and help spread the word about their movies. The potential reach is limitless, and now studios are beginning online campaigns months prior to the release of a movie.

Alice in Wonderland the upcoming 3D blockbuster starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and directed by the amazing and quirky Tim Burton comes out next Friday on March 5^th. Disney has spent months pushing this movie online and engaging fans with their Alice and Wonderland Facebook Fan Page and more. Recently they just had their movie premiere in London on February 25^th and live streamed the event to the world.

A few movies like Avatar have used live streaming techniques with their promotions, and this method which currently can be seen as a trend, will slowly become the standard. Live streaming a premiere is a great way for a movie studio to give a fan a personal front and center red carpet experience right from their home computer. It allows fans the opportunity to be part of the major event and see their favorite actors and actresses live, really making them fully part of the event. While watching the premiere through the Alice and Wonderland Facebook Page, fans also had the opportunity to connect in real time with other fans about the live events going on, making this a special and interactive event.

This strategy is a great way for studios to allow fans access which will only help spread the viral buzz for the movie, and likely lead to increased sales. Expect to see this become the norm for all big movie releases in the future.

Comments : Post a Comment | Category : Movie Marketing | Tags : Alice and Wonderland,Avatar,Facebook

Avatar Will Become the New Mac N’ Cheese of Hollywood

Posted by Craig Kessler on January 29, 2010 at 2:30 am

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Gone With the Wind, Titanic, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings are some of the biggest money making movies of all time. In a very short time span, one movie proved that it belongs at the top of that list, and no shocker…..it’s Avatar. The 10 year James Cameron sci-fi epic is going to surpass Titanic in ticket sales to become the biggest movie of all time.

Who the hell is this James Cameron guy everyone talks about? Oh yea, I think he had some small cameo in Entourage and convinced Vinny Chase to do Aquaman, which became the biggest selling movie of all time. This guy cannot be stopped, even in a fictional movie he manages huge success. This guy is a directing legend.

But Avatar did have some help to push it to become #1 of all time, even help that wasn’t around for Cameron’s predecessor Titanic 10 years ago in 1999.

This movie was made in 3D, a technology that was not around 10 years ago. Now it is becoming the standard but growing up 3D was a cheap gimmick that was cool to see on rides at Disney World, not something you thought would enhance your standard flick. Besides the fact that movie tickets are at an all time high, 3D tickets are usually at least $2 more than a standard movie ticket. this obviously helps out the box office numbers especially when 80% of US gross and 65% of overseas grosses are from 3D box office sales.

Social Media is no longer a gimmick and trend but an automatic strategy for a movie when it comes out. It’s guaranteed that there will be online promotions for it. To capitalize on the success of past movies with their online campaigns, Avatar hit the web in full stride and utilized multiple social media channels to promote the movie. There was even a chat with James Cameron and some of the actors through Facebook, a live streaming video of the red caret event, and massive amounts of blog posts, contests, and tweets that were generated toward Avatar. The build up worked like a science and when it went viral online it stuck because people have the ability to share things with others through links, multiple social networks, and good old fashion email that you can’t do with traditional advertising.

Even in 1999 with Titanic, the web was still a baby with social networking. Things like Facebook and Twitter did not exists yet and blogs were in their infancy. Imagine if Titanic came out now, or Star Wars? The online promotion and buzz potential is endless and sci-fi movies seem to do a great job of establishing and building viral buzz online. Maybe that’s because the geeks who are active on the internet (banterers included) are the main demographic who see these sci-fi movies to begin with. There is no on reason but probably a combination of a few that will lead Avatar to surpassing Titanic to become the biggest movie of all time.

Do you think social media played a large role in Avatar’s sales or would it have been as successful prior to Facebook, Twitter, and social networking?

Comments : Post a Comment | Category : Movie Marketing | Tags : Avatar,Facebook,Twitter

Justin Timberlake to Star in Facebook Movie

Posted by Craig Kessler on September 14, 2009 at 2:30 am

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The Social Network starts production next month in October

and it’s about Mark Zuckerberg Halloween hd and the beginning team surrounding the famous social network. Based off the Ben Mezrich best seller The Accidental Billionaires, we learn the ins and outs of how the famous network got started and the drama that took place behind the scenes and still is.

There have been rumors for awhile about who would star in the movie and lead as Mark Zuckerberg himself. There have been rumors surrounding this movie for awhile and the two names that were talked about the most were Shia LeBeouf and Michael Cera.
It has been indicated that the leads have been casted and Jesse Eisenberg (starring in Zombieland releasing soon) will be starring as CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Justin Timberlake will play Sean Parker, the flashy original President of Facebook and previously co-founder of Napster.

Aaron Sorkin will be writing the script and David Fincher will be directing the movie as Hollywood is capturing the country’s obsession with the social network.

I like this casting. Early rumors were that the lead of Zuckerberg was going to go to either Michale Cera or Shia LeBeouf who both would have been good. But Jesse Eisenberg is a solid choice. He has the silly dorky style and swagger to him the way Zuckerberg is portrayed and is a lesser name. For that reason I think he will be better for the role, because Cera has been terribly type casted for playing the exact same role in every movie. Eisenberg is a fitting choice to play the young billionaire and is roughly the same age as well.

Bug movie download Timberlake has not been in many roles but I feel this is a good choice as well. Sean Parker is known as a flashy guy out in Sillicon Valley and Timberlake will easily be able to portray the character with pazazz and flair. The only thing I question is the fact that even though Parker lives the VIP lifestyle out west, the reality is he’s a dork who grabs his inhaler any time a hot girl passes by, and well Justin Timberlake is…..the man. In that sense it’s a little unrealistic to see Timberlake play this role when in real life he is the complete opposite, but that’s why they call it acting.

What do you think of the casting?

Comments : Post a Comment | Category : Rants | Tags : Facebook

Facebook Movie Greenlit for Production in October

Posted by Craig Kessler on September 11, 2009 at 2:30 am

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John Tucker Must Die dvd The Condemned full movie Columbia Pictures has announced that the Facebook movie is set to start production in October. Hollywood has invested a lot into this movie and has pulled out the big guns to get it made. Hiring Aaron Sorkin (writer and creator of “The West Wing”) and David Fincher (“Fight Club”) to direct. The film is based off the Ben Mezrich bestselling book “The Accidental Billionaires” about Mark Zuckerberg and the team behind the popular social network.

Hollywood is trying to bank off the success of the extremely popular social network that everyone and their dog is on, connecting with friends, family, and reconnecting with those from the past. A lot of people predict this to be a boring pointless movie but reviews of the script so far have been very positive. The story will dive more into the behind the scenes of the people involved opposed to the actual site itself.

Early rumors are that Michael Cera or Shia LeBeaouf could potentially star as Mark Zuckerberg, the youngest billionaire of all time.

download Amazing Grace movie I’m not sure what to think of this movie. It’s obvious they are making a quick buck off the thrill of facebook. I read Ben Mezrich’s book and even though he is one of my favorite authors, I don’t think this was one of his best books. It’s a fast paced easy read and he does his best to make the material interesting and uses his skill to colorize events that you know in reality are completely dull. I am sure they will do the same with the movie. But I loved his book “Bringing Down the House” and hated the adaptation of “21.” I was really excited for that movie based on my love for the book and was thoroughly disappointed. I have to believe this movie will be much of the same, even though they crafted the dream team to write and direct it. This movie will try to be something it’s not and will be mildly entertaining with people leaving saying “eh, bet none of that is what really happened,” and they will be right.

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Who would you like to see play Mark Zuckerberg?

Comments : 1 Comment | Category : Rants | Tags : Facebook

Interact with Facebook Friends While Watching the Oscars

Posted by Craig Kessler on February 22, 2009 at 12:25 pm

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