/Film reader Kevin B came across a viral website from Roland Emmerich’s 2012. I checked the domain records, and the website points to a name server at Sony Pictures. So it seems like it might be legit. Here is the e-mail from Kevin:
After watching the teaser for Roland Emmerich’s 2012, I was curious about the whole concept and I took the trailer’s advice (I don’t know if anyone’s ever said a movie trailer gave them advice before…) and googled it.
I was interested to find that the first link, sponsored no less, was to a site with the URL “InstituteForHumanContinuity.org” and the tagline “Let Us Help You Prepare For 2012 [...]

/Film reader Zack T sent over the above video of James Franco’s tribute to Wonderglen co-founder, Aidan Weinglas. It’s too funny to be real, but not funny enough to be “Just a stand-alone gag”. Seems like it is part of a new viral web game, possibly for an upcoming movie?
After searching Google, you will find Wonderglen.com, the official website for Wonderglen Productions. The employee login and password is already filled in, allowing you direct access to the site’s employee-only intranet. The Wonderglen production Intranet site lists a show called “Hobbit House” as in production. You can read the project synopsis below:
“Do little miniature mans have their own home-repair issues? You [...]

Jared Hess broke onto the scene with a small indie comedy at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Napoleon Dynamite quickly took over the world, becoming one of the biggest cult blockbusters of all time. Jess followed the film up with Nacho Libre, which sounded like a sure thing - Jack Black as a masked Mexican wrestler. I know the film is popular amongst kids, but it registered as a huge disappointment to most of the high school and college crowd.
Hess’ new film, Gentlemen Broncos, tells the story of a high school outcast who’s an aspiring fantasy author, who attends a fantasy convention and discovers that his supposed masterpiece “Yeast Lords” [...]

To celebrate the 20th anniversary DVD of Child’s Play, a gang of Chuckys brandishing butcher knives and axes were unleashed in Times Square. Did any of our readers karate kick one? Do tell below. On a previous /Filmcast, we joked that the planned Child’s Play remake would feature Chucky as a real boy instead of a dated My Buddy doll, but this is twice creepy. Shades of David Cronenberg’s The Brood. And maybe it’s me, but in a few of the photos from the London Paper, one of the Chuckys is kinda hefty. Missing yuppies?

A couple days ago I noticed reoccurring graffiti of a bunny on the sidewalks around toronto. Next to the graphic is the words “Where’s Fluffy?” Later when I screened Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, I realized that it was actually viral marketing for a fictional band which is part of the film’s story. In Nick and Norah, everyone in New York City is frantically searching for the rarest show to ever happen. Fluffy is playing a secret show somewhere, just follow the bunnies. Unfortunately, the website url on the flyers, which I found around Ryerson today, only redirect you to the film’s official website.

Paramount has released Rain of Madness, the entire 30-minute documentary about the movie within the movie (” I’m the dude playin’ the dude, disguised as another dude! “), for free on iTunes.
“German born documentarian, Jan Jürgen blows the lid off Hollywood, exposing the frenzy, the insanity and the madness surrounding the filming of ” Tropic Thunder”. One of the most ambitious war films ever made.”

Have any of our readers participated in a Saw blood drive? Do people discuss plot points before fainting? Any stories? The Lionsgate horror franchise and its filmmakers are once again sponsoring this worthy cause while promoting the October release of Saw V. These movies were never my thing, but their signature marketing style and imagery admittedly still gets my attention. The above poster for the drive, a macabre companion to the prior poster’s pin-up sex appeal, is no different.
via FearNet
/Film reader, b-nasty, chimes in with, “No me gusta. I don’t trust Lionsgate with my blood.”

Due to a number of reader requests and the unprecedented success of this viral marketing campaign (if true!), Slashfilm will finally address The Montauk Monster. When a foul, suspiciously beaked creature allegedly washed ashore a beach near Montauk, Long Island last month, the above photo captivated the world’s cubicle inhabitants thanks to the diligently crazed, beloved reportage of Gawker. Was “Monty” a dead dog evidently done in by Paulie Walnuts? A harmless water rat/Satan? Colbert theorized it was John McCain. Others said it was a discarded lovechild of John Edwards. CNN introduced the meme to parents, who heply brought it up at dinner. As our crippled collective imaginations ran wild, [...]

One wonders how much moolah DreamWorks dropped on this new promotional Tropic Thunder LOLcat featuring Ben Stiller’s Tugg Speedman. I’m not the one. Rather than take on Hollywood’s cause du jour, Global Warming, Speedman’s preferred charity is Pandas. Mmm/blech, Panda Express.
This week also witnessed the unmasking of Speedman’s Tom Cruise-biting website, leaving many (employed) bloggers to declare Cruise’s IRL site victorious. And this wouldn’t be news if we didn’t mention that I Can Haz Cheezburger just launched a new celeb-skewering site called Totally Looks Like. Example: Glenn Close’s face…totally looks like…Peter Weller’s head in RoboCop. (theirs).
Discuss: Would you like to see more studios use/resurrect the LOLcat format to market blockbusters? [...]

A new Dark Knight viral website allows you to put yourself or one of your friends in Arkham Asylum. The video above shows me in a cell next to J Crane. Commit yourself now the Verizon sponsored website.

I know that some people are turned off by The Dark Knight viral stuff, and I can understand why some would have this viewpoint as running around in an online and real world scavenger hunt for a new video clip might not be everyone’s idea of a good time. But having seen the film, let me tell you that some of the viral web stuff will expand your experience of the movie, and fill in some of the gaps not explored on the big screen.
The latest edition of Gotham Tonight features an interview with Harvey Dent. Both Dent, played by Aaron Eckhard and news reporter Mike Engel, played by Anthony [...]

Personally, I’ve loved The Dark Knight’s viral marketing campaign, but I’ve heard a lot of people complain that it is a big waste of time. Well guess what? The viral participants have finally gotten their reward - to see The Dark Knight early. That’s right, a viral e-mail was sent out from the WhySoSerious website alerting viral gamers that they could attend a free IMAX screening in one of 24 theaters on Tuesday night. Within an hour, all the free tickets were sold out. Have fun guys! You deserve it. It’s great to see that Warner Bros is rewarding the hardcore fan.

photocredit: badandugly

Citizens For Batman arranged meet-ups tonight in Chicago and New York. /Film reader Mike Wolf sends in this report from tonight’s Dark Knight viral event in Chicago. Photos thanks to PizzaPaul on CFB.org.
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I just got back from the Citizens for Batman rally in Chicago and it was very anti-climatic. Rather than having a real rally where someone was preaching support for batman or getting people to chant for the dark knight, swag (which was cool) was given out and then they delivered pizza.

After which, everyone began to ran as clues that most of us never saw were given out telling us to go north or south depending on who you [...]

While Slashfilm recommends sticking to your Maniac Mansion or Narc emulators for the long haul, Pineapple Express has a new Donkey Kong ripoff, featuring a playable Seth Rogen or James Franco, that might sooth your holiday hangover-slash-impressive sparkler burns. The goal: Avoid bouncy evil pineapples as you climb ladders to devour floating tacos, Big Gulps, potato chips and French fries. Click here to play.
Yeah, it doesn’t exactly set Billy Mitchell’s tie on fire (disclosure: we only played two levels). We expected more from PE, something to challenge the provocative ranks of Running Scared’s Hot Coffee using bongs and Tipper Gore’s party line. Alas, Huey Lewis’s theme song beckons us to [...]

Gotham Tonight #3 & #4 by GCN
The Pitch: Gotham City News has two new episodes of Gotham Tonight. In the third episode, above, Mike Engel explores the sad increase in fear toxin related deaths, and the possible return of Johnathan “The Scarecrow” Craine. There is also an explanation behind the whysoserious security camera video that can be found on whysoserious.com/laughtilithurts. The fourth episode, below, deals with Lt. James Gordon and his new Major Crimes Unit. Also does his possible connection with Batman alienate him from the rest of Gotham? Also are the dead Sal Maroni members victims of The Joker.

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