Warner Bros.

‘The Dark Knight’ Viral Marketing Continues With Revamped IBelieveInHarveyDent.com

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:11:34 -0500

CHICAGO – I received a call to my cell phone at 7:02 p.m. from 000-000-0000 directing me to IBelieveInHarveyDent.com for more “The Dark Knight” viral marketing. Indeed, the site has relaunched itself with a new campaign. A screenshot of the revamped site is below. To hear it from yourself, the phone call can be listened to here (source).

At the updated site, a slew of new promotional campaign materials have gone live at a new downloads page. These are all below.

This campaign calls for enthusiasts to print out these materials and display them in creative ways on the streets of cities across the U.S. A “you in action” page has appeared to show submissions, which are due by March 26, 2008 at noon. Photos and videos can be submitted here. The site gives some suggested ways to play along and explains its reason for doing so:

Show your support for Harvey Dent! Gotham City is collapsing from a runaway crime wave and Harvey Dent can save it. But he has to run for district attorney first.

The only way he’ll run is if he sees an outpouring of public support. Let’s all get out there and show Harvey Dent he’s got support to take back Gotham! Let’s get those videos and [pictures] coming!

We can do anything – the bigger and more creative the better. Here are a few creative examples that you can take photos and videos of:

Get your friends together and spell out Harvey Dent in human letters
Get a video of your school’s cheerleading team yelling out chants for Harvey Dent
Try to cover every square inch of someone’s cubicle area with Harvey Dent posters
Write and perform a “take back Gotham” song
Make up a “Dent dance” routine
See if you can get up a Harvey Dent sign in every single window of your dorm building
Turn your own car into a “Dentmobile”
Arrange a Dent parade down Main Street
Make a human pyramid with other Harvey Dent supporters

Be creative. Harvey Dent wants to see that we want change and we are ready to work for change. Harvey wants to see that people are ready to throw out the old, break out of habits [and] really do something new and different! That’s what taking back Gotham will take.

We’ll feature the best examples of great videos and [pictures] on the site. The future of Gotham City is in our hands now, people! Let’s get out there and make some noise!

Visual examples from the site of what to do can be found below.

The site also announces the “Dentmobile,” which will hit the road in various cities across the U.S. While the site says specific dates and locations are “coming soon,” the following route map is currently revealed. You can submit your e-mail address on that page for periodic updates.

So you can see what it looks like when you receive one of these calls, I have taken a picture of my cell phone and am displaying it below.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Despite Heath Ledger’s Death, Warner Bros. Presses on With Joker’s Viral Marketing For ‘The Dark Knight’

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:34:35 -0500

CHICAGO – Once the swarm of sorrow hit the world on Jan. 22, 2008 following news of Heath Ledger’s death, questions soon ensued about its impact on Chris Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” and Terry Gilliam’s “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”.

While the status of “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is entirely in limbo, “The Dark Knight” had completed filming and is in post-production. Still, followers wondered how Warner Bros. would tactfully react with its viral marketing and how it would advertise Ledger’s dark and crazed Joker character.

HollywoodChicago.com just received an answer: the show is going on. Our repeatedly reliable source (who was awarded the cell phone-embedded cake in Chicago from a WhySoSerious.com viral marketing effort) is back with new news from moments ago:

A WhySoSerious.com viral marketing movie
poster for “The Dark Knight”.
Image credit: IMDB

Good evening, Adam!

Chicago Joker phone here. I just got a text at 10:49 p.m. on the cake phone that said $30 was added to my account and the phone is now good until March 29, 2008.

After looking at the account information [from] the phone [that] was initially received in [Dec. 2007], I found the phones were set to expire tomorrow (Jan. 30, 2008). With the addition of the extra minutes, this means the viral campaign lives on despite the untimely death of Heath Ledger (may he rest in peace).

I have looked on message boards and several of the other cities have also confirmed that their phones have received extensions until the end of March.

I applaud Warner Bros. for continuing the marketing campaign and not letting the fans down. We all have the greatest respect for Mr. Ledger and I believe we all know how to separate the Joker character from Heath. I cannot wait for the next viral [campaign] to start. I will keep you updated as always. Thanks!

~ Vlkers54

3:25 p.m. update on Jan. 30, 2008: The source above just wrote back with another update. This information is from another informed Superhero! Hype message board member known as ianskyvox.

I just did a little bit of research [that] may shed some light on the scenario. Apparently whenever you add credit to pay-as-you-go phones with Verizon (such as these) the amount you add is good for two months.

Since we got the phones [on Dec. 4, 2007], they probably activated the accounts in late [Nov. 2007] so they could be shipped out and put in the cakes. Two months after that would be today (Jan. 29, 2008). Since the accounts were renewed today [on Jan. 29, 2008], they expire again on March 29, 2008 (in exactly two months).

There’s a possibility this is what was actually going to happen all along even if we hadn’t tragically lost our clown prince. This could even go on for months and months on end. [We could receive] another message on March 29, 2008 saying the accounts have been renewed again.

Our last [text] before this did say: “It’s time to be patient.”

Vlkers54 added: “It seems they might not have had a plan until after Jan. 30, 2008 to begin with. We will have to just be patient as [the Joker] has instructed us to be.”

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

Darker Director For Darkest ‘Harry Potter’? Guillermo del Toro Hopes So

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:07:44 -0500

CHICAGO – So, Warner Bros.: Yes or no? Darker director Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) wants to direct “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” so badly he bought the final J.K. Rowling book for his daughter and latched onto it himself so she had to say: “When are you going to give it to me?”

He solidified his position of passion for the gig to MTV on Tuesday.

Guillermo del Toro.
Photo credit: mun²

“I read it and I was very moved by the ending. It ends very much like a [Charles] Dickens novel.”

“I’m definitely interested [in directing the seventh ‘Harry Potter’ film],” he insisted, “now that the movies have grown darker. They have a contrast between the gloomy existence of the kid and the world he’s exposed to. They have evolved into a really nice universe.”

MTV can envision the fit, too:

The ‘deathstick’: a wand of destiny [that] makes its bearer unbeatable. A resurrection stone [that] enables the one who wields it to visit with the dead. A trip to the afterlife and a final duel [that] makes “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi” look like kindergarten cops and robbers.

Indeed, given all the new elements of the “Harry Potter” universe introduced in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” there’s little doubt it would be right in del Toro’s wheelhouse – especially after the visionary “Pan’s Labyrinth” cemented him as the master of fairy tales that cross over from children to adults.

Even back on Oct. 26, 2007, the director again talked to MTV in Budapest about his interest in the project. His name even popped up as a directorial possibility for the third film (“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”), which winded up going to good friend Alfonso Cuarόn.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

New Production Stills Released For ‘One Missed Call’ With Shannyn Sossamon, Ed Burns

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:43:49 -0500

Warner Bros. on Monday released new production stills for the upcoming supernatural thriller “One Missed Call,” which stars Shannyn Sossamon and Ed Burns. The film is slated to open on Jan. 4, 2008. All of the following production stills are credited to Guy D’Alema.

First-Look Production Stills: New ‘Harry Potter,’ ‘Get Smart,’ ‘10,000 B.C.’; ‘Speed Racer’ Poster

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:00:16 -0500

Following our Dec. 11 post, which featured a slew of new production stills from 2008 Warner Bros. films, even more have just been released by the studio. We now see the first stills from “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” “10,000 B.C.” and “Get Smart”.

Steven Strait as D’Leh in the epic adventure “10,000 B.C.”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”.
Photo credit: Jaap Buitendijk

Anne Hathaway stars as Agent 99 and Steve Carell stars
as Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Tracy Bennett

Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart in “Get Smart”.
Photo credit: Tracy Bennett
Also, I’m adding a sweet “Speed Racer” production still from Dec. 11. Below it, we see a new lenticular “Speed Racer” poster that – in person – is literally in 3D. /Film says: “The helmet under [Speed Racer’s] arms pops out at you and the background is also in 3D.”

Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer in the Mach 5 in the film “Speed Racer”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Lenticular “Speed Racer” poster in 3D.
Image credit: FirstShowing.net

Warner Bros. Formally Announces ‘The Dark Knight’ Prologue Before ‘I Am Legend’ in IMAX

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:44:58 -0500

We already knew about this, of course, but Warner Bros. on Wednesday released its official announcement that “The Dark Knight” prologue will be featured in its entirety before “I Am Legend” in IMAX.

Both are Warner Bros. films. “I Am Legend” opens in theaters everywhere on Dec. 14. The first showing in Chicago will be at the Navy Pier IMAX screen (700 E. Grand Ave.) at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 14. “The Dark Knight” is slated to open everywhere on July 18, 2008.

A description of the prologue surfaced on Dec. 3. The prologue will be in IMAX 2D. Wednesday’s formal announcement was made by Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman.

The following information was sent to me in a statement:

The release of the opening six minutes of the movie marks the world premiere of the first footage ever shot with extremely high-resolution IMAX cameras for a major motion-picture release.

In an unprecedented move, director Christopher Nolan employed IMAX cameras for a number of sequences in “The Dark Knight”.

In the statement, Nolan said the following on the news:

I’ve always found the IMAX format to be completely astounding in terms of the crispness and clarity of the image and sound as well as the sheer size and scope.

I knew that if you could shoot scenes of a feature film in that format – not just blow up a 35-millimeter film to fit those screens but actually to shoot with IMAX cameras – you could achieve an incredibly immersive experience.

No one had ever done it before, but with a lot of careful preparation by our director of photography (Wally Pfister) and the help of the IMAX technicians, the results are beyond our expectations.

When you watch the finished product, it’s like being on an amazing roller coaster. It’s literally larger than life.

Will Smith in “I Am Legend”.
Photo credit: IMDb
I also received this information on the topic on Dec. 10:

Beginning at 11 p.m. on Dec. 13 in the Navy Pier IMAX theater lobby, ticket-holding audience members will be invited to join in a variety of “I Am Legend”-themed games.

A series of “last-man standing” competitions will dare contestants to be the last one standing while hopping on one foot, in a hoola-hoop contest and in a battle of the wits [that tests] fans on their knowledge of Will Smith’s acting history.

Prizes will include film paraphernalia, IMAX tickets, concession-stand coupons and a few surprise items.

Though we already know it, the following plot information was included in the Dec. 12 statement:

“The Dark Knight” reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale who reprises the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne. In the new film, Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime.

With the help of lieutenant Jim Gordon and district attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets.

The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.

Warner Bros. Releases New Batpod Photo For ‘The Dark Knight’

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:51:38 -0500

Warner Bros. on Monday released a new “The Dark Knight” photo of Batman riding his Batpod.

Batman riding his Batpod in “The Dark Knight”.
Photo credit: Warner Bros.
Click here for a high-resolution version of this photo. This photo was also picked up by /Film.

Also, the following three “The Dark Knight” images recently surfaced. I first learned about these from here. While we have seen the head-on Joker image before, we now see it without cover-page text.

Christian Bale in Negotiations to Star in ‘Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins’

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:06:55 -0500

After earlier rumors along the same line, Hollywood Reporter and Variety on Sunday are both reporting that Christian Bale is in talks to star in “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins”.

Christian Bale.
Photo credit: WireImage.com
The film is the fourth in the series. McG is still in negotiations to direct the Warner Bros. film, which focuses on John Connor in his 30s as he leads what’s left of the human race against the machines.

HollywoodChicago.com to Distribute 125 I-Am-Immune.com Viral Bracelets For ‘I Am Legend’

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:11:04 -0500

I’ve already received dozens of e-mails about this and haven’t even yet announced it. Viral word really does infect the Internet quickly, eh?

In any event, it’s true: We have received from Warner Bros. and will be divvying out 125 bracelets for access into I-Am-Immune.com, which is the new viral marketing site for the Will Smith film “I Am Legend”.

Fans of the “The Dark Knight” will feel some similarity to I-Am-Immune.com’s upcoming street challenges in cities across the U.S. You must have a bracelet to gain access to the site.

I have been informed that e-mails to “patients” will be sent on Saturday, Nov. 24 directing those with bracelets to visit the “street challenges” section of the site.

There, the rules of the challenges will be explained and a secret location within 14 different U.S. cities will be revealed to snag a swag item.

Each item will have a relationship with the film and can be used to earn autographed posters, novels, gear and get you one step closer to winning tickets and a hotel stay in New York for the premiere of the film on Dec. 11.

Will Smith in “I Am Legend”.
Image credit: IMDb
Now, this hasn’t yet been announced:

There’s a separate street team distributing the bracelets as well. HollwoodChicago.com has received a quantity of those and will be giving them to you and your friends.

I can confirm there will be three street-challenge locations in Chicago: a video store, a car dealership and a golf range.

In order to get these bracelets into your hands with such quick turnaround without having to head to the post office again and again, I have arranged for my team to be in Chicago on Tuesday.

We value your time and assure you we’ll be there with the bracelets. See below for the time, date and venue.

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 20
Time: 7 to 9 p.m.
Venue: Dollop Coffee Co.
Address: 4181 N. Clarendon Ave., Chicago

For those of you who aren’t in Chicago or can’t make this pickup, e-mail adam [at] hollywoodchicago.com. I have a method to get a bracelet to you quickly as well.

McG to Direct Fourth ‘Terminator’; New Script-Submitting Web Site Launches

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 17:14:43 -0500

On Friday, I received a tip from a new source stating that McG (born Joseph McGinty Nichol) will direct the fourth “Terminator” film, which is currently titled “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins”.

We’ve since seen this confirmed with other news outlets and I’m now comfortably conveying it as true. See below for my source’s full note.

“Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”
Photo credit: ILM

McG officially signed on to direct “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” on [Thursday] night.

Warner Bros. recently gave the film a green light and is looking to get filming in “early 2008” for a summer 2009 release.

The script by John Brancato and Michael Ferris (“Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”) was locked in October due to the writer’s strike.

The fourth film is described as being as big in size and scale as “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” but with a smaller budget now that Arnold Schwarzenegger is no longer part of the production.

Claire Danes and Nick Stahl will not be returning as well.

On an interesting side note, Michael Ferris [editor’s note: a different Michael Ferris from the “Terminator” screenwriter] just opened a Web site where you can submit scripts and short films to him and he helps you get them to [all of] his agents and managers.

That URL is http://www.your-insider.com. While I don’t know if the opening of the Web site was meant to coincide with the news, they both happened at the same time.

This could mean big news for script and film competitions since he’s making himself a direct conduit for the average filmmaker to agents and managers in Hollywood.

7:24 p.m. update on 11/20/07: I have received a note from Michael Ferris of Your-Insider.com.

To prevent confusion, I have edited this post and am notifying you here that the Michael Ferris who runs that site is a different Michael Ferris than the “Terminator” screenwriter.