Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Be Kind Rewind article and goodness

there more i read about this movie, the more excited i get, and the more my Gondry-love grows.
This L.A. Times article has an interview with him about the marketing of the film. Basically the Times saw my blog about the Be Kind web-site on November 26th and decided to write about it. Copycats.

Here are some of my favorite highlights:
the operating idea behind http://www.bekindmovie.com/ is that Black's character has also accidentally "erased the Internet" and visitors to the site are responsible for creating a Sweded replacement. Google has been crudely reborn as "Goolge." MySpace has undergone a primitive makeover to become MyFace (a social networking site for the "Be Kind" characters). Another section of the site allows visitors to Swede photos of themselves onto VHS movie covers from New Line films, including "The Wedding Singer," "Blade" and "Freddy vs. Jason." (You can also see clips of some of the movies Sweded in "Be Kind.")
As well, "Easter eggs" -- hidden features computer programmers plant on some Web pages, intending them as inside jokes or personal asides -- abound on BeKindMovie.com. Taking visitors to nearly 20 ancillary websites, they include Sweded dancing cats, Sweded news and weather pages and a Sweded "arcade" that allows visitors to play the proto video game Pong. A PDF download instructs visitors on how to Swede other sites. There are plans for a channel on YouTube dedicated to fan-generated Sweded films.

This part makes me want to go to Sundance. (enjoy this for me Emily & MAB)
A more natural place to raise awareness for the film is the Sundance Film Festival, which opens Jan. 17 in Park City, Utah. There, Gondry said he plans to perform music from the "Be Kind" soundtrack, backed by Mos Def and Jean-Michel Bernard, who wrote the film's score. New Line is also planning on creating a "Sweding suite" in a house near Main Street (mostly likely done up to look like the video store from the movie) where people can stop by and participate in Sweding, such as inserting themselves into photos from the film.
There's a lot more cool info so just read the damn article. I can't do everything for you.

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