Hollywood Reporter - Cry Wolf - tower of babble entertainment

9-16 conv pg 79b
9/15/05
5:16 PM
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convergence
SEPTEMBER 16-18, 2005
where entertainment meets technology
AOL has co-starring role in ‘Wolf’
Online giant helps promo film with IM plot device
By Chris Marlowe
MC Lyte hosts broadband “VIP Pass.”
VH1 ‘Honors’
hits spot with
digital content
By Chris Marlowe
VH1 is using podcasts, mobile
phones and other tools from the
digital workshop to promote and
extend the experience of its “Hip
Hop Honors” event Sept. 26.
VH1 general manager Tom
Calderone, who is leading the network’s evolution into a multiplatform content provider, said
VH1 is using all media for the
event.
“We are celebrating the pioneers
of hip-hop by creating an unprecedented amount of original and
exclusive programming that allows
music lovers to access what they
want, when they want,” he said.
This marks the first time VH1
has used podcasting. It will be
posting a series of 15-minute programs that package interviews with
the honorees, samples of their
discographies and commentary
from Fab 5 Freddy and Nelson
George.
Mobile content will include such
various personalization products as
exclusive tracks from Kanye West
and Young Jeezy along with textmessage voting for the best emcee
in VH1’s “Freestyle 59” contest.
VSpot is at the heart of the
action, however. The dedicated
broadband channel “VIP Pass”
goes live when the linear broadcast ends and features behind-thescenes access hosted by MC Lyte,
exclusive music performances and
interviews with the artists, presenters and honorees as well as
footage from this year’s rehearsals.
Other VSpot original content
includes special coverage of the
film “Boyz N the Hood,” featuring
clips from the movie and an interview with director John Singleton.
“VH1 Hip Hop Honors” is
executive produced by Lee
Rolontz for VH1 and Jac Benson
for Blackjac Entertainment.
■
The horror in “Cry Wolf” relies
on instant messaging and other
ways of communicating online that
might or might not reflect the
sender’s true identity. So it made
sense to the filmmakers that America Online would want to lend its
support by letting the teen thriller’s
characters use its AIM product in
the movie, which opens nationwide today.
Despite the creepy subject matter, AOL didn’t just agree; the
online giant is wholeheartedly
involved in promoting the film.
Among the options being used are
AOL mobile phone instant messaging games, a blog maintained by
the filmmakers, an AIM service
that lets users get showtimes and
the addictive multiplayer “Cry
Wolf: The Game” that AOL created in conjunction with Clear
Games.
“There were some internal battles that were fought, but the
movie’s not gory, it’s about mind
games,” AOL senior marketing
manager Christine Loredo said.
“And we saw an energy that we
wanted to be part of. It’s a core
part of the demographic we’re trying to reach.”
The movie, co-written by director Jeff Wadlow and producer
Beau Bauman, already had experi-
Students’ instant messages lead to suspicion and terror in “Cry Wolf.”
ence gathering unusual funding
when Bauman approached AOL.
Primarily, the project became possible when Wadlow competed in
the yearlong 2002 Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival and won a
$1 million film budget grant.
“The whole advertising marketing in general is evolving, and
we’ve got AOL and Focus Pictures
and Chrysler coming up with new
ideas to try to make it work in a different way,” Wadlow said.
In the finest indie filmmaker tradition, Wadlow and Bauman subsequently tapped many other
sources willing to provide the
required goods and services without being paid in anything besides
gratitude and placement in the finished movie. Among these benefactors are eFilms Inc., Technicolor, Panavision, the University of
Richmond and the state of Virginia
through the Virginia Film Office.
FYE stores get download kiosks
By Chris Marlowe
Mobile content fans will be
able to get instant gratification
after a deal announced Thursday
between music retailer Trans
World Entertainment Corp. and
wireless distribution specialist
WideRay Corp.
The partnership will put new
entertainment stations, called
Download & Go, in For Your
Entertainment retail locations,
starting with nine stores in Los
Angeles, New York and Boston.
Users can get music, video,
games, ringtones and wallpapers
from EMI Music, 20th Century
Fox, Digital Chocolate and other
content owners. Some will be
free, others will be available on a
trial basis before payment is due.
TWEC executive vp marketing
WideRay beams straight to phones.
and merchandising Fred Fox said
it was a proactive opportunity for
delivering the latest entertainment to consumers. The kiosks
also have the appeal of bypassing
the carriers, which makes it more
viable for studios and labels to
give away promotional materials.
Customers need a Bluetooth- or
infrared-enabled mobile device
that supports Windows Mobile,
Palm, Symbian, UIQ or Java to use
the WideRay in-store hardware. ■
When it comes to creating buzz,
however, Wadlow said AOL was
the critical partner because it
reached young horror fans and
moviegoers via the communications and content services they use
every day.
“Aside from the creative ways we
use technology in the film, for the
plot and the character development and everything, the cast
members really do use instant messaging, not as a hobby but as a way
of life,” Bauman said.
“Cry Wolf” revolves around a
group of students who use AIM to
spread rumors about a serial killer,
only to find that their invented victims start ending up as real corpses.
Embedding AOL in the movie
therefore added a layer of authenticity, Wadlow said, since it would
have been jarring if the dozens of
prominent instant message screens
weren’t a familiar brand.
“In any brand partnership it’s
key to find the right partner who
will give you the creative freedom
to do what you want to do,” he
said. “The second thing is to
make sure you’re telling a story
that organically uses the product
anyway.”
Both filmmakers actively peruse
their message boards and answer
comments, being especially eager
to answer questions from movie
buffs. “It’s a way to connect on a
surprisingly personal level with
your audience, and they get invested in the movie,” Bauman said.
“Cry Wolf” is distributed by
Rogue Pictures, the genre film
label formed by Focus Features in
March 2004. It stars Julian Morris, Jared Padalecki and Lindy
Booth.
■
Convergence appears Monday and Friday.
Information may be e-mailed to Chris
Marlowe, Editorial Director, Digital Media at:
CMarlowe@hollywoodreporter.com
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