Public to decide Indian Film Title by SMS

The title of an Indian movie for will be done by the public's texting message voting. Of the three titles suggested by film production company Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures:

1) Krishnarjuna 2) Krishnarjunulu and 3) Mitramaa

The one with the most votes by SMS will become the final title.

"The audiences have to send their choice of the title through SMS. The title which gets the maximum SMS will be selected. Seven lucky people will be selected and they would be given beautiful gifts."

[via Sify]

Darth Vadar "Turn off your Phone" at the movies message

GeekSugar reports that at an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences screening of Star Wars earlier this week - part of a series of 3Oth Anniversary celebrations - guests were treated to tailor made Star Wars message before the start of the movie, warning them to turn off their cell phones.

Related:

-- Steve Martin fights rude mobile phone users - Funnyman Steve Martin filmed a new public service announcement in a bid to urge filmgoers to turn off their mobile phones at the movies.

-- Sydney Pollack Teams promotes Cell Phone Courtesy at the Movies - Last July, a public service trailer directed by and starring Academy Award winning filmmaker Sydney Pollack in cooperation with Cingular Wireless, was to debutin movie theaters nationwide promoting of all things -- silence.

Treo plays prominent role in new movie, 'A Good Year'

Palm Inc.'s Treo smart phone plays prominent in Ridley Scott' and Russel Crowe's new movie, "A Good Year," according to the filmmakers.

"Every once in a while, there's a prop that helps define a character, and the Treo is his key tie to the world, his lifeline, as he decides whether he's going to commit to his new life or go back to his old one," said Fred Baron, the executive vice president of feature productions at News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox.

The romantic comedy opens Friday. Russell Crowe plays an investment banker from London who winds up in Provence tending to a small vineyard he inherited. [via The Associated Press]

Other films where cellphones have played a leading role:

-- Japanese Text Messaging Horror Flick - "One Missed Call" reads the screen on cell phones: Victims hear themselves scream in messages sent from their own phones and dated two days in the future, which is precisely when they die an outlandish death.

-- Cellular A US film with Kim Basinger and William H. Macy. The Nokia 6600 is central to the film's dark storyline, which portrays both the best and worst features of cellphones.

-- Cellphone A Chinese film and a dark comedy about a morally bankrupt television talk show host who lies, cheats and schemes his way through life using his feature-laden cell phone.

How instant communication affects movies at the box office

It's been a while since I've picked up on an article describing how text messaging spreads instant reviews of new movie releases - making or breaking them at the box office.

Lately, Calender Live [via digg ] writes: "Instant communications technology has completely changed the role of word of mouth," says Nancy Utley, chief operating officer for "Little Miss Sunshine ".

Recommendations from friends and associates always have been a critical ingredient in building box-office momentum, just as negative word of mouth accelerates a middling movie's downfall. Yet the speed at which such assessments are transmitted has never been so fast, nor the effect — as "Little Miss Sunshine" is dramatizing — so profound.

Movie studios once felt confident they had at least two weekends to sell as many movie tickets as possible before toxic buzz would undermine their multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns. Hollywood executives now say that the proliferation of movie-related e-mail, Internet blogs and text messaging has reduced that window to mere hours, as the quick decline of last weekend's heavily promoted "Snakes on a Plane" proved"

Related:

-- High-Tech Word of Mouth Maims Movies - The LA Times (August 2003) looks at how word of mouth has long been an element in a film's success or failure. But bad buzz, fueled by text messaging and the internet has accelerated the pace of communication so much that Hollywood feels the reverberations at the box office almost immediately.

SMS Word of mouth kills Hollywood box office - More on the LA Times (August 2003) article (no longer online) on the impact of SMS and other forms of mobile messaging on opening weekend box office receipts for major feature films.

"LOL" Film Premieres in Chicago

Lumino Magazine reviews a movie entitled “LOL”, previewed at The Chicago Underground Film Festival last week.

"Shot in Chicago, "LOL" is part of a series of films made over the last few years that fulfill the promise of cheap filmmaking equipment combined with local inspiration.

The film was made last summer, and drew heavily on the director’s and writers’ real experiences. The characters are based on the actors themselves, and one actor’s girlfriend even plays herself, complete with real phone messages and pictures from the time when their relationship was a long distance one.

... The making of “LOL” is often what the movie is about. Email was used to transfer the noiseheads. The movie was probably cut on a laptop (maybe even the one Tim describes as a “sexy machine”). Music was coordinated over phone and email while Bewersdorf was in Europe. This movie couldn’t have been made only a few years before, not only because of the technical limitations, but because many of its specifics wouldn’t have existed.

View the trailer!

Cry Wolf, an online and mobile challenge

Random Culture reports about an interesting online game created to support the launch of an upcoming horror movie "Cry Wolf".

In order to play the Cry Wolf Game you need an AOL I.M. account, because you will have to chat with 15 people to find out who is the killer.

A mobile version of the game is also available and allows player to win a trip to Hollywood.

[via Adverblog]

Film trailer to Feature Text-Messaging Hunt

Cry Wolf, a film, scheduled for an August 2005 release, revolves around a series of murders that are foretold by someone using AIM®, giving warning about where the victims will be found.

At the end of the trailer, the following text appears:

"Use your cell phone to text your AIM® screen name to CWOLF (29653) and use AIM® on your phone to get in on the hunt!"

Click here for related stories on movies promoted by SMS:

Japanese Text Messaging Horror Flick

Bill Stamets for the Chicago Sun-Times, reviews a Japanese horror flick entitled One Missed Call which is part of the independent and art films event opening around town this weekend.

"One Missed Call" reads the screen on cell phones: Victims hear themselves scream in messages sent from their own phones and dated two days in the future, which is precisely when they die an outlandish death.

College student Yumi Nakamura (Kou Shibasaki) suffers searing flashbacks of her abusive mother, cued by extreme close-ups of an eye. All her friends get the fatal calls. She teams up with undertaker Hiroshi Yamashita (Shin'ichi Tsutsumi), whose sister also suffered the curse of "One Missed Call." Together they run and scream. Stay tuned for the text-message massacre".

Other films where cellphones have played a leading role:

-- Cellular A US film with Kim Basinger and William H. Macy. The Nokia 6600 is central to the film's dark storyline, which portrays both the best and worst features of cellphones.

-- Cellphone A Chinese film and a dark comedy about a morally bankrupt television talk show host who lies, cheats and schemes his way through life using his feature-laden cell phone.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Text messaging used as a promotion tool for a soon to be released movie.

Sisterhood of the Travaeling Pants, a bestseller, has been made into a movie and is expected to be this summer's tween flick blockbuster, from Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros, reports cinematical.

It's website has an interesting feature relevant to this column, a Sisterhood text messages. "Get the word out about Girls in Pants and send out Sisterhood text messages!

Click here for related stories on movies which have been promoted by cell phone and text messaging.

Cingular ties in new branded phones for Star Wars movie launch

Cingular Wireless will join thousands of die-hard Star Wars fans who are gathering in Indianapolis to attend the Star Wars Celebration III - a four-day convention produced by Lucasfilm and Hyperspace: The Official Star Wars Fan Club.

Celebration III, which kicks off April 21, is designed to celebrate the complete Star Wars saga and the much anticipated final installment, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, which opens May 19, 2005.

Cingular Wireless is offering two limited edition wireless handsets preloaded with free Star Wars content -- the Sony Ericsson S710 and the Sony Ericsson Z500a.

Both devices will be sold already preloaded with a TIE fighter sound effect ringtone; C-3PO voice ringtone; graphics of Darth Maul and the original Star Wars cast; a Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith game demo with full purchase option; and a video clip.

With each purchase of the Z500a, customers will receive via mail-in rebate, one of four Star Wars- themed face plates.

In addition, through June 4, when Cingular customers purchase either one of the special preloaded Sony Ericsson devices, they will receive two free movie tickets to see Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

DMNewswire Press Release

Text messaging at movies shows boredom

Kids text messaging while watching a movie becomes critics' tool to measure audience interest.

At a screening of 'The Polar Express', a film critic at The UK Telegraph writes: "This is a film that invokes awe, but totally fails to induce it. At the screening I attended, most of the young audience spent the second half text-messaging friends."

When the Phone Dies, SO DOES SHE!!

POPGADGET has a roundup of movies where cell phones play a major role.

"Cell phones actually play a big part in Collateral whre Tom Cruise reads messages on a Sidekick [...] The phone then gets the starring role in the new Kim Basinger thriller, CELLULAR. The hilarious tagline is "When the signal dies, so does she." [...] In China, Cell phone, by Chinese director Feng Xiaogang is a tremendous hit. In this comedy, a cheating husband's infidelities are discovered when he leaves behind his cell phone and his wife reads the text messages from his mistress..

New movie release targets cell phone users

Microsoft Korea said Monday that it would hold a promotion event entitled “Lovers in Paris” for one month, targeting users of its mobile messenger on cell phones. Users may travel to Paris by drawing lots, according to Digital Chosunilbo.

MSN Mobile Messenger appeared as a device to link the hero and the heroin in the recent popular drama “Lovers in Paris.”

"Manchurian Candidate" Voice Recognition Game

The Manchurian Candidate Game gives players a taste of this highly anticipated psychological thriller before it hits theaters July 30.

Portrayed in the movie by two time Oscar winner Denzel Washington, decorated Major Ben Marco's world is becoming a living nightmare. Is he crazy? Are his nightmares real, or is everyone else out to get him? Fans will get hidden insights through their telephones in this world of brainwashing, conspiracies and political intrigue when the game finds them each day and they help Marco find his way through the psychological mysteries.

The game begins July 7 and will conclude July 28.

Click here for a special roundup on how movies have been promoted by mobile phones.

Cell phones promoting movie blockbusters

Movie studios have been working with cell phone carriers to promote their new releases with ringers, games and screen savers, reports the Springfield News.

"The deals are often complicated arrangements that may include provisions for featuring the carrier's phones in the film or footage from the movie in the carrier's advertisements.

In one of the latest deals, Sprint paid Sony Pictures an undisclosed sum to offer a line of Spider-Man-themed goodies.

Sprint PCS customers shell out $1.50 to $2.50 for a ringer, $1 to $2 for a screen saver, and about $6 for a game.

Related stories on how movies have been promoted by mobile phones:

-- T-Mobile USA will begin offering exclusive content from King Arthur, which is scheduled to begin July 7, 2004. T-Mobile USA customers will be able to download select Disney Mobile ringers, graphics and games, including the new King Arthur game, as well as have access to free exclusive character voice ringers of Guinevere and King Arthur. [Moco News]

-- A children's movie called Tooth about a feisty tooth fairy was supported by an SMS text-and-win promotion at launch in April 2004.

-- Ringtones, games, green graphics and sound effects were available to Hulk fans on hulkmobile.com, launched the day of the movie's release.

-- In the summer of 2003, Legally Blonde 2 offered a variety of text-messaging content and services tied to the movie. Elle Woods fans could sign up for blonde jokes, trivia, movie information, and enter a sweepstakes by sending the message "LB2" to the short code "BLNDE."

-- In advance of the release of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life in July, 2003, AT&T Wireless launched a co-marketing program that gave its customers exclusive access to a variety of mobile content.

-- In 2003, In Mumbai a string of free SMSs were sent out to mobile users revealing the climax of soon to-be released films. It's not clear who sent them to generate a buzz.

-- In April 2003, Fox promoted Phone Booth movie thriller with an SMS campaign.

-- In April 2003, SMS alerts, quizzes and games were tied-in with the launch of French film Wanted, starring starring movie and song legends Gérard Depardieu, Renaud and Johnny Hallyday.

-- In 2002, British mobile marketing firm Flytxt created an innovative campaign prior to the launch in the UK of The Birthday Girl, starring Nicole Kidman as a Russian Internet bride. Participants were asked to reply to a personal ad from a sexy Russian woman or create their own ad, as per the theme of the movie.

-- Tied in with the launch of the movie in 2001, fans of Bridget Jones's Diary were able to commune with their heroine by text message. The text messaging service iincluded personality tests, an "Ask Bridget" service, Bridget Jones's Guide to Life and the expected discussion of dieting, dating, self-help and thigh circumference.

Switch on your mobile

It looks like you won't be asked to turn off your cell phone in movie theaters anymore if advertisers have their way. According to a post in near near future this morning, gamewriter Charlie Salem is suggesting that viewers engage in prize winning mobile games during TV commcericals or intermission breaks at the movies.

The Guardian contacted three ad agencies and they were unanimous - getting people to text or indeed do anything other than look at the screen during an ad break is counterproductive.

But the American television industry seems interested.

Direct-to-mobile film series

In an article Australian IT reviewing successful tie-ups with televsion shows and text messaging, News Corporation content and marketing senior vice-president Lucy Hood, believes direct-to-mobile film series are the future.

"It is a new format purely for cell phones," she says. The first is a show, «Hotel Franklin?,in 60-second episodes with a hook at the end of each show.

The company has gone for the concept "because we think the medium is special".

The series follows a secretive young woman who is seen dating older men and the effect it has on the man who falls in love with her, and their relationship.

It uses a concise screenplay written specifically for mobiles and has tightly edited shots that lead the story on. "

Txt The TOOTH Fairy

The cinema release a children's movie called ‘TOOTH' about a feisty tooth fairy is supported by an SMS text-and-win promotion, reports 160characters.org.

"Devised by 12snap, the text-and-win promotion is being supported with an advertising campaign in numerous children's comics, including Smash Hits, Rugrats, Art Attack, Disney's Explorer, Looney Tunes and Girl Talk".

For other examples of movies promoting their release by SMS, check out this category in Textually.org.

Sex, lies and cell phones--film connects in China

This was actually written up last January by Smart Mobs and The Guardian, but somehow I missed it.

The hottest movie in China these days is "Cellphone", reports the Chicago Tribune, a dark comedy about a morally bankrupt television talk show host who lies, cheats and schemes his way through life using his feature-laden cell phone.

"The film explores several timely issues, including the new technology's effect on male-female relations, the growing acceptance of extramarital affairs and the loss of traditional values in China's race for material success.

Over the course of 140 minutes, the main character, Yan Shouyi, deletes text messages, switches off his phone, turns it to silent mode and claims to be "in an important meeting"--all in an effort to keep his wife, girlfriend and lover from finding out about one another.

As China lurches into the 21st Century, few things capture its people's search for meaning, prosperity and self-expression better than the cell phone. And the movie illustrates how the device has exposed the growing gap between the values of the closed, largely rural China of the past and the technology that represents the slick, increasingly urban nation of the future".

Cinemas usher in text ticketing

Mobile phone operator Orange has unveiled a UK cinema industry mobile ticketing service, reports vnunet.com.

"Orange customers can take up the offer by texting "Film" to 241, speed dialling 241, or by visiting the Orange World Wap portal, to obtain a unique ticket reference number.

The mobile ticket can then be redeemed in about 97 per cent of the UK's cinemas, said an Orange spokesman.

"Instead of searching listings in local papers, customers can access full film reviews on the Orange World portal and find their nearest cinema using location-based technology," said Jeremy Dale, vice president of brand marketing at Orange.

Orange customers will also be able to access exclusive mobile content for 12 film releases during 2004, as well as film-based downloads, ring tones, games, trailers, news, reviews and film gossip".

Related articles

-- UK operator offers cinemagoers free tickets

-- Singapore Theatre Trials SMS tickets

-- Booking a movie ticket by SMS in Mumbai

The outcome of newly released Bollywood thrillers spread by SMS, hurting industry

Whereas Hollywood blamed teenage girls for box office bombs this summer, because they were spreading thumbs down by text messaging as they walked out of the theater, Bollywood has a different problem.

The outcome of newly released thrillers - who dies and whoddunit - are spreading like wildfire by SMS, spoiling the suspense. “There is no doubt that the SMS trend is going to make and break several films,” views distributor Isak Moosa, interviewed by The Times of India. "Producers and distributors alike are aware of the lethal power of SMS in completely ruing the chances of their films".

"The SMS trend, started with the suspense-thriller Gupt, where fans got a strange kick out of revealing the name of the killer. That was followed by the romantic triangle Deewana Mastana, where senders were keen to let others know who bags the heroine in the end. The craze really grew with Sanjay Gupta's Kaante, where SMSs flew thick and fast about who the traitor was. luckily, it worked in favour of the film because there were rumours that the producers themselves were sending conflicting messages to create more confusion", reports The Times of India.

Related articles:

Bollywood gets message

Whodunnit SMS alerts for Bollywood fans

Orange offer cinemagoers free tickets

A ground-breaking three-year "two for one" cinema ticket offer was launched today by mobile phone giant Orange as part of a bid to fight back against the David Beckham-endorsed Vodafone Live service, according to Media Guardian via SMS: Business Gets the Message.

"Cinema buffs will be able to pick up two tickets for the price of one using a simple text message service at any cinema across the country - and the mobile phone company says the only catch is that the offer applies only on Wednesdays.

The promotion, dubbed Orange Wednesdays, will offer Orange customers an exclusive two for one cinema ticket offer every week in every cinema across the UK".

High-Tech Word of Mouth Maims Movies

The LA Times looks at how word of mouth has long been an element in a film's success or failure. But bad buzz, fueled by text messaging and the internet has accelerated the pace of communication so much that Hollywood feels the reverberations at the box office almost immediately.

This telling example should strike terror into the hearts of studio executives: "On opening day, a teenager coming out of "The Hulk" "whipped out her cell phone, tapped out a message telling her friends exactly what she thought of the movie - and the verdict was brutal.

Fatima's pan was all her friends needed to convince them to stay away. And they told their friends. Soon the chatter would end up in a girls Internet discussion group, where all the world could see what a few teenagers in Manhattan Beach thought about a movie".

[...] Instant word of mouth, as a trend, probably traces back to 1998 in Japan with the release of "Ringu".

"The cerebral horror flick that inspired a U.S. remake — "The Ring," which was released here last fall — caused a sensation in Japan. And in a technology-forward country with lots of cell phones, instant word of mouth became the fuel that lighted that film's box office success. The power of instant feedback — good or bad — was immediately apparent.

(Thanks Rafat!)

Singapore Theatre Trials SMS tickets

On a trial basis, The Esplanade Theatres of Singapore are allowing cell phone users to book a seat for a concert online, and use an SMS "receipt" as the "ticket" to gain entry, according to 160characters.org.

On the night of the concert, they dial a number at the door using their mobile phone and their booking details will be displayed on a terminal for the usher to let them in.

Bollywood gets message

Something for Hollywood. Bollywood has found a new, cost-effective way to publicise Hindi films - through mobile phone text messages, according to the BBC. The use of messages for film publicity began in Bollywood with the film Kaante (Thorns).

"The producer of the film - Sanjay Gupta - said he created suspense by sending out a Short Message Service (SMS) quiz about who was responsible for betraying the group of bank robbers at the centre of the plot. "People started discussing the film as the SMS messages did the rounds and it spread like wildfire," Mr Gupta told the BBC.

Early June, Sify movies reported on the latest Bollywood craze in Mumbai, whereby a string of free SMSs were sent out to mobile users revealing the climax of soon to-be released films (cf Whodunnit SMS alerts for Bollywood fans).

Hindi films are also using ringtones to promote films as well. "Downloading Hindi-film-songs-based ringtones is another popular trend among cell users and a profitable revenue model for many dotcoms", reported agency faqs?. (cf previous post on Ringtonia.com, Sucessful ringtone contest on a Bollywood flick).

For some novel examples of how Hollywood and mobile carriers have used SMS as a tie-in to new movies releases, see Summer Movies And Wireless Tie-Ins Continue, and for tracking news and articles on The Movie industry and SMS, follow this category in textually.org.

Hollywood Leads Mobile-Marketing Charge

Hollywood is increasingly turning to mobile marketing schemes, to connect with tech-savvy fans and build excitement for blockbuster releases, reports Instant Messaging Planet.

Following tie-ins with the new Lara Croft movie and Phone Booth, two other hotly anticipated summer releases, "The Hulk" and "Legally Blonde 2: Red White & Blonde," are the latest to sign up for ambitious mobile campaigns, and they're including everything from text-messaging sweepstakes to themed ringtones.

Ringtones, games, green graphics and sound effects are available to Hulk fans on hulkmobile.com, launched on the day of the movie's release

"Legally Blonde 2" offers a variety of text-messaging content and services tied to the movie. Elle Woods fans can sign up for blonde jokes, trivia, movie information, and enter a sweepstakes by sending the message "LB2" to the short code "BLNDE."

Lara Croft goes Wireless

Starting today, millions of Lara Croft fans can follow the latest exploits of this hard-hitting action heroine right on attwireless.com/tombraider. In advance of the motion picture release of "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" on July 25, 2003, AT&T Wireless is launching a comprehensive co-marketing program that will give its customers exclusive access to a variety of mobile content such as movie passes, graphics, screen savers, and ringtones (for only $1.99 each). In addition, customers can sign-up for exclusive text-messaging trivia by typing the word "TOMB" and sending it to short code "8662", according to a press release in Business Wire.

Hollywood is definitely getting it.

Hollywood Leads Mobile-Marketing Charge

In a sign that Hollywood is definitely getting it, Internet News describes how the movie industry has embraced the notion of mobile marketing, using it "to connect with tech-savvy fans and build excitement for blockbuster releases. Two hotly anticipated upcoming summer releases, Universal Pictures' "The Hulk" and MGM's "Legally Blonde 2" are the latest to sign up for ambitious mobile campaigns, and they're including everything from text-messaging sweepstakes to themed ringtones".

Booking a movie ticket by SMS

In Mumbai, India, where they love both films and SMS, you can now book your movie ticket through text messaging. ‘‘We decided to leverage technology so you no longer have to stand in queue for a ticket,'' says Shravan Shroff, director of Fame Adlabs. The multiplex in Versova launched its SMS ticket-booking facility on Tuesday", per an article in Mumbai Newsline via SMS: Business Gets the message.

Whodunnit SMS alerts for Bollywood fans

Sify reports on the latest Bollywood craze in Mumbai, whereby a string of free SMSs are sent out to mobile users revealing the climax of soon to-be released films. It's not clear how accurate they are or who's sending them out.