Horror Flick Gets Tossed From Oklahoma Film Festival For Scary Marketing
Filed under: Horror, Independent, Celebrities and Controversy
Prior to an hour ago, I had no idea what kind of behavior could get your film tossed out of Muskogee's Bare Bones International Independent Film and Music Festival ... but now I do. According to news sources out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the independent horror film A Beautiful Day was scheduled to play the festival, but the filmmakers have been asked to take their celluloid and go home. Why? Cuz the "little guys" thought they could borrow some of that viral marketing from the big boys, that's why...Apparently the guys put together a very vague trailer for their film's festival screening -- and it was so damn vague it was mistaken for a possible terrorist threat! The trailer never lets on that it's a ... movie trailer, plus it had some creepy voice-over that went a little like this: "People of Muskogee. Open your eyes. April 25th is a day you'll come to remember." Yikes. Given the current state of affairs in American high schools, it's no surprise that school officials caught wind of the clip and brought it to the awareness of various authorities.
So was it a tacky ploy to get some extra attention? Or was it simply an attempt to create some Hollywood-style mystique for a low-budget horror flick? The festival folks don't seem to care, as they've already doled out their punishment, but apologetic movie producer James Bridges had this to say: "It wasn't a hoax. We weren't trying to scare people as a hoax ... We were trying to actually promote our movie."
Guess you did a pretty fine job there, Mr. Bridges. Best of luck at the next festival.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-16-2008 @ 2:02PM
Travis Johnson said...
And now I'd like a link to the clip.
Reply
4-16-2008 @ 4:12PM
Midnight13 said...
Well we're discussing the film now, so at least the film is getting
publicity. I thinking if are in a movie theatre and you see something
like this, instead of jumping to paniciky conclusions you should
consider it a movie. Its not its the first trailer to try to come off
as something real. "The Blair Witch" comes to mind. Hell even
"Cloverfield".
Reply
4-17-2008 @ 11:19AM
GL said...
The clip was on youtube (since removed by the creators) and it originally had no context. It's not like people were sitting in a theater.
Nevertheless, I'm suprised at such a negative reaction, even given "the current state of affairs".
Reply