Allen Weiner » film

Did Twitter Nuke Bruno at the Box Office?

Allen Weiner — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:52:10 +0000

The cognoscente’s meme of the day is whether or not harsh words on Twitter cut off Sasha Baron Cohen’s “Bruno’s” U.S. box office hopes at the knees. Time’s noted film critic Richard Corliss believes that a decline in opening day revenue to the following day was due in part to bad cyberword of mouth. That is, a flood of movie going Tweeters expressed less than favorable reviews of the film. Given the fact that the average filmgoer cares less about what professional critics say and more what their friends tell them, bad word of mouth can be especially damaging when it is shared in real time. In the old days (maybe 15 years ago) a crummy movie could make it through the weekend with box office intact until folks met at the water cooler on Monday morning.

Pundits who have an excessive amount of time on their hands are combing through Twitter logs to validate or nullify this theory. I believe even if there is a kernel of truth to the “Bruno” mess, there’s a great lesson to be learned for anyone who has a product or service to market or sell: in the Web 2.0 world, a marketing campaign only starts once a product is released. Understanding social buzz and (more importantly) knowing how to react will give new life to the phrase “expect the unexpected.” All the social media monitoring tools and services won’t do a film studio or soft drink company one iota of good if they are not equipped to respond to bad worth of mouth with some agility.

Anyone can plan for success; planning for disaster is another thing. As Monty Python says, “No one plans for the Spanish Inquisition.” Somehow, I sense “Bruno” may be up there with an inquisition.

Interview with Mike Bonnano of The Yes Men Fix the World at SXSW

Allen Weiner — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:42:22 +0000

After a delayed screening of “The Yes Men Fix the World” at SXSW, I was able to catch up with Mike Bonnano, one of the Yes Men, and ask him some questions about what’s next for the corporate pranksters as well as film funding issues.

While not a prank, one of the memorable scenes in the film is when Mike and his partner Andy Bichlbaum go to great lengths to compose and print an edition of The New York Times which featured fake stories that focused on “what could be possible.” They printed 100,000 copies and handed then out in front of The Times building and the reactions are priceless.

The film with air on HBO this summer. Do not miss it.

SXSW: Interview with Indiepix president, Bob Alexander

Allen Weiner — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 21:54:42 +0000

I had the opportunity to sit down with Bob Alexander, president of Indiepix Films, an independent film distributor, and discuss the role the role technology is playing in the creation and distribution of independent films. The interview is about 20 minutes, but very interesting for those who follow the movie industry. Indiepix’s film, “The Least of These” debuted at SXSW.

Click here to listen or download. (starts after 5 seconds)

Headed for South by Southwest (SXSW)

Allen Weiner — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:39:50 +0000

As a part-time resident of Austin, Texas and music/movie/interactive sort of guy, it’s fairly obvious I will be at SXSW. It will be my first time at this megaevent, so as a conference veteran, I know somewhat to expect, but in Austin “weird happens” (which is why we love it), so it could hold many surprises.

I will be filling this blog with observations and videos from the event, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, I am trying to book as many appointments in advance as possible. You can send me an email: allen.weiner@gartner.com or follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com/allenweiner

See you there, ya’all