By Gail Schiller
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) -
When a second trailer for
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" premieres
online, it should spread as fast as the first, thanks to a
widget.
Paramount plans to launch the widget this week, but the
studio declined to state when the new trailer will debut.
Paramount is counting on the small, portable applications
that can be posted on blogs and social networks to maximize the
exposure for its trailers. The first "Skull" trailer, released
in February, has racked up millions of views.
Paramount turned to widget provider Clearspring for
"Skull," and will offer a contest with the release of the
second trailer. The two fans who manage to distribute their
"Skull" widgets most will win trips to the world premiere of
the movie and the chance to be red-carpet correspondents in
footage that will be streamed onto the "Skull" widgets after
the premiere.
"I think the reason that studios are excited about widgets
is that word-of-mouth and buzz is what Hollywood is after all
the time," said Peggy Fry, senior vice president of sales and
client services at Clearspring. "If you think about it, what a
widget is, it's a digital version of word-of-mouth."
Clearspring also is creating widgets for Paramount's Mike
Myers comedy "The Love Guru," which will include exclusive
viral videos of Myers in character. The widgets, which launched
Monday, will live on Myers' Guru Pitka MySpace page, where his
character will blog about love advice, as well as on Facebook,
YouTube and other social networking sites.
Every week Paramount will add a new viral video to the
widget, for a total of eight to 10 videos. The widgets will
include other exclusive content, including a "Love Guru"
trailer, clips and behind-the-scenes footage.
Paramount's first foray into widgets with Clearspring was
with "Cloverfield," which benefited at the box office from a
successful online and widget campaign. The studio also has
worked with Clearspring on a "Bee Movie" widget and a daily
fortune cookie widget for DreamWorks Animation's upcoming "Kung
Fu Panda."
Other studios that have worked with Clearspring to promote
their movies are Warner Bros., for "10,000 BC" and "Fred
Claus," Sony for "Superbad," Universal for its upcoming
"Leatherheads" and Fox for "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!"
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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