For a movie that barely passed four million at the box office and never ranked higher than No. 17, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is poised to do well in the DVD market, thanks in no small part to this clever casting call.
Critically acclaimed but never widely released, the film was even voted "Most Overlooked Film of the Year" by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.
In the film, Robert Downey's character is headed to Hollywood for a casting call. With this site, the winner of the best video submission that recreates a scene from the film gets to go to Hollywood to "meet a top casting agent." It is explained elsewhere on the site that the contest is not an audition and participation does not mean anyone will be receiving an offer to perform in a movie. You just get to "meet a top casting agent." "Casting Call" seems to be a misnomer here and second prize is actually better: a 50-inch Dell Plasma HDTV.
If reviews at IMDB are any indication, a devoted cult following for the film guaranteed that enough people would create and upload their own takes on scenes from the film, and the submitted works are pretty fun to watch, even though I've never been a big fan of the obtrusive QuickTime, which is required to view the clips on the site.
Excellent use of video and an inspired way of getting audience participation, all while promoting the release of a DVD. The concept is great and the execution of it in such a limited time speaks to some hard work on the part of nFusion, ePrize and Warner.
Proof that it worked? I'd never heard of the film and now it is on my "must rent" list.
-- Dave Wilkie, head of creative, Kinetic Results
Warner Bros. already had me on this one: as a fan of Robert Downey Jr., fan and a relatively new resident of the city of LA, anything that features both so prominently is going to be on my radar. Though I missed it in the theater, the film is currently occupying the top slot on my Netflix queue. So, barring the need to sell the movie to me outright, what does the "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Casting Call" campaign accomplish?
With the audition format of the contest, this campaign goes beyond involving users like me in the marketing of the movie, to involving us in making our own version of the movie-- starring us. Even for those of us not looking to be discovered, the chance to win a 50-inch TV (second prize in the contest) is great motivation to learn a few lines, bust out the digicam and record a new take on the film's scenes. And what participating potential thespian isn't going to want to buy the DVD at that point, to get character background and see how their scene fits into the whole story? Shrewd move, Warner.
Additionally, for those who aren't familiar with the movie, this contest provides a great platform for immersing viewers in the plot and characters. There's an extended trailer for the film, and four additional scenes, which serve as potential "audition" pieces, provide extra face time with the movie. Each scene is introduced by writer/director Shane Black (who also supplies a nice intro to the contest itself), giving viewers something that probably isn't available elsewhere.
The view and vote feature, powered by Revver.com, adds an additional layer of involvement, as well as potential viral viability. The microsite also features the option to download the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang podcast. However, since there's no description of what's on the podcast, I think it would have been better to leave this component off the site.
All in all, I think this a well thought-out, nicely executed way to frame the typical assets of a DVD website -- film clips, behind the scenes insight, character info -- and get fans involved and active.
-- Jodi Harris, editor, Entertainment Spot