So you all know about Michel Gondry’s new movie “Be Kind Rewind” which stars rapper Mos Def and comedian Jack Black as bumbling video store clerks that accidentally erase their entire catalogue and then re-make all the films in a misguided, but hopefully funny attempt at not losing customers.
The Times article talks about the “fun” ways the studio is trying to sell the film. One of the marketing tricks being trying involve fans to “swede” their own films (“Sweding” being known within the film as the technique of re-making films; ‘Rewind’ features crude remakes of ‘2001’, “Ghostbusters,” “Boys N’ The Hood,” “RoboCop” and many other cinematic pop culture touchstones). The other being the highly-interactive ‘Rewind‘ website which operates under the conceit that the internet has accidentally been erased, and features ‘Easter Eggs’ and other related ephemera (on the site, Google becomes “Goolge,” Myspace is “MyFace,” and users can also swede themselves onto VHS covers of other New Line films).
Rewind Goes Arty With Deitch: Shoot Your Own Film
As you’ve probably read already, the ‘Rewind’ marketing campaign doesn’t end there. On January 24, (the day before the film hits theaters) the New York Deitch Projects will host an interactive ‘Rewind’ installation that will see Gondry recreate the video store in the gallery, complete with a backlot of movie sets where visitors can make their own renditions of films. It’s a pretty inventive idea.
“Groups of people walk in and will have access to a workshop,” Gondry explained to the L.A. Times. “There is a very simple protocol: You shoot in camera, edit while you shoot — which means you stop the camera when you want to go to the next scene, you don’t edit. Story lines last five to 10 minutes. And most of the exhibition will be a mini back lot with 15 little sets.”
Gondry enjoys the idea of progressive marketing for the film, but turned downed a pitch by Blockbuster because he felt their corporate video chain was antithetical to the idea of the mom n’ pop indie video store of ‘Rewind.’
More Meta-Sweding?
To add to all the meta-ness? New Line has been reaching out to some of the directors whose films are being sweded in the film — Robert Zemeckis, Brett Ratner and Ivan Reitman among them — offering them the chance to swede Gondry’s film. Nutty, right? Will it happen? Even New Line is unsure what will happen, but their willing to give it a shot.
As previously reported here first, the “Be Kind Rewind” soundtrack CD is due January 22 on Lakeshore records and features Billy Preston, Booker T and Jack Black among the already aforementioned performers. You can preview songs from the ‘Rewind’ soundtrack at the above link via its myspace page.
Watch: “Be Kind Rewind” trailer