We’re just a few weeks out from its release date and the marketing roll-out for “Transcendence,” Wally Pfister’s directorial debut, is just kicking into high gear. Warner Bros. has released a pair of viral videos to hook you in the struggle of mankind versus an omniscient technological consciousness.
First up, a pair of videos from the viral marketing campaign centered on the guerilla group led by Kate Mara in the film, R.I.F.T. (or Revolutionary Independence From Technology). Johnny Depp, with some help from Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany, is on the cusp of creating the singularity, an AI so advanced that it’s beyond anything the world has ever seen and has the potential to alter human history forever. Naturally, R.I.F.T. fears what awaits mankind on the other side of the technological singularity and uses various tactics — including violence — to stop the relentless forward march of technology and science. These two videos — both hovering around the twenty-second mark — take on the zeal of propaganda that’s decidedly from the anti-A.I. view, especially with the appearance of a banner reading: “Humans Are Born, Not Programmed.” Is the group just a band of luddite terrorists or are they really the last line of defense against our own self-inflicted doom?
The studio has also released a short featurette that runs over two minutes with some short interviews with Hall, Pfister and Morgan Freeman as well as some more footage from the film. Check out the featurette, the two viral ads and a batch of new stills from the film below. “Transcendence” takes over a theater near you on April 17th.
