Fans Crack Twitter Code for Sneak Peek at New Batman Film


Hardcore fans of Warner Bros.’s Batman trilogy undertook code cracking of epic proportions Friday after the site for the next film, The Dark Knight Rises, hit the web.

When you first visit the site for the film — now in production for a July 20, 2012 release — you’ll land upon a black screen accompanied by a track featuring eerie chanting. Fans were originally baffled by the site, but one intrepid SuperHeroHype Forums member named “Riskproduction” used an audio program to discover that the spectrum in the audio spells out “#thefirerises.”

That hashtag led the fan to the Twitter account @TheFireRises, which features several tweets linking to another site, featuring an image of actor Tom Hardy as super villain Bane.

It’s not a run-of-the-mill snap; it’s composed of Twitter or Facebook profile photos of folks who chose to share the site on those social networks by clicking “Add Me” in the upper-left-hand corner.

Overall, this is a brilliant campaign: Baffle your diehard fans enough that they’ll devote time and energy to cracking the code, setting off a viral avalanche of interest as people share their discovery across social networks.

[via Slashfilm]

More About: batman, Film, MARKETING, The Dark Knight Rises, viral marketing

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“The Social Network” Wins Big at Golden Globes


The Social Network was one of the big winners at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night, taking home four trophies, including those for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Globes is often viewed as a predictor for the Academy Awards.

The film, which was nominated for six awards, has had a stellar award season, with director David Fincher, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and lead actor Jesse Eisenberg all being recognized by various organizations, guilds and critics groups. Not bad for a movie most of us wrote-off as a joke back in 2008, eh?

Here is the rundown of nominations/wins that The Social Network received at the Golden Globes:

  • Best Supporting Actor: Andrew Garfield — Lost (Christian Bale won for The Fighter)
  • Best Score: Trent ReznorWon
  • Best Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin — Won
  • Best Actor, Drama: Jesse Eisenberg — Lost (Colin Firth won for The King’s Speech)
  • Best Director: David Fincher — Won
  • Best Picture, DramaWon

For those keeping track, nominations for the Academy Awards will be announced on January 25. We were convinced that The Social Network would be a major contender when we reviewed the film back in September, but after big wins at the Globes, the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and receiving honors from the National Board of Review and others, we’ll go on record as saying that nominations are an absolute lock.

Mark Zuckerberg might take issue with how the film portrayed the early years of Facebook, but in truth, the film and its critical and commercial success has only reinforced Facebook’s place in the cultural zeitgeist.

What did you think of the Golden Globe awards? Let us know.

More About: facebook, facebook movie, Film, golden globe awards, golden globes, Movies, the social network

Mashable Weekend Recap: 15 Stories You Might Have Missed


To help you avoid a severe case of the Mondays, we’ve gathered some of the most helpful articles from the weekend.

The weather’s getting chillier in most parts of America, and those precious weekend days are getting shorter. We hope you enjoyed the time you had, but it’s Monday morning now, so blogs and social media are about to light up with a seizure-worthy array of activity.

This weekend, Apple approved a BitTorrent app for the iPhone — sort of. The Social Network hit theaters and performed well enough at the box office and outstandingly well with critics. Celebrities joined Dan Savage in using social media to reach teens who face bullying, the T-Mobile G2 arrived a little early for some consumers and Verizon cleaned up after itself in the wake of a big billing mixup. We’ve also included some helpful resources and just-for-fun pieces to help you get up to speed.

Thanks for reading!

News Essentials

Helpful Resources

Weekend Leisure

More About: android, apple, Ben Heck, bittorrent, blogging, business, careers, dan savage, dead rising 2, digital marketers, entertainment, gaming, it gets better, jobs, MARKETING, mashable weekend recap, Mobile 2.0, piracy, social gaming, social good, social media, T-Mobile G2, tech, the social network, tumblr, twitter, usb, verizon, video games, web video

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“The Social Network” Hits Theaters: Mashable’s Complete Coverage


The Social Network arrived in theaters nationwide this weekend, pulling in $9 million in its first day as it opened first at the box office. The David Fincher-directed and Aaron Sorkin-written film about Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg might not be as entrenched in the social zeitgeist as Facebook itself, but it’s doing quite well so far.

Earlier this week Mashable hosted two early premieres for the film — one in San Francisco and one in New York City. Additionally, we’ve covered the best commentary from the filmmakers, interviewed composer Trent Reznor and reviewed the film at length.

Check out these stories to make sure you haven’t missed any of the buzz around this major motion picture about social media and entrepreneurship, then let us know what you think of the film if you haven’t already!


Reviews: Mashable, Tumblr

More About: Aaron Sorkin, box office, david fincher, facebook, Film, justin timberlake, mark zuckerberg, movie, Movies, music, opening weekend, the social network, Trent Reznor

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Mark Zuckerberg’s Version of “The Social Network” [PARODY]

If you’ve been interested in reading Mark Zuckerberg’s opinion on “The Social Network,” you might have to wait a while — the Facebook founder and CEO has stated he has no plans to see the movie. However, that hasn’t stopped the gang at Babelgum and Landline.TV from creating their own “The Social Network” parody, this time from Mark Zuckerberg’s point of view.

You can read our in-depth film review for our perspective on the real film, but we have to say, we liked this version of Mark Zuckerberg as an action hero too.

Who’s your favorite fictionalized Zuck? Let us know in the comments.

More About: Babelgum, facebook, landline tv, Movies, parody, the social network

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Exclusive: Trent Reznor on “The Social Network” [INTERVIEW]


Back when it was first announced that rocker Trent Reznor would be scoring David Fincher’s The Social Network, we thought it was a match made in pop culture heaven — a movie about the dark side of the social networking biz, scored by a man who has plumbed the depths of social media, while also wrestling with its implications? Sign us up.

Well, we got an aural glimpse at the soundtrack the other week after Reznor, along with his record company, The Null Corporation, and Sony’s Madison Gate Records announced the disc on Null Co’s website and gave fans a five-song sneak peek. Now we’re itching to see how music and celluloid go together.

As the premiere of the highly anticipated film rapidly approaches, we decided to talk with Reznor about the experience of scoring a movie in its entirety, the state of the music industry, and, of course, social media on the whole. Check out our interview with the rocker below.

First of all, you’re pretty well-known around the tech and music realm for finding interesting ways to use the web to get your music out. When did you decide to join the digital revolution?
Several years ago, I realized that the record companies are collapsing. The whole format of the business that I dedicated my life to is now collapsing in front of me and people are getting used to getting music for free. As a musician I thought to myself, ‘Let me figure this out.’ I know that answer’s not going to come from record labels, major labels, because they’re run as bloated bureaucracies with people who have no idea what they’re doing. Their first concern is: How do we keep our bottom line, how do we keep milking people?

It’s not about how the kid in the dorm room that likes to listen to music. Or how they find out about music…. They’re not thinking about the artist that finishes the record and turns it in and watches it leak…. I felt furious when the record I’d worked on for a year, that my heart and soul’s gone into, [leaked]. I’m pissed off at people that are listening to it. I’m mad that they’re snubbing me — by what? By being excited about hearing my music? And that’s wrong. I shouldn’t be mad at these people. I should be glad that people are interested.

And a lot of the business models that we’ve come up with, the experiments we’ve tried in the last few years, are just direct results of paying attention to how people use music and how they listen to music.

Well, it seems like you’re taking these lessons to heart. In the past, you’ve released albums in really creative ways — i.e. putting the first volume of Ghosts up on torrent sites, and then offering packages at varying prices for different tiers of fans. Why did you choose to release the soundtrack for the Social Network via Amazon’s deals program?
This record was unusual because it really is a companion piece to something else — and that something else, obviously, is the film. And the film is the main thing, really. So partnering with Sony — because at the end of the day they’re the ones calling the shots — we tried to get this out so that it might grab a little bit more attention than the run-of-the-mill soundtrack, because I also think it’s a great soundtrack.

So that felt to me that it was worth doing. It’s not compromising the integrity of it. It’s not buy a case of Mountain Dew and get a soundtrack if you send in a sticker or any of that kind of bullsh**t. So that’s what we did on that one.

Have you seen any negative reaction to the way the album was released?
I have seen some things pop up like, ‘Why is he doing that?’ and they feel like I took a step backwards. Well, bottom line: I want to be able to offer this to people at the cheapest possible price. And I can’t give it free because it’s not just me [involved], and I also I don’t think free is appropriate for this thing.

Speaking of the film, what was your initial reaction to the idea of a “Facebook movie”? A ton of people seem to think it’s kind of a silly idea.
I myself had the reaction when I got a call from David Fincher, who’s one of my very favorite directors, saying ‘Would you like to score this film?’
‘Yes! What is it?’
‘It’s about social networks. It’s about the founding of Facebook.’
‘Hmm… really? How can that be interesting?’”

When I actually read the script and knowing David was involved — and David brings a level of excellence to what he’s interested in and what he works on — I knew this wasn’t going to be what I feared it could be in lesser hands. [And it became]: How can I help change people’s preconceived notions of what a Facebook movie is — the same feeling I myself had when I first heard of it…. It’s not about Facebook, so much. It’s about people and greed and creation and entitlement. It’s not about how people use Facebook, necessarily.

This is the first movie you’ve ever scored in its entirety. Are you happy with the result?
It was interesting for me to not be boss. I’m not the top of the pyramid here. So, I enjoyed the role of working for someone, for someone else’s vision.

I wanted to make it something that inched up the drama a little bit. And darkened the mood. Because I think there’s a great sense of betrayal and greed that runs through this film that I kind of wanted to play up. So I went off into my laboratory for a few weeks with Atticus, my conspirator, and just generated a bunch of sketches… Somehow we got it right almost the first time. [David] didn’t have an constructive criticism because he was blown away in trying some of these out in different scenes. I would like to say it was genius, but it was probably luck.

My first big moment was right after we gave [the rough cut] to him. He said, ‘I’m showing a very early, super rough edit, come by and check it out. But watch out, we put a lot of your music in it and you had no input on where it it. Just be prepared.’ The lights go down, the movie comes on. And I got goosebumps and I was like, ‘F**ck, we did that?’

I’m very proud of the results and how it turned out. I think it really helped congeal the movie into something that subtly pushes it along and changes the presentation in a cool way. It makes it a little heavier. A little less light.

You have a pretty storied history with social media — you even quit Twitter and other sites a few times. What’s your ultimate opinion of the phenomena?
I can’t participate as a civilian because I have a level of celebrity that makes me not able to use Facebook in the way that someone who’s not a celebrity can use it. I watch people, friends of mine, and see how they portray themselves online and I find interesting that it’s kind of a hyper-real version of yourself, how you’d like to be seen, in a way. And I question the generation or two coming up who are used to engaging people in that format and wonder what the repercussions will be down the road — how human relationships will differ in an age of oversharing.

More About: david fincher, facebook, MARKETING, music, social media, sony, the social network, Trent Reznor

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Oxfam Takes to the Web to Raise Awareness About Hunger


Oxfam America has hit the web today to promote its Hunger Banquet program, which teaches citizens about poverty and hunger and how they can help those in need.

The first proxy of the Hunger Banquet — the Fast for a World Harvest — occurred in 1974, when 250,000 people across the U.S. fasted for a day or meal and donated their food money to Oxfam, an international relief and development organization that’s active in more than 100 countries.

Well, the organization has come a long way since then, today launching a (hopefully) viral video starring actress Charlyne Yi (Paper Heart, Knocked Up). The vid features music from Rogue Wave and Ra Ra Riot, and is hosted on a custom player created by Strategic Productions (who also produced the vid). The player allows viewers to join Oxfam within the video itself, making it easy to get involved. Oxfam will also be promoting the campaign via its Facebook and Twitter, as well as a centralized hub at oxfamamerica.org/hungerbanquet.

The website also includes a guide that explains how to create your own hunger banquet, encouraging folks to really turn this whole thing into a movement.

So what exactly is a hunger banquet? Basically, guests draw tickets that assign them to either high, middle or low income tiers (based on recent poverty stats). The 15% in the upper class get a big meal, the 35% in the middle class bracket are served rice and beans and the 50% in the low-income category receive only rice and water. Guests can also playact the role of the bracket they inhabit (the guide includes instruction on how to do this). At the end, everyone discusses their experiences and how to take action.

“For more than 35 years, the Oxfam America Hunger Banquet has been one of the best recognized and effective events, introducing tens of thousands of people to Oxfam’s mission and enabling them to help in the fight against hunger and poverty,” says Nancy Delaney, constituency outreach manager for Oxfam.

“Oxfam is re-vamping the way activists can take action with us, in order to reach out to a new generation — online toolkits and a centralized action hub will make it easier for everyone to find and host their own event, and our video campaign highlights the experience of the event and makes it easy for viewers to sign up right on the video player. This is all just the beginning of a new chapter of Oxfam’s outreach to the next generation of Hunger Banquet activists,” she adds.

We sat down with Charlyne Yi and Amy York Rubin, founder/CEO of Strategic Productions, via Skype to chat about the campaign. Check out our interview below. You can see the video the team created below.


Our Interview



The Video


Image courtesy of iStockphoto, jrmiller482

More About: facebook, social good, twitter, video, viral video

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“The Social Network” Movie Launches a Facebook-Themed Website


Columbia Pictures has just launched the official website for The Social Network, 500MillionFriends.com. David Fincher’s take on the Facebook story is highly anticipated by film fans and social media addicts alike.

The site opens into a large-form portal with photos, videos and cast information, all arranged in a very Facebook-like collage.

The new site carries on the same theme used in the teasers, trailers and TV spots for the film.

Words such as “Punk,” “Traitor” and “Genius” are displayed either as their own or overlayed over other photographs. The site also contains access to cast information, the official synopsis and cast publicity stills.

The Social Network will be in theaters October 1, 2010 and is already garnering rave reviews from Rolling Stone and Film Comment.

What do you think of the new site? will you be going to see the movie when it comes out? Let us know!

More About: facebook, facebook movie, Film, Movies, the social network

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“The Social Network” Movie Gets a New TV Spot [VIDEO]

We’ve seen the poster, theatrical teaser and the first official trailer; now a brand new 60-second TV spot for David Fincher’s The Social Network has hit the web.

The film, which arrives in theaters October 1, is an account of the early days of Facebook, chronicling its foundation and rise to prominence. While the other teasers for the film have centered around the larger idea of Facebook and what it represents, this spot is all about the central figure of the film — Facebook’s co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

While the story is largely about events that precede the current debates over privacy and site ownership, Columbia Pictures hasn’t been afraid to weave the film itself into the overall discussion surrounding the service and what implications it has on how we communicate.

Ironically, of course, the movie about Facebook actually cannot be advertised on Facebook (not directly anyway), because using elements of Facebook’s branding in third-party advertisements is against its terms of service. However, that hasn’t stopped the studio from using Twitter to promote the film.

Oh, and as ScreenRant notes, this latest spot for the film includes Kanye West’s latest single, “Power.” I wonder if Zuckerberg & co. knew that when Mr. West visited Facebook HQ earlier this week.

What do you think of the latest spot for this film? Will you see The Social Network in theaters? Let us know!


Reviews: Facebook

More About: david fincher, facebook, facebook movie, Film, movie trailers, Movies, the social network

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