"In the lobby of the Culver Theater, a tattooed barber named K.C. shaved heads bald in exchange for free tickets for Bugonia. First in line was Matt Lopez, a 29-year-old Disneyland ride operator. "Ever since I saw the trailer about six months ago, I'm like 'yeah, I'm definitely down for this,'" he said as his shoulder length brown locks were lopped off. "So if I'm able to see this early and get a free haircut at the same time, it's a no-brainer.""
"Over the years, movies have created buzz with other promotional stunts famously, a phony documentary for the 1999 horror movie The Blair Witch Project. The late director, David Lynch, once campaigned for his movie Inland Empire by chain-smoking on Hollywood Boulevard with a piano and a live cow. The latest stunts are experiences designed to become viral social media moments."
"The Bugonia promo was set up for Focus Features by TriplePlay Studios, the same company that hyped the creepy, supernatural horror film Smile in 2022. "We sent people to baseball games to sit behind home plate, knowing they'd be on camera," says Alex Craig, founder of TriplePlay Studios. "They just smiled for the entire baseball game." That whacky marketing stunt put TriplePlay Studios on the map."
Bugonia is the latest film by Yorgos Lanthimos. The dark comedy stars Emma Stone as a high-powered CEO who is kidnapped by a pair of cousins convinced she is an alien and who shave her head bald. A Culver City screening offered free early tickets in exchange for patrons having their heads shaved by a tattooed barber. Attendees described the experience as refreshing and were motivated by early access and free haircuts. Focus Features hired TriplePlay Studios to stage the promotion. TriplePlay previously used viral-friendly stunts for Smile and organized treadmill screenings for The Long Walk.
Read at www.npr.org
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