Tropic Thunder Pours Out the Booty Sweat
Paramount Pictures is hoping Booty Sweat leaves a good taste in America’s mouth. (We know, it felt disgusting just writing that.)
The studio has announced plans to market a real version of the aforenamed energy drink that can be spied periodically throughout the upcoming Ben Stiller-directed comedy Tropic Thunder, starring Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black as actors who get left behind in an actual war zone after ticking off the director of the war film they’re supposed to be acting in.
While product tie-ins and increasingly viral marketing campaigns are nothing newwhat would McDonalds and Burger King do without Disney, hobbits and superheroes?Paramount believes that by actually creating a usable product to promote an upcoming film, not to mention one that will compete against Rockstar and Red Bull, they’ve broken the mold.
“Not to my knowledge has this ever been done before,” Paramount’s president of consumer products, Michael Corcoran, told Advertising Age. “We’re very excited, because it has the potential to live for quite a while, well beyond the film.”
Products such as Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator, the crops-killing Gatorade-like substance in the 2006 Mike Judge comedy Idiocracy, have hit stores before, but usually not until long after a film’s release, once fans are more familiar with the concepts. Brawndo just debuted in December, while Sex Panther, named after Paul Rudd’s most outré cologne in Anchorman, won’t be on shelves until September, and the film premiered in 2004.
But you’ll actually be able to chug a can of cherry-tinged Booty Sweat while watching Tropic Thunder, which rolls into theaters Aug. 15.
It will be available in two different cansone designating an urban flavor that will pump up a “brotha’s ass right-pronto” and the other promising simple energy for a more staid crowdin college bookstores, the retail outlets Hot Topic, Wherehouse and Coconuts and through Amazon.com. A few hundred thousand cases have been produced so far.
Iron Man Soars to $300 Million
The biggest movie of the summer just became the biggest movie of the year.
Iron Man became the first film of 2008 to pass the $300 million mark at the domestic box office today.
The Robert Downey Jr. career-resuscitating, comic-book adaptation had grossed an estimated $299.3 million through Tuesday, per the number crunchers at Box Office Mojo, and should have reached the milestone by the time you read this.
Wednesday’s totals were not yet available, but the film has so far made no less than $680,000 per day in ticket sales, meaning if the Marvel flick didn’t hit the mark last night, it’s a statistical certainty it will do so today.
Worldwide, the film has grossed an additional $250 million, bringing its global gross to more than $550 million.
And yes, a sequel is on its way.
Diaz, Downey, Jackman Flex Star Power
A slew of A-listersand one animated iconare gearing up for a different kind of starring role.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce unveiled its slate of 25 stars set to receive, well, stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year in the categories of motion pictures, television, recording and radio.
The motion picture category welcomes the biggest influx of stars: Robert Downey Jr., Cameron Diaz, Hugh Jackman, Ralph Fiennes, Sir Ben Kingsley, William H. Macy, Tim Burton, Leslie Caron and Tinkerbell (the Peter Pan character, not Paris Hilton’s dog…though, never say never) comprise this year’s class of 2009.
On the television side, reality show über-producer Mark Burnett is set for immortality in pavement, as are veteran sitcom writer Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men), Desperate Housewives’ Felicity Huffman (who, with hubby Macy, will be receiving his and hers stars next year), CSI’s William Petersen, The Closer’s Kyra Sedgwick andhave mercyJohn Stamos.
The recording honorees include Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Shakira, the Village People, Rush, Dave Koz, the Miracles and Doug Morris.
Radio welcomes just two new entrants to the famed walk, Bill Handel and comic-actor and all-around Simpsons power player Harry Shearer.
No dates have yet been set for the individual star unveilings.
25 New Stars In Hollywood
There are 25 people (or, groups of people, depending on how you look at it!) set to receive their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. Each year, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s Walk of Fame Committee chose the recipients, who are then ratified by the board of directors.
The new recipients are:
Hugh Jackman, Ben Kingsley, The Village People and Tinkerbell, along with Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Cameron Diaz, Robert Downey Jr., Tim Burton, Leslie Caron, Charles Durning, Ralph Fiennes, William Petersen, Kyra Sedgwick, John Stamos, Mark Burnett, Chuck Lorre, Kenny “Baby Face” Edmonds, Dave Koz, The Miracles, Doug Morris, Rush, Shakira, KFI radio personality Bill Handel and KCRW host Harry Shearer, who also provides voices for characters on “The Simpsons.”
Congrats to everyone!