According to this video, we’re still safe, but it doesn’t seem like it will be that way for long. Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim has launched its first viral attack, and its official website is counting down to something that will happen in (as of this writing) about  2 weeks. Either a teaser trailer is going to launch, or a giant monster is going to take out San Francisco. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. It could be both. Or they might simply be testing the Kaiju Alert System. We all know how rusty that thing is, so it could all be routine. On the other hand, Total Film snagged this leaked memo where Great Britain Air Command has called down some serious mechanical back-up to aid the Pan Pacific Defense:

Behind the slick video, this first look at After Earth from M. Night Shymalan shows off a sci-fi flick with a lot of old ideas. Hopefully there’s a lot more to it than what’s on the surface. And isn’t that strange? We’ve now entered an era where we’re not necessarily anticipating a twist from Shymalan. The movie focuses on a character named Cypher Raige played by Will Smith. Now that you’ve stopped laughing, it takes place a thousand years after mankind left the Earth behind as Cypher and his son Kital (Jaden Smith) crash on the surface of the planet that their species used to run. Understandably, a lot has changed. Using Facebook Timeline for some reason, this video shows us how an alien ship gave a lot of 20th century technology, but ultimately led to our downfall. Because we broke the environment or something.

OmniCorp, the cuddliest weapons manufacturer, wants to know what you’ll buy for a dollar. They’ve just released this glossy sales video to celebrate their full system lines, including drones that can keep a watchful eye over your neighborhood, a massive tank-busting defense vehicle, and they’re even teasing a new program where human resources meet robotics. Personally, I’m glad we’ve got them in our corner to keep us safe. Check out the video for yourself:

Though Jay Roach’s upcoming political comedy is no longer called Dog Fight, it does still star Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as two Southern political rivals running for the same congressional seat, and it does still have the potential to be pretty hilarious. These days the movie is going by the name The Campaign, and it looks like it’s about to hit us with a pretty big marketing blitz. Facebook pages have been set up not just for the film itself, but also for the two fictional politicians that Ferrell and Galifianakis will be playing, Cam Brady and Marty Huggins. On each of their respective pages you can also find the politicians’ first TV ads, which exist somewhere in a state of limbo between viral ads and traditional trailers. What you’re getting is really just chunks of footage from the film slightly edited to look more like political ads than they do your typical movie trailer; so they’re not going to make even the most unwitting and least discerning advertising target think they’re watching anything other than footage from an upcoming movie.

After killing several police officers and District Attorney Harvey Dent, it’s time that the unknown vigilante known as The Batman be brought to justice. With Harvey Dent Day approaching, and you know, a new documentary called The Dark Knight Rises hitting theaters, Christopher Nolan and Police Commissioner James Gordon are renewing efforts to find the murderous man in black. This website has a ton of police files detailing the crimes as well as how you can help out. Primarily, they’re asking for people to search for evidence of graffiti in support of Batman in cities around the world. Addresses are given. If all the evidence is recovered, they’ll release a new video online (which is expected to be the trailer that will play ahead of The Avengers this weekend). Good to see Warners and company are having fun with the viral marketing again. Hopefully, with all of his resources, billionaire Bruce Wayne will be able to aid the effort.

It’s perhaps too spot-on that Los Angeles’ own Ukrainian Cultural Center also functions as a theater, with a big stage and grand Art Deco features nestled inside and outside of it. After all, I am here for some theatrics, but not the kind that take place on a stage or even on a screen – but the kind that require participation and collusion and even a healthy slice of delusion, even as they also beg for stories and plots and costumes. I am not here for a movie or a concert or a reading. I am here to join a cult.

As we all know, our streets are riddled with crime. You can’t even go down a dark alleyway without getting mugged or attacked by a roving troop of Improv Everywhere participants. What we don’t all know is whether or not we can trust the red-masked menace who calls himself Spider-Man to be a force for good. Is he really fighting crime or is he committing it? Either way, he’s inspiring local street artists to tag for him – leaving giant spray paint spiders on concrete walls all over the city – and inspiring Captain George Stacy to set up a hotline where citizens can call and report sightings in an attempt to bring in the man for questioning. According to The Daily Bugle, the number to call is 1-877-651-8503, and the police have even set up a website for Spider-Man tips. Check out the interview with Stacy as he explains why Spider-Man is dangerous and suggests the news team over at The Daily Bugle spend some time with a dictionary.

I’m not sure if there’s an award anywhere out there for thoroughness in marketing, but if it exists I would have to imagine the team promoting The Hunger Games has it in the bag. Back when the film was in pre-production they were sending out casting announcements seemingly every hour on the hour. It got to the point where they were releasing info on which local pizza delivery guys they were picking up to do extra work and which aspiring young nephew of a producer was coming on as a grip. Over the course of a couple of months “The Hunger Games” went from being just a series of cult novels to stoking the fire of revolution and becoming a genre movie blaze of passion sweeping across the dry planes of the World Wide Web. And now that the film is getting closer to release, their efforts have become even more refined. Case in point, these five district posters that Lionsgate has released on the Hunger Games Facebook page. If you remember, the crux of this story is about a future world, made up of 12 districts, that holds an annual tournament where two children from each district battle to the death on a big crazy game board. In order to hammer that point home, it looks like we’re going to get a poster countdown with a seal from each and every district being released over the course of the next who knows how long. And to support these efforts

A box just landed on my doorstep, and as the UPS man drove away, I opened it up to find a device that gets rid of germs on cell phones using some sort of UV light. Why would a marketing department send me that? Because inside was a USB drive containing the first trailer for Contagion – the forthcoming viral outbreak thriller from Steven Soderbergh. What better way to kick everything off? Plus, the trailer is gripping. Matt Damon brings the intensity, Laurence Fishburne brings the expertise, the rest of the cast (including Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard and Jude Law) bring anxiety, but behind every single performance is a major element of fear. Holy hell, this looks great:

As we all know, alien lifeforms will soon reach the planet and destroy us all in a feverish, blinding light or a hail of laser blasts. As usual, our only hope is a reckless pilot with magic jewelry. I’ve mentioned 3D Sound before, and this gem comes from Newton and District Astronomers. Give a listen and geek out a bit. The movie it’s promoting should be insanely easy to figure out (if you haven’t already). Pro tip: wear some headphones.

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we talk with independent film legend and Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman and then bad movie expert Eric D. Snider to try to figure out why we love stuff that’s so bad it’s good. Plus, Jeremy Smith from Aint It Cool and Germain Lussier from /film return to do battle in the Movie News Pop Quiz and discuss the brilliant or accidental viral marketing of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Let the swear words commence. Listen Here: Download This Episode

Film School Rejects has just received a message from the folks over at FlynnLives.com, the website at the heart of the latest viral marketing game associated with Disney’s upcoming sequel Tron Legacy. For a few weeks, the site has been counting down to a ‘zero hour’ that will reveal the next steps…

Ed Sanchez and Dan Myrick want to take us back into the woods. Is there anyway on earth we should trust them again? Should we leave bread crumbs behind?

You know how the site has been down for the past hour? We’re blaming Tron 2 and their awesome viral campaign.

We risk life, limb and no chance of parole in order to bring you this truly beautiful movie poster for Shane Acker’s 9. Plus, you can now befriend one of the film’s fictional characters on your social networking doohicky.

The folks behind Funny People have made a very funny fake sitcom featuring Jason Schwartzman’s character from the movie. Get ready to bring back that nostalgia for late 80s, early 90s classroom television.

An awesome reader named JJ sent over a link to this video earlier today which was posted on the website of 42 Entertainment, the company responsible for the ridiculously successful “Why So Serious” alternate reality game that led up to the release of last year’s highest grossing film, The Dark Knight.

Watchmen extras give us proof that the U.S. won the Viet Nam War, that flamethrowers make a handy accessory and that giant, blue supermen walk among us.

So there was a FedEx package at my door this morning, and inside of it was a little lockbox with a 50 Swedish Krona bill and a note.

Last year, we geeked out every month about The Dark Knight and its brilliant viral campaign. Now, Watchmen is giving us even more to geek out about in this retro news salute to Dr. Manhattan’s super powers.