May 21, 2008 11:39AM
Start Your (Movie) Engine?
By Alexis Glick
What are the odds that the new installment of the Indiana Jones movie Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the Indy 500 race would all happen on one weekend in May? Maybe not that odd after all. Might it be planned? Might it make for one of the smartest marketing campaigns in the history of sports and media?
Doug Breshanan–Marco Andrett’s green director of sales and marketing–thought so. He read some articles about the month of May about a year ago and how everyone in Hollywood was calling May all things Indie. A light bulb went off and he thought why not bring Indiana Jones to the 500. Indie meets Indy. A “perfect” combination.
Doug contacted Lucas Films and Blockbuster and made it happen for race car driver Marco Andretti of the famed Andretti family. This weekend Marco’s car will be all things Indiana Jones as the movie is set to release tomorrow. A brilliant idea and one that is getting a TON of buzz!!!!!
Take a look at my interview earlier with Marco Andretti and Doug Bresnahan. Will we see more partnerships like this in the future and how did 21 year old Marco prepare to a drive a car with a movie franchise that was created BEFORE HE WAS EVEN BORN?
Comment by chuck
May 21st, 2008 at 12:03 pm
As a die hard movie fan Indiana Jones is going to be a big grosser for the Memorial day weekend. Just this week History Channel and Sci-Fi channel air interesting documentries related to Indiana Jones. Sci-fi aired a special on the crystal skulls and thier interesting history. But the History Channel’s Special Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest was interesting too. Becouse in the words of one scholor “Indiana Jones made histroy sexy.” The special explore the artifacts behind the raiders to the last crusade and there was historical fact behind those artifacts. Now the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls and what new history are we going to learn of the skulls in Indiana Jones era of 1957. Even better news the movie was extremely well recieve at Cannes Film Festival.
As for the Indy 500 I bet my mony on driver Danica Patrick.
Comment by patrick
May 21st, 2008 at 9:33 pm
for the new indiana jones, i keep imagining Cate Blanchett speaking English with a German accent in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull even though she’s supposed to be Russian