The NHL and Paramount Pictures announced a historic partnership today, to promote Mike Myers upcoming film "The Love Guru," which is due out on June 20th. The NHL will include co-branded spots airing on NHL TV telecasts (NBC, Versus, CBC and TSN), online, in arenas, exclusive NHL.com content, and retail activations. All of which are designed to promote the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In the movie, Mike Myers plays an American left at the gates of an Indian ashram, who is subsequently raised by Hindu Gurus. He then moves back to his homeland to try his hand at the self-help/spirituality game, hoping for fame and fortune (I thought gurus weren't supposed to care about that kind of stuff!!!). His quirky methods are put to the test when he is hired by Toronto Maple Leafs owner Jane Bullard (played by the lovely Jessica Alba) to settle a rift between Maple Leafs star player Darren Roanoke and his estranged wife. After they split, she starts dating LA Kings player Jacques Grande (played by Justin Timberlake) to get revenge, sending him into a tailspin. Pitka must work his magic to get Roanoke back on track so the Leafs can break their curse and win the Stanley Cup (lol, LAUGH OUT LOUD! ya right!!!!!!!!).
I dug up the preview for the movie from Youtube right here:
The movie itself looks ok. It looks like Myers has took a lot of jokes from his Austin Powers series (ie. when he makes fun of the midget) and used them in the movie. Jessica Alba seems quite genuine, and the golden underwear or cup is just hilarious! I'm not to big on Justin Timberlake's acting from seeing the preview but maybe he will prove me wrong in the movie.
For the NHL from a business perspective this is great! A lot of people rightfully criticized the league when it failed to capitalize on the success of "Miracle." The NHL made sure that would never happen again, as it signed a deal with the William Morris Agency coming out of the lockout. The intent was to build bridges and relationships in Hollywood. This relationship resulted in the NHL co-promoting 300 last summer, and in the charity celebrity hockey game at the Sundance Film Festival this year, headlined by NHL legend "Lucky" Luc Robataille. The NHL also smartly got Jerry Bruckheimer to advise them on entertainment related decisions. This movie will insure that mainstream America gets more exposure to the sport. Having three of the most recognizable actors in America taking part in this movie certainly doesn't hurt! Getting more attention definitely helps build the next generation of hockey fans, and with the fortunate timing of the movie being released around the Stanley Cup Finals it could increase ratings and attention.
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Tuesday, April 15, 2008
NHL Paramount Pictures Partner to Promote the "Love Guru"
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2 comments:
Can Justin skate? Well, not necessarily the type of hockey movie I'd hope for... but promo is promo... let's see what happens with it.
Hey 7th woman! It an honor to have you comment on my blog! It was funny, I was just thinking of you, I was wondering whether you might be interested in all thats gone down in the NHL, from the business end of course ;) !
Anyways, I agree about the movie. It will be interesting to see how that plays out. One point I didn't think of when I was writing the post, was, whether the NHL would be affected adversely if the movie flops. Usually any publicity is good publicity, but the NHL is in a fragile state from a PR perspective. At least thats what many in traditional media would have everyone believe. It will be interesting to see how things shake out. Anyone, have any thoughts on that?
PS I know you're an Islanders fan, but I'm wondering, are you cheering for the Rangers? I mean, you know from a *business* perspective, they would probably do the most good for the league, particularly with tv ratings. LOL, I probably shouldn't ask, don't want to get you riled up!
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