News Corp to muster all units for “Simpsons” film
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – In the months before 20th Century Fox launches its big-screen version of “The Simpsons” next year, parent company News Corp. plans to muster every part of its entertainment empire to promote the film, president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin said Tuesday.
In so doing, News Corp. will maximize the marketing muscle of its various divisions while allowing them to benefit from the halo effect of the popular cartoon franchise, Chernin explained.
Speaking at the Deutsche Bank Media & Telecommunications Conference that was available via Web cast, Chernin said News Corp. held a three-hour meeting last week with about 40 executives from across the company, including its licensing, home video, book, satellite TV and broadcast network operations from around the world, as well as the film’s executive producer, James L. Brooks, to discuss broader strategies related to the film’s release.
By looking for synergies within the company, Chernin told investors that News Corp. could win several hundred million dollars in incremental revenue from the “Simpsons” film during the next couple of years.
Fox unveiled the July 27, 2007, release date of “The Simpsons Movie” on March 31 via an animated 28-second teaser debuted before screenings of Fox’s “Ice Age: The Meltdown.”
It was Brooks’ idea that a surprise teaser would be a better way of announcing the film than using a conventional news announcement.
Chernin’s comments about the release strategy behind the “Simpsons” film — among the first tidbits that have emerged about it — came as part of a broader defense by the executive Tuesday of the value of having various units of entertainment giants work together despite recent remarks from top sector executives who have questioned the value of such efforts.
While pointing to the successful recent launches of “Meltdown” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” as evidence that his firm does “a better job than anybody” in bringing the power of various media operations together behind a film, Chernin said “Simpsons” offered a particularly big opportunity thanks to its status as “one of the most valuable … content brands in the world.”
“The great thing about the ‘Simpsons’ (film) is it is an opportunity to go both ways,” he said. “We can not only use those parts of the company to help us launch that movie, but we can use the movie to help us increase the value of the brand” across the various News Corp. media platforms that offer “Simpsons” content.
Chernin said the entertainment titan will use what he called a “pulse campaign” to release key details about the movie and promote it in three waves, which will happen in November, February and May TV sweep periods.
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