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An LA Observed reader sends word to expect a creative movie tie-in for the Brian De Palma film in the Los Angeles Times. More around than in, actually:
The Sunday Times' Calendar section will be wrapped in a facsimile vintage Black Dahlia special edition, complete with Times masthead from the time. It's covered with news articles from the day concerning the case and backed with a full-page ad for the upcoming movie. As we all know Hollywood takes liberties with the facts, even in historically based fare, so I'm wondering if the info in these 'articles' is true to fact or geared toward the facts as they're presented in the film. Across the page inside is a note to go to The Times web archives for more info. Altogether a very interesting Times/movie tie-in... can we expect more and how much was The Times enriched by the studio?
I was curious if the Times even used the "Black Dahlia" label back then, since the story was owned by the Examiner (reporter Will Fowler was first at the scene) and other papers first. 'Black Dahlia' first shows up in an LAT headline on Jan. 18, 1947, three days after the mutilated and drained body of Elizabeth Short was found in a field on South Norton Avenue. The story attributes the nickname to Long Beach neighbors who thought Short's black hair was flower-like and noted "her affinity for black garments." The first headline simply read "Girl Victim of Sex Fiend Found Slain" — and ran on page 2. The movie, with Mia Kirshner (from "The L Word") as Short, opens in September. Since no one knows what happened, the trailer fudges and calls the film "inspired by real events."
Robots aren't human: To accompany the recent Times story on homeless tents on Skid Row, the automated editor at LATimes.com put up links to "Camping" and "Outdoor Recreation" under Related News From the Web.
* Now a press release and a website: It's a joint production of the Times and Universal, with an editorial archive component at LATimes.com. "On Sunday Aug. 27, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday will wrap their respective movie sections with a special four-page advertising insert promoting "The Black Dahlia" microsite, which went live today at www.latimes.com/theblackdahlia, and which includes original Los Angeles Times stories about the case." Full release after the jump.
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Groundbreaking promotional campaign is the first using stories from the Los Angeles Times' extensive "Black Dahlia" archives
----- "The Black Dahlia" microsite goes live at latimes.com
Los Angeles, Aug. 25, 2006 - To help promote the Sept. 15 release of "The Black Dahlia," the Los Angeles Times and Universal Pictures today launched the first integrated print, online and out-of-home campaign using actual news stories -- pulled from the Los Angeles Times archives -- about the notorious and still unsolved "Black Dahlia" murder that stunned Los Angeles in 1947.
The Los Angeles Times, which maintains the most extensive archive of stories about the case, re-opened its Black Dahlia archive almost 60 years after the murder of aspiring actress Betty Ann Short, A.K.A, The Black Dahlia.
On Sunday Aug. 27, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday will wrap their respective movie sections with a special four-page advertising insert promoting "The Black Dahlia" microsite, which went live today at www.latimes.com/theblackdahlia, and which includes original Los Angeles Times stories about the case.
The three Tribune Publishing newspapers have a combined Sunday circulation of almost 2.7 million.
The microsite is a major component of the innovative month-long campaign and features:
* more than 50 Los Angeles Times articles originally published in 1947 and pulled from the newspaper's extensive Black Dahlia archives. The collection also includes a 1951 retrospective about the murder.
* the film's theatrical trailer, produced by Universal Studios, along with film stills.
* author James Ellroy narrating "A Look Back," a history of the case, and discussing the upcoming film adaptation of his book, "The Black Dahlia."
* a "Black Dahlia" downloadable map that guides visitors to the locations that played key roles in the murder investigation, from the original crime scene near Hollywood to City Hall to the Formosa Cafe.
Los Angeles Times/latimes.com Campaign
A robust latimes.com advertising campaign, which also began today, targets high-traffic areas of the website, including entertainment news, calendarlive.com and main news, and will provide the film with home page exclusivity the week of its release.
To support the online component, teaser ads will run in all print sections of the Los Angeles Times through Sept. 14. And, in the newspaper's five-county distribution area, 23,000 customized news rack cards and headers will support the promotional campaign at the single-copy point of sale.
"This is one of the most exciting pre-awareness promotions the Los Angeles Times has ever put together for a studio release," said Lynne Segall, Los Angeles Times vice president, entertainment advertising, "The credibility of The Times' extensive historical coverage, coupled with the ongoing fascination of this unsolved case, will help raise awareness of and interest in this film among moviegoers."
"The Black Dahlia story is a part of Los Angeles history that continues to captivate us today," stated Adam Fogelson, president of Marketing, Universal Pictures. "These archival pieces from the Los Angeles Times, like the film itself, provide an extraordinary opportunity for people to rediscover why the Dahlia case casts such a long spell."
About "The Black Dahlia"
Master storyteller Brian De Palma, known for such classic crime dramas as "The Untouchables," "Scarface" and "Carlito's Way," as well as his suspense thrillers "Carrie," "Dressed to Kill" and "Blow Out," directs this adaptation of the best-selling crime novel by James Ellroy ("L.A. Confidential," "American Tabloid").
"The Black Dahlia" weaves a fictionalized tale of obsession, love, corruption, greed and depravity around the brutal murder of ambitious silver-screen B-lister Betty Ann Short, A.K.A. "The Black Dahlia." The attack - so grisly that images of the killing were kept from the public - shocked and fascinated the nation in 1947, and remains unsolved today.
The film stars Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Swank. The film is rated R for strong violence, some grisly images, sexual content and language.
About Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (http://www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBC Universal. NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.
About the Los Angeles Times
The Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of nearly 2.2 million and about 3.3 million on Sunday. With its media businesses and affiliates - including latimes.com, TheEnvelope.com, Times Community Newspapers, Recycler Classifieds, Hoy, and California Community News - the Los Angeles Times reaches approximately 7.6 million or 58 percent of all adults in the Southern California marketplace every week.
The Los Angeles Times, which this year marks its 125th anniversary covering Southern California, is part of Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB), one of the country's leading media companies with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting. Additional information about the Los Angeles Times is available at www.latimes.com/mediacenter.