6 of the Wildest Movie Publicity Stunts in History

Long before the phrase “viral marketing” became a fixture in our lexicon, Hollywood had already started perfecting the art. Blending performance, publicity, and outright fabrication, these Hollywood publicity stunts certainly grabbed the audience attention in one way or another. 

1. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
2. Harry Reichenbach’s The Revenge of Tarzan promo
3. John Waters’s “Odorama” 
4. Paris Hilton in House of Wax (2005)
5. Pretty Much William Castle’s Entire Career 
6. Psycho (1960) 

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Shot on a shoestring budget of just $60,000 (or less), 1999’s The Blair Witch Project utilized its low-budget, found footage stylings to launch one of the most lucrative guerrilla marketing campaigns in cinematic history. Grossing nearly a quarter of a billion dollars globally, the film’s huge success can be attributed in large part to the controversial marketing campaign producers devised. 

Following three young film students on their investigation into a local urban legend (the titular Blair Witch), promotional material for the film falsely presented the film’s footage as authentic and even listed the actors as missing and presumed deceased. 

One of the first films to use the internet as a serious means of marketing, producers on the film partnered with a public relations firm to graft dozens of fictionalized newsreels and pieces of “evidence” for a website purporting the film’s authenticity. 

Despite the film’s massive box office success, the project’s three stars (actors Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams), were reportedly scarcely compensated for their work. When the breakout film crossed the $100 million mark at the box office, Artisan sent the actors a fruit basket as a way of thanks. Shortly thereafter, the trio decided to sue Artisan for unfair treatment, each later receiving a $300,000 payout as a result.

Harry Reichenbach’s The Revenge of Tarzan promo

Often regarded as one of the forefathers of movie publicity stunts, publicist and producer Harry Reichenbach made his career out of provoking the public in the name of film promotion. Repping actors like Rudolph Valentino, Ethel Barrymore, and Charlie Chaplin, one of Reichenbach’s most memorable stunts came about in 1918 when Reichenbach was tasked with stirring up publicity for the film The Revenge of Tarzan. 

Ahead of the film’s release, Reichenbach hired an actor to check into New York City’s Hotel Belleclaire under the name “Thomas R. Zann.” Claiming to be a visiting concert pianist with a peculiar diet, Mr. Zann informed the hotel staff he would need to have a large crate containing his piano hoisted into his room so he could rehearse, alongside pounds of raw meat to fulfill his peculiar diet. Hotel staff initially acquiesced to Mr Zann’s strange requests, but after being tipped off by a journalist, security forced their way into the room, discovering a live lion. 

The actor went on to explain to the hotel and clamoring press that the lion would be making an appearance at the forthcoming The Revenge of Tarzan premiere. 

Later in Reichenbach’s career, his stunts would grow more outlandish, sometimes landing him in hot water with the authorities after staging the kidnappings of starlets and planting fake suicide notes. 

John Waters’s “Odorama” 

Inspired by another director on our list, William Castle, cult filmmaker John Waters devised a befittingly grimy promotional gag to support his 1981 black comedy Polyester. Aptly named “Odorama,” Waters devised scratch-and-sniff cards featuring scents like roses, flatulence, and glue to accompany screenings of the film.

Numbered one through 10, audience members were instructed to scratch and sniff different parts of the card at varying points in the film to give them a full sensory experience of Waters’s Polyester. 

Starring drag artist and frequent Waters’s collaborator Divine as neurotic housewife Francine Fishpaw, Odorama also reflects Francine’s keen sense of smell, a central element of the film’s plot. 

Paris Hilton in House of Wax (2005)

At the zenith of her tabloid fame, socialite and media personality Paris Hilton took a minor role in the 2005 slasher flick House of Wax. Fresh off the first two seasons of her seminal reality television show The Simple Life, Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra’s directorial debut marked Hilton’s first foray into film. 

A divisive figure at the time of her casting, producers for House of Wax capitalized upon Hilton’s notoriety, promoting the film with posters emblazoned with the words “See Paris Die.” Hilton herself reveled in her character's memorable and grisly demise, selling her own “See Paris Die” merch while promoting the film. 

Despite a lukewarm critical reception, the film was a financial success, bringing in $70 million at the box office against a $40 million budget. 

Pretty Much William Castle’s Entire Career 

Arguably the most prolific PR stuntman in Hollywood history, filmmaker William Castle made much of his career on staging outlandish promotional stunts to drum up interest in the low budget horror and thriller films he’d produced.

Castle began his career producing for large studios like Columbia before venturing out to produce his own films independently. Knowing he’d never be able to match the budgets of gargantuan production studios like Columbia and MGM, Castle began devising quirky stunts and gags to set himself apart. 

After mortgaging his home, Castle was able to fund his 1958 film Macabre, stirring up interest in the film by arranging for ticket holders to each be given a certificate for a $1,000 life insurance policy should they die from fight during the film’s screening. 

Castle later took the gags even further, pulling stunts like having vibrating chairs installed at theaters screening his film The Tingler, or distributing voting cards to audiences seeing Mr. Sardonicus asking they vote on whether one of the film’s characters lives or dies. 

Psycho (1960) 

When legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock released his 1960 film Psycho, he issued a very particular edict to the theater’s screening the film: no late admissions. Hitchcock reportedly issued the order to preserve the surprise of the film’s unforgettable opening featuring actress Janet Leigh. Hitchcock had featured Leigh heavily in promotional material, hoping to shock audiences with the starlet’s early demise. 

Hitchcock was known to meticulously manage the promotion of his beloved films, often restricting actors from doing press to preserve an air of intrigue. While some theaters were initially resistant to the idea under the presumption it would stymie ticket sales, the stunt had the inverse effect, ramping up interest in Hitchcock’s latest work further. 

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