Snakes on a blog

[xiphias]

So, Lis tells me that, on one of the blogs she reads, someone linked to an interview in which Samuel L. Jackson said that he sometimes goes around to random blogs which are talking about Snakes on a Plane and comments on them, either anonymously or pseudonymously, talking up the movie and talking about himself as an actor, without letting people know who it is.

I thought about this for a minute.

IAN: So, wait. . . Samuel L. Jackson is astroturfing¹ his movie? But. . . astroturfing is usually a really scummy thing to do. Yet, somehow, this is cool. How the hell is astroturfing cool when Samuel L. Jackson does it.

LIS: Because he's Samuel L. Freaking Jackson, that's how.

IAN: Oh, right.

¹ "Astroturfing" is the process of commenting all over the place anonymously to make it sound like there's a widespread opinion about something, when it's actually just a handful of people, or a paid publicity firm, or something. The term means "fake grassroots" -- something that LOOKS like grassroots support, but isn't.

Comments

[madcaptenor.livejournal.com]

I remember being really pissed when they did this for The Passion of the Christ.

For the curious...

[cheshyre]

...here's the URL to the CNN video.

Warning: you may get an advertisement first.

[elynne.livejournal.com]

... that's just a little bit awesome. Especially for Snakes on a Plane, because seriously. :D

SLJ

[(Anonymous)]

He was on Jon Stewart last nite and said that

Links

[cheshyre]

Official Comedy Central videos: Part 1 and Part 2
or
Salon in one part

[burgundy.livejournal.com]

The thing is, there really is a lot of buzz about Snakes on a Plane - I mean, one of the theaters here did a "Blanks on a Blank" short film festival with open submissions. So he's not creating it artificially, he's just riding it.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Well, yes. . . but he also, apparently, helped START it. It became self-sustaining, but he helped artistically arrange the tinder, and strike sparks.

[madame-urushiol.livejournal.com]

Well said Lis! I'm not sure there's anything SLJ could do that wouldn't be cool. It just fits the whole cheesy, carnival atmosphere surrounding SOAP, because its a cheesy carnival kind of movie. I'd be annoyed if someone did that with something serious, though. The "Passion of the Christ" stuff was despicable.

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Totally apart from SOAP, this is a cool word. I have just posted to the Amer. Dialect Society's mailing list, quoting and linking to this post.

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

The term's been around for a while... sort of like "sock puppet." According to Wikipedia, the term was coined by Lloyd Bentsen.

How is astroturfing cool when Samuel L. Jackson does it?

[badmagic.livejournal.com]

Because, by doing it, he reveals he has lame moments too, just like us.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Because he looks like he's having so much fun with it.