LOS ANGELES, Aug. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- POWSTER, an award-winning interactive creative studio/production company for more than 170 movie distributors, has released its collaboration with Universal Pictures for the global launch of first-to-market technology where you’ll need to say “Candyman” five times to summon the release of the final trailer for the terrifying new film, Candyman, set to be released this Friday, August 27.
Universal Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures present, in association with BRON Creative, a Monkeypaw Production, Candyman. Candyman is directed by Nia DaCosta (next year’s The Marvels) from a screenplay by Oscar winner Jordan Peele & Win Rosenfeld & DaCosta. The film, starring Yahya Abdul-Matten II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Colman Domingo, is produced by Ian Cooper (2022’s Nope, Us), Rosenfeld and Peele. The film’s executive producers are David Kern, Aaron L. Gilbert and Jason Cloth.
POWSTER’s activation utilizes first-to-market technology to give visitors to the Candyman film’s website an up-close-and-personal look at Candyman himself. Upon visiting the mobile homepage for idareyou.candymanmovie.com, visitors can activate the immersive experience by saying “Candyman” five times into a virtual mirror, just like the characters in the film do to summon Candyman. Available on your phone or desktop, the experience takes over the camera and microphone and, as you say his name, bees from the film swarm your face before Candyman is revealed and the exclusive final trailer for the film is unlocked.
POWSTER utilized Google Speech-to-Text software and integrated it with technology partner 8th Wall’s platform to make AR possible in a web browser, creating a one-of-a-kind experience. The voice-recognition software will recognize only the word “Candyman” in up to 120 dialects and six languages. 8th Wall’s WebAR Face Effects work in the browser on smartphones and desktop computers with a webcam. The experience also made use of 8th Wall’s in-browser media recorder allowing users to capture the scary moment and download a video to be shared.
“The activation utilizes technology that makes the interactive, heart-pounding AR elements available for everyone to access without downloading an app first, leading audiences straight to the film website; the natural next destination for more information, content and showtimes,” said Ste Thompson, CEO and Creative Director of POWSTER. “We’re excited to bring the anticipation and adrenaline rush of Candyman to life online, immersing audiences in the world of urban legends and creative storytelling.”
About POWSTER
POWSTER, part of Vista Group International (NZX & ASX: VGL), is an award-winning interactive creative studio and production company for over 150 movie distributors including all five major studios, streamers, broadcasters, brands and various major music labels globally. POWSTER’s platform enables over eight million consumers a week to discover cinema showtimes on official movie websites. POWSTER develops creative and engaging content such as music videos, websites, interactive experiences, and more. POWSTER has headquarters in both Los Angeles and London. To learn more, visit us at http://www.powster.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
About Candyman
Oscar® winner Jordan Peele unleashes a fresh take on the blood-chilling urban legend: Candyman. Filmmaker Nia DaCosta (Little Woods, next year’s The Marvels) directs this contemporary incarnation of the cult classic.
For as long as residents can remember, the housing projects of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood were terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. In present day, a decade after the last of the Cabrini towers were torn down, visual artist Anthony McCoy (Emmy winner Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; Watchmen, Us) and his partner, gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris; If Beale Street Could Talk, WandaVision), move into a luxury loft condo in Cabrini, now gentrified beyond recognition and inhabited by upwardly mobile millennials.
With Anthony’s painting career on the brink of stalling, a chance encounter with a Cabrini-Green old-timer (Colman Domingo; Zola, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) exposes Anthony to the horrific true story behind Candyman. Anxious to maintain his status in the Chicago art world, and spurred on by his white art dealer, Anthony begins to explore these macabre details in his studio as fresh inspiration for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifying wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.
About 8th Wall
8th Wall is an award-winning computer vision software company that makes it possible to build interactive web-based augmented reality (WebAR) that can be experienced on any smartphone—no app required. With the world’s largest augmented reality platform, 8th Wall supports over 3.5 billion smartphones and has been used by developers, agencies and creative studios to create AR activations for brands across industry verticals including retail, food and beverage, travel and tourism, automotive, fashion, sports and entertainment. Learn more about 8th Wall at www.8thwall.com.
Media Contact
Lindsay Davis
Lindsay@powster.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/43fce5c9-c34a-4bea-90c1-3859422b4041
A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4ea366fa-9367-402c-81c0-796e2fcb6e11
