Last week, observant New Yorkers saw what appeared to be men flying slowly overhead as a viral promotion for Chronicle, 20th Century Fox’s upcoming found-footage super hero film.
The contraptions – designed to look like people from a distance – were manufactured out of ultra-light plastics (each weigh about three and a half pounds) and model plane engines. The promotion went well, with many otherwise preoccupied New York denizens stopping to watch and photograph the flying machines.
Each day saw a different locale for the flying machines, hitting the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and south Manhattan for about five minutes each flight. The machines are clearly very slow and look more like people flying casually, rather than rushing to save the day.
One might have expected at least a few skittish folks to panic, but according to James Perclay of Thinkmodo, who produced the stunk at Fox’s behest, there was only curiosity.
“There were a lot of questions,” he said. “Tons of calls to New York media. But they were just questioning.”
Chronicle depicts the story of three friends who discover a powerful secret, and begin to develop telekinetic powers. When one of them turns villainous, it’s up to the other two to keep control.
The official synopsis is thus:
Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their darker sides begin to take over.
Chronicle, which stars Dane DeHaan (Jack and Diane), Michael B. Jordan (Red Tails), Michael Kelly (Man of Steel), Ashley Hinshaw (Cherry) and Alex Russell (Bait) was written by Max Landis (Good Time Gang) and directed by Josh Trank (The Kill Point).
Thinkmodo says it has plans to run yet more Chronicle flights this week in the lead up to the movie’s theatrical release on February 3, 2012.
