Hollywood continues to hobble along without its actors, but in the meantime we still have movies that need promoting, so how else can a studio advertise its film without the stars? By resurrecting ancient memes, of course.
With the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in full swing, Paramount has turned to a pretty unique – if not slightly desperate – method to promote its upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. A video shared by IGN on Twitter shows a man who has supposedly just come out of a screening, and for anyone that used the internet around 2007 to 2008, his face should be very familiar.
One of the oldest figures from the golden age of memes has returned. The “I like Turtles” kid, now a fully-grown man, probably with a family and everything, dons his zombie makeup once again to recreate his iconic video. If you don’t remember the classic clip, allow me to jog your memory.
The original video was a pretty big deal, with thousands of people quoting it back then. It’s still a well-known meme that regularly gets used all the time. Or maybe that’s just me. Either way, it’s nice to see a legend back from beyond the grave.
Although as cool as it is, it’s indicative of the current state that the industry is in. With no actors to promote projects, studios are running out of ways to advertise new movies. While this fun little video will keep fans entertained for a while, it won’t last forever.
Some studios have even resorted to hiring scabs, which is a big no-no. If only there were some way to bring this strike to an end, like agreeing to the union’s terms perhaps? But who knows, that’s just my two cents on the matter.
