'FINAL DESTINATION 3' Strikes Fear Into the Hearts of Online Fans Beginning Friday, January 13

'FINAL DESTINATION 3' Strikes Fear Into the Hearts of Online Fans Beginning Friday, January 13

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- There will be no escaping "FINAL DESTINATION 3" this Friday the 13th, when New Line Cinema launches aggressive online initiatives to promote the upcoming thriller.

"Friday the 13th plays into the key themes of this film -- no one can escape death's design and if you cheat death, it will come back to get you," said Gordon Paddison, Executive Vice President, Integrated Marketing for New Line Cinema. "Superstitions are very compelling, so all these promotions have some fun with that idea."

The marketing campaign for this third installment of the "Final Destination" franchise kicked off with a teaser web site and exclusive trailer debut on Apple Quicktime Trailers around the Thanksgiving holiday. That effort generated more than two million trailer views in less than a month and has the fright fans eagerly anticipating the official website launch on Friday, January 13th, at www.fd3movie.com.

Fans who enter the official site can board the full-frame roller coaster video after entering their name and birthdate "in case something should happen." When they exit the site by clicking "let me off!" the video shows the coaster coming off the rails and ends with the visitor's personalized epitaph.

Taking this one step further, visitors are able to "Send Death To A Friend." The friend receives an email encouraging them to check out a "wicked coaster crash video." Upon viewing the end of the video, they are faced with their own personalized epitaph with their name, birthdate and year of death (2006) already filled in.

The web site main content screens have full-frame video backgrounds; on exiting any section, the visitor can view a frightening video tease of one of the film's character's death sequences, stopping just before the end is revealed. Visitors can also download free "Screamtones" for their mobile phones, including a selection of the best screams from the film. For the most rabid fans, hidden gems are imbedded in the site for those who dare to look. (Hint: type the number 180 at any point during the website experience and the site will flip over and reveal hidden content.)

The Friday the 13th scares will permeate the web with "FINAL DESTINATION 3" and "death is coming" messaging when New Line Cinema launches programs on targeted niche sites such as Bloody-Disgusting.com, Chud.com, and Horror.com. Many of these sites will also launch a video montage list of things "not to do" on Friday the 13th, based on the ways characters have died in previous "Final Destination" films.

Ominous "FINAL DESTINATION 3" countdown banners will infect the web with a terrifying tally of the roughly 150,000 people around the world who will die this fateful day (according to the WHO World Health Report).

Fans can also freak out their friends with a "What's Your Dark Side?" email with 13 questions designed to reveal a person's "dark side" via their responses to questions like "Do you think you've ever cheated death?" and "Assuming you could choose, how would you like to die?" Forward your honest answers to 13 of your darkest friends to escape death's clutches, or ignore the game, and Friday the 13th will curse you!

A major sweepstakes across dozens of these scary sites will give away a "FINAL DESTINATION 3" prize pack that includes the "FINAL DESTINATION 1" and "FINAL DESTINATION 2" DVD set and a grand prize of a Panasonic entertainment set.

Set six years after the original "FINAL DESTINATION" film, the latest installment in the successful Final Destination franchise centers around a high school senior who has a premonition of a fatal roller coaster accident involving herself and all her friends. When the premonition proves true, those who have "cheated death" and survived the accident are forced to deal with the repercussions of escaping their fate. "FINAL DESTINATION 3" stars Ryan Merriman ("The Ring Two") and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. The film, directed by James Wong ("Final Destination"), is scheduled for a February 10, 2006 release.

About New Line Cinema Corporation:

Founded almost 40 years ago, New Line Cinema is the most successful independent film company in the world. Its mission is to produce innovative, popular and profitable entertainment in the best creative environment. In addition to the production, marketing and distribution of theatrical motion pictures, the fully-integrated studio has divisions devoted to home entertainment, television, music, theater, merchandising and an international unit. In 2005, New Line partnered with HBO to form Picturehouse, a new theatrical distribution company to release independent films. A pioneer in franchise filmmaking, New Line's Oscar-winning "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy is one of the most successful film franchises in history. New Line is a division of Time Warner, Inc. (TWX).

Contacts:
Nicole Butte Candice McDonough
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema
Director of Interactive Marketing Director, Publicity and Corporate
310-967-6620 Communications
310-967-6991

Source: New Line Cinema

CONTACT: Nicole Butte, Director of Interactive Marketing,
+1-310-967-6620, or Candice McDonough, Director, Publicity and Corporate
Communications, +1-310-967-6991, both of New Line Cinema

Web site: http://www.fd3movie.com/

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