Publicity Gone Wild: 10 Great Movie PR Stunts
In 1910, the head of an early movie studio spread the rumor that silent film actress Florence Lawrence had been killed by a streetcar in New York. After basking in the attention for a time, the studio, IMP, took out an ad and declared that Lawrence was alive and well. Lawrence soon became the very first movie star.
Since then, outrageous and ingenious publicity stunts have catapulted some films (think: The Blair Witch Project) to success.