Borders Bookstores have always been among my favorites: They have a killer magazine rack, good bargains on the kiddie books, my pal Lowell works at one, and hey, I’m not above pointing out that my book, Homemade Hollywood, is currently available at a Borders near you. Today, they announced something kinda cool: a Janet Evanovich fan film contest request:
To mark the June release of “Finger Lickin’ Fifteen,” Janet Evanovich’s newest Stephanie Plum novel, Borders is encouraging fans of the ultra-popular books to take a cue from Stephanie herself and get creative. The retailer is asking fans to honor their favorite lingerie-buyer-turned-bail-bondsman by creating a short, homemade movie based on the Stephanie Plum books and share the video with other fans on YouTube. The movies can be based on a character or scene from the books, or readers can really get creative and make up their own scenes.
.
To give fans some inspiration, Borders created its own action-packed Plum-inspired movie, complete with exploding cars and other vintage Evanovich moments. The movie includes an exclusive message from Evanovich and stars real-life Stephanie Plum fans—who also happen to be Borders staff members.
.
“We created our Stephanie Plum video to get fans excited about making their own videos of their favorite scenes or characters from the Evanovich books,” said Rich Fahle, vice president of Borders.com. “We had a lot of fun making this movie and our staff really got into their roles, right down to the New Jersey accents. Stephanie Plum fans have big imaginations, and that, along with their passion to see these books come to life on the big screen, will make for some interesting videos. I can’t wait to see what fans post on YouTube.”
.
After fans have created their videos and uploaded them to YouTube, they should send the links to Borders at [email protected]. Borders may share select videos with customers in the weeks leading up to the June 23 release of “Finger Lickin’ Fifteen” and beyond, via its “Shortlist,” a weekly e-mail to Borders Rewards loyalty program members, which now number more than 31 million.
So it’s not a contest per se, but your movie would get seen by a LOT of people. If nothing else, this is a great acknowledgement of the power of fan films, so a Big Thumbs Up for Borders!
Oh and as a little aside to Borders, hey, I wrote about your contest, so maybe you owe me, eh? Give Homemade Hollywood a little online love—you’ll sell books and I’ll become rich and hire people to blog for me. As the noted economic theorists The Pet Shop Boys once opined, “I got the brains, you got the brawn; let’s make lots of money.”
OK, well I tried.
SEE THE BORDERS STAFF’S STEPHANIE PLUM FAN FILM AFTER THE JUMP!
Here’s the first fan film made by Borders’ staff; what do you think of it? Share your thoughts below in the comments section!
[Youtube=yttz8IjK8Rw]
One Response to “Borders Wants Your Janet Evanovich Fan Films”