Universal decided to promote its movie "Fourth Kind," about real live actual alien abductions in Alaska that actually happened, by publishing a fake archive of fake news stories from real Alaska papers, purporting to report on the fake things that happened in the fake movie. Then the real Alaska papers were like, whoa, hey, pretty sure we didn't write any real obits of fictional characters lately, and Universal was like, ha, you're right, we're giving $20k to the Alaska Press Club to show you how sorry we are. The studio also vowed to pull all the fake stories off the internet, but, of course, you can still find some cached on Google.

The Tribune Co. is very interested in expressing outrage over any Hollywood movies that may choose to use fake LA Times headlines to recount any imaginary tales of murder, scandal, or disaster, whether human or alien. Call them.

Every new messaging has brought studio complaints about how they're being killed with "word of mouth." Before Twitter, it was text messaging, Facebook, MySpace, "the web," email and, for all we know, AOL, television, FM radio, the telegraph and the passenger pigeon, which prevented hucksters from getting people to hand over money for what they think will be a good show, but really isn't.

So, here's the latest incarnation: Did you tweet about your disappointment in a movie, like Bruno? Did all your friends tweet back in agreement?

According to social media specialists, Universal is mad at you for driving away 73% percent of Bruno's ticket sales! When movie-goers take to their micro-blogging sites and hurl instant critiques at helpless studios, all their marketing machinery is rendered impotent. Some of this summer's alleged victims have included Bruno, Land of the Lost, and Year One.

After mega advertising campaigns, months of free publicity from hungry media outlets (and web sites looking for cheap content!), specialists hired to create Facebook fan pages and Twitter feeds, people insist on slagging summer movies on Twitter. Like, all Sascha and Universal wanted to do was expose the ugliness that lives in your heart through various stunts involving dildos and terrorists. Then you had to go off and mean about it. What's a matter with you?!

So how have the studios tried to harness the awe-striking a wrathful power of Twitter? Here's an example:

With Year One, Sony at first tried to get in on the action and created a promotional Year One twitter account that would cull all the posts tagged with "#yearone. Sad for Sony, though, most of those tags were attached to disparaging statements. So they tried to pivot and create their own Year One twitter meme!

But no amount of tweet co-opting could save the floundering flick (full disclosure, I have a soft spot for Biblical comedies that have fantastic Oliver Platt cameos, so I dug it — you're welcome, Sony!) But let's be honest here, Studios. Just between you and me, nobody else is listening right now: you really didn't expect that many people to go continue to see a shitty movie after it opened, right? You must have known that eventually people would talk. They'd tell other people how little they liked Will Ferrell screaming at the sky. Again. And though the time between seeing said shitty movie and then telling your buddies about how shitty the movie maybe has shortened thanks to twitter, you must have known from the beginning that you were pushing a shitty product.

So really there's only one way to combat the Twitter effect: Stop making shitty movies.

P.S. I really laughed during Land of the Lost! Sorry no one else did, Universal!

Christian bingo enthusiast Richelle Olson filed a lawsuit against Cohen and the studio last month, claiming that a Brüno-caused ruckus at a supposed Christian bingo tournament (organized as a trap by the filmmakers) resulted in a head injury that caused brain damage, leaving her confined to a wheelchair or walker.

The producers of the film have since countered with a tape showing that Ms. Olson was not injured as a direct result of the cameras or the character (the scene was cut from the movie, so we wouldn't have ever seen it either way). But Olson and her dogged lawyer persist! Even if Dr. Fashion didn't push her down himself, it's his fault that she fainted and hurt herself. In a letter sent to Universal (and, we guess, to the Hollywood Reporter), Olson's lawyer says her case still has merit:

Click images for larger

Ohh, so it happened after. Hm. So the lawsuit is bullshit, but still the lady has a right to be angry. Sure a bunch of Christian idiots getting fussed about some gay dude is lame on them, but said gay dude really going to every extreme length possible to rile and upset people isn't really comedy in the same way a big fat bully slapping a kid over and over again and saying "stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself" isn't comedy.

Brüno had his moments in the sun during the long-ago run of Da Ali G Show, sure, but his big feature length movie just felt way too forced and booby-trapped. The laughs are supposed to come from the hideously unprovoked things Americans are capable of saying and doing. But haranguing three unwitting hunters for a few hours, then showing up naked, condoms in hand, at one of their tents? Totally understandable to get yelled at for that one.

So Brüno is dead. There you have it.

Chatter has surfaced in recent years — specifically, since festival pickup Crash overtook Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture in 2005 — that the studios no longer wield the alacrity to bump off leaner, smaller awards hopefuls among an evolving Academy membership. It's not quite that simple, of course; Warner Bros. nabbed two wins in three years with Million Dollar Baby and The Departed, and was on the bubble this year with The Dark Knight and Gran Torino. Paramount led the nomination count and box-office tally with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Universal pushed Frost/Nixon into the Best Picture running at the expense of mini-major entries including Doubt and Revolutionary Road.

But it's not an honor just to be nominated (or simply considered) for those studios' respective bosses Alan Horn, Brad Grey and Ron Meyer. And while Fox's Tom Rothman surely appreciated Searchlight's Slumdog sweep and maybe Space Chimps' appearance in the animation montage, some consideration for his $120 million epic Australia would have been nice. However, being in the Oscar business requires a fresher approach than greenlighting today for awards season two years away. The short view is the new long view, meaning that for a handful of 2009 films, the future might be now:

· The Informant and The Human Factor: Warner's close calls last year did little to conceal the embarrassment of closing its boutique Warner Independent Pictures and selling off Slumdog Millionaire to Fox Searchlight. But at least Horn and Jeff Robinov were honest: They don't have a clue how to handle small films, and this year — with Steven Soderbergh's whistleblower intrigue The Informant and Clint Eastwood's working-titled Nelson Mandela biopic — they won't have to. The latter film in particular, reuniting Eastwood with Morgan Freeman, is prime-cut Oscar bait. Worst-case scenario, they overblow the hype (see: Changeling) and foot-soldier Soderbergh moves in. Either way, at least one studio is covered for — and invested in — the '09 derby.

· Public Enemies: Focus Features has done well by its parent Universal, finding awards love for Milk and In Bruges while exceeding box-office expectations this month with Coraline. But the studio had higher hopes for Changeling and all but conceded Picture, Actor and Director categories to Frost/Nixon's front-running competitors. They could go either way with this year's awards crop, perhaps led by Michael Mann and Johnny Depp's '30s-era crime drama Public Enemies. Test screenings are mostly positive, and the principals are perennial Oscar darlings. But the midsummer release date will either defuse its chances or, in a fairly fresh studio strategy, get out way ahead of the late-year glut — kind of like Dark Knight without the billion-dollar fluke factor.

· The Green Zone: Another Uni hopeful, reteaming Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass for a story about life inside Baghdad's occupation stronghold. Everybody knows audiences are allergic to Iraq films, but the Bourne overlap is enticing, and it doesn't need to make a fortune for the Academy to buy in. It may be an even surer thing than Public Enemies. In any case, it's cheaper — not mini-major cheaper, but definitely leaner, with more approachable talent, and perhaps that much more competitive.

· Up: Disney/Pixar will always face resistance from Academy purists, happy with the animated ghetto that contained WALL-E while bitterly maligned films like The Reader snuck into the Best Picture running. It can't last forever, though, and even if Up — another summer release with a potentially long shadow — can't amass its predecessor's plaudits, it'll bend the resistance a few degrees closer to breaking. Expect Pixar to follow its own WALL-E lead, launching this year's first "For Your Consideration" salvo by mid-fall.

· Avatar: December will welcome James Cameron's first film in 12 years, during which time the filmmaker designed Avatar's 3-D motion-capture technique essentially from scratch. It's got at least a visual effects Oscar in the trophy case, but why stop there? If The Dark Knight can cut an awards-season trail, what's a $40 million campaign on top of the couple hundred million onscreen? That is, unless it's abrogated its awards legend to Searchlight, getting out of the Australia business in favor of the Marley and Me trade. It wouldn't be the worst strategy. And if we haven't gotten over it already, we will.

EW mentioned the whispers this afternoon, including the security measures surrounding yesterday's circulation of the script (co-authored by Hill's partner Max Winkler): A handful of studio bosses received the comedy printed on "red, watermarked paper" that couldn't be copied, lest anyone know anything about the tale of "four 20-something guys who, inspired by a book of the same name, set out overseas in search of a mysterious location described in the book."

In other words, Uni bought an R-rated Goonies update with a surfeit of dick jokes and probably loose commitments from Hill, Michael Cera, James Franco and Seth Rogen to star. But don't tell anybody! Jay Baruchel will get his hopes up that someone has a scheduling conflict or something. Remember: Top. Secret.

• Jonah Hill script sells for seven figures to Universal [EW]

—The announcement arrived this morning, with Disney slotting six 'Works films per year, as per its usual. The first will arrive next year under the Touchstone banner, and Disney has committed to fronting P&A costs that provided one of several sticking points in the ongoing negotiations with its previous suitors at Universal.

—Regarding that relationship, Kim Masters's Daily Beast survey notes swaths of scorched earth trailing Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider after months of failed negotiations with Uni boss Ron Meyer. Aside from the outstanding $250 million loan that DreamWorks needed to close the deal (which GE offered it after first denying it) and the dearth of HBO slots for DreamWorks films (which Universal had withheld throughout the process before finally offering two of its annual six), there was Meyer's unhappy discovery that the 'Works had in fact been secretly dealing with Disney:

When [Meyer] found out that DreamWorks was in fact talking to Disney, he got on the phone with DreamWorks chief executive Stacey Snider and said she and Spielberg had behaved "like pigs" (as has been reported elsewhere). Other words, like "despicable and deplorable," have also been used.

—Who even cares about Meyer at this point, asks David Poland: "If that's DreamWorks' biggest problem in the next years, they will be dancing in the streets." And anyway, maybe Universal — which already has Brian Grazer's four films per year — is better off standing alone without having to tend to DreamWorks' release slate as well. Cheer up, Ron!

—Plus there's still the matter of DreamWorks Animation, whose industrial traction is improving along with its stock price. The NYT today has both long and short views, neither of which come close to hinting where it might end up in a climate where desperate studios need the soundest cash machine they can get their hands on. And last we checked, Pixar wasn't going anywhere at Disney.

—And just our own nagging question around Defamer HQ: Does DreamWorks' entrance at Disney mean Miramax's eventual exit? And if so, who gets Scott Rudin? We be happy to temporarily set him up here if necessary; the basement cubicles are actually pretty spacious. Just let us know.

Nikki Finke had word this morning that Variety and others have since confirmed: The Works's loan-heavy, $1.25 billion financing package isn't coming through after all, and Universal isn't willing to pick up the additional overhead (Finke reports $250 million) to close the deal. Thus Steven Spielberg, Stacey Snider, David Geffen and their overstuffed moving van are stranded somewhere along the side of the 101. Their choice of road service: Disney, which according to Variety "would provide P&A funds, pay-cable slots and possible production co-financing for DreamWorks' intended six pictures."

It's a logical deal for a studio with an annual slate as underbuilt as Disney's, but not necessarily compatible with either Disney's recent revenue plunge — 26% last quarter for the movie side alone — or the fact that Disney already has Miramax releasing six to eight films a year. They can't afford both. Maybe Harvey Weinstein can get it back cheap; in this economy, someone will. Developing...

• DreamWorks Desperately Seeking $250M [DHD]

• DreamWorks to leave Universal [Variety]

· HBO ordered a half-hour drama pilot with Ellen Barkin attached to star, about a woman who divorces her high-power, high-profile husband (OK, now the Barkin thing is starting to make sense) who then develops a platonic with his 24-year-old son. Meanwhile Oscar-nominated Revolutionary Road star Michael Shannon has been cast as the lead in Martin Scorsese's HBO pilot about the founding of Atlantic City, Boardwalk Empire. [Variety, THR]
· Surviving Suburbia, a Bob Saget sitcom that was orphaned after The CW dropped its Media Rights Capital-produced programming, has found a second chance, with ABC potentially interested. The only potential loser in this situation? Laughter. [Variety]
· ScreenwriterWatch: Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy will write Spyglass's Leap Year, starring Amy Adams as "an uptight woman who travels to Dublin to propose to her boyfriend on February 29," and all sorts of mayhem ensues. And A Mighty Heart writer Joe Orloff will script Ian Fleming bio Fleming, produced by Leo DiCaprio's company at Warner Bros. [THR, THR]

Relativity paid $150 million for the specialty arm and its library, a nifty pick-up featuring acquisitions like Shaun of the Dead and in-house productions including Assault on Precinct 13; Rogue has manufactured roughly three low-budget projects since 2004, led last year by the sleeper hit The Strangers. But Universal has bigger, literally better things to do in these depressive times — namely, keep its art-house label Focus Features in fighting trim for 2009 and get the hell away from Rogue's forthcoming Castlevania adaptation. Uni will, however, continue to release Rogue films for a discounted distribution fee of 10%, starting Friday with The Unborn.

One forecast says this kind of New Economy horse-trading that could actually make films better, and we totally agree: Less money, more accountability, better movies. Not to mention, it's great fun to watch brassy Relativity boss Ryan Kavanaugh at the wheel of his various entrepreneurial toys. Figuratively speaking, of course.

• Relativity Snaps Up Rouge [Variety]

That's the general flavor of Anne Thompson's survey, which points to credit shortfalls, equity holdups and steep bills coming due for Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider as they finish the last of their packing at Paramount en route to Universal. If Universal will even open its gate, that is, considering that the 'Works has yet to close on $750 million in loans making up the majority of its $1.5 billion, 36-film war chest at Uni.

While the banks hash it out, and Indian equity financier Reliance Big Entertainment wait to drop in its own $500 million, Spielberg himself may be on the hook for a bill due next month: $20 million to acquire the 17 films the 'Works had in development at Paramount. Nikki Finke, meanwhile, blows off Thompson's version of the DreamWorks story for her own, which implies that funding had been delayed — to all parties' satisfaction — until the end of first quarter '09.

Which doesn't change the question posed today: Would Spielberg have launched a Paramount exodus had he known the economy would implode within a year? Answer: Of course he would have, probably even seeking the same terms, just for dick-swinging's sake. And not just his dick, but David Geffen's as well. The real question is who will actually pay for that impudence: Not Reliance, which is locked in for its own half-billion. Not JP Morgan, which readily admits it will be happy just to reach $300 million in loans by the end of March. And not Universal, which already has $150 million more than it wants pledged to DW, and only after the 'Works has already spent the first $1.25 billion. If it can raise that much.

So. Either someone at DreamWorks will be deferring a lot of salaries, Indiana Jones-style, or The Soloist had better gross about $250 million domestic when it opens next spring. We know how we'd bet, but that's just us.

• Is DreamWorks' deal stalling? [Variety]

• The REAL DreamWorks Financing Story... [DHD]

Kavanaugh currently has long-term deals to co-finance productions at Sony and Universal, the latter of which funds 75 percent of its offerings (most recently Frost/Nixon and Changeling) with money from Relativity Media. The NYT notes that Relativity has projects in development with DreamWorks, Paramount Vantage and MGM as well, and that Universal is a few signatures away from selling its genre arm Rogue Pictures to Relativity for $150 million. Plus he's in litigation with his lenders at Citigroup.

Busy guy! Alas, that all might have to wait:

Mr. Kavanaugh was stopped by an officer with the California Highway Patrol at 12:41 a.m. in the Westwood district of Los Angeles on Oct. 23 [...] Mr. Kavanaugh was driving a black Audi at about 60 miles per hour in a zone with a posted speed limit of 35. Along with a speeding charge, he was cited for driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a blood alcohol content of .08%.

An additional charge said Mr. Kavanaugh was driving while his license was suspended as a result of a previous drunk driving conviction. He was not booked or detained, though he was arrested on the misdemeanor charges by way of a citation, and is scheduled for arraignment and a hearing on probation in Beverly Hills at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 12.

Perfect! Close enough to walk.

• Ryan Kavanaugh, Top Film Financier, Arrested for Drunk Driving [NYT]

After the jump: The Universal globe stops spinning for 70 unlucky souls.

Not even veteran talking head John Norris—who was very polite to us on the VMAs red carpet when we accidentally wandered into his shot and asked where we might find Britney's elephant—was immune. Over at Paramount, meanwhile, a behooded, shirtless, chaps-wearing Sumner Redstone (he doesn't particularly like playing executioner—but when he has to, he goes for it whole hog) stands guard at a ceremonial guillotine set up in studio square, awaiting word on when to release the symbolic blade that will officially cut further salaries from the payroll. We're told supervisors are still in a meeting, and the rest of the staff is defecating masonry in anticipation. We'll have a report for you from the inside a little later.

Over at NBC Universal, Deadline Hollywood Daily reports, the belts are being tightened to gastric-bypass levels. Personal printers are strictly verboten, no new office supplies will be purchased for six months, everyone must travel (*gasp*) one class-level down, and Jeff Zucker himself will be reviewing temps' overtime charges. So don't even try it, A1 Personnel Placing Services recommendee.

500 job cuts throughout the company will follow, THR reports—including a "3% headcount reduction" at Universal Pictures, as chairman and co-chairman Marc Shmuger and David Linde's Christmas card thoughtfully put it. That's about 70 positions worldwide. The text follows:

Dear Colleagues,

As we strive to meet the challenges presented by the struggling economy, leaders from every department at Universal Pictures have worked hard to identify cost saving measures in many areas of our business. Those measures include scaling back on travel, overtime, consultants, premieres, conferences, newspaper marketing and general administrative costs.

While much has been accomplished to find necessary savings, we regret that we must also reduce headcount by around 3%. No company likes to have to make these kinds of decisions, and certainly we are no exception. We want to assure you that everyone has done their best to keep job cuts to an absolute minimum.

The process of communicating with those individuals whose positions are affected has begun today and will continue for the next few days.

We appreciate the effort from everyone who has participated in this difficult process.

Sincerely,
Marc Shmuger and David Linde

• Marc Shmuger and David Linde Break Bad News To Universal: 70 Layoffs Worldwide [Deadline Hollywood Daily]
• NBC Universal laying off 500 employees [THR]

Such modesty! To a point, anyway: If and/or when his Reliance Big Entertainment honeymoon ever tapers off, Spielberg and DreamWorks president Stacey Snider really won't have the Geffen touch to help woo another international conglomerate into bed. But by then Spielberg, 62, will probably be ready to scale back anyway, and survival will be less about braintrust than brand (and the library it manages to develop with its new distribution partners at Universal). He shouldn't even be there now, if one of his more illuminating disclosures today is to be believed:

In describing Mr. Geffen’s role at DreamWorks, Mr. Spielberg likened it to a family relationship. “Jeffrey and I were like the kids,” he said, while Mr. Geffen built the house and saw that the bills were paid. [...]

By his own recollection, Mr. Spielberg was initially reluctant to join in creating the original DreamWorks studio, which was conceived by Mr. Katzenberg shortly after he was fired as chairman of the Walt Disney Company’s studio operation in 1994. But Mr. Katzenberg begged for a meeting, and asked to bring a friend. The friend was Mr. Geffen, who not only did all the talking, but insisted to Mr. Spielberg: “I am representing your best interests.”

That assurance was to become the theme of Mr. Geffen’s dealings with Mr. Spielberg, who describes Mr. Geffen’s efforts for him over the years as a kind of “altruism.”

Aww! That shouldn't imply Spielberg was in a hurry to race out the door at Paramount, though, where Geffen reportedly had a short stay in mind even before he clashed with Brad Grey in 2006 over credit for Dreamgirls; "I do not like change," the director told the NY Times. And even if we have Tom Freston's firing and other, seemingly circumstantial evidence to vouch for that philosophy, everyone knows the bottom line: The sex just isn't the same off the Paramount lot. Wait and see — he'll be back.

• David Geffen Makes a Sudden Exit [NYT]

After all, it's hard enough facing a happy Brian Grazer, whose Imagine Entertainment is also headquartered on the Uni lot, where it cranks its own fistful of prestige titles every year. Imagine evil Grazer, suspiciously adapting a Jokeresque grin and pitting his own interns versus DreamWorks assistants in a climactic time-bomb face-off after Snider usurps yet another plum release date for Untitled Shia LaBeouf Sequel. It could happen, reports The New York Times:

[Uni president Ron] Meyer would not discuss anything related to a DreamWorks deal, except to say: “We would be very pleased to be back in business together. We don’t anticipate a real impact on our current or future slate from distributing their films.” [...]

Officials at NBC Universal have said that they realize a deal with DreamWorks could upset Universal’s equilibrium and that they will take that into consideration before entering into any kind of formal partnership. But ultimately, the company wants the deal to happen; the money that the company can make by distributing DreamWorks movies — which are hits more often than not — far outweighs any ruffled feathers.

We certainly hope so for Grazer's sake. It's hard times, after all, and you'd be surprised: All that Hawaiian appliance-and-furniture replacement adds up before you know it.

• DreamWorks, Universal ink deal [Variety]

• A DreamWorks Deal Could Rock Universal’s Boat [NYT]

The writers revere Melville’s original text, but their graphic novel-style version will change the structure. Gone is the first-person narration by the young seaman Ishmael, who observes how Ahab’s obsession with killing the great white whale overwhelms his good judgment as captain.

This change will allow them to depict the whale’s decimation of other ships prior to its encounter with Ahab’s Pequod, and Ahab will be depicted more as a charismatic leader than a brooding obsessive.

"Our vision isn’t your grandfather’s ‘Moby Dick,’ " Cooper said. "This is an opportunity to take a timeless classic and capitalize on the advances in visual effects to tell what at its core is an action-adventure revenge story."

And what, pray tell, was wrong with our grandfather's Dick? Ahem, that didn't come out right. All we're saying is that between Bekmambetov's Moby Dick and Brett Ratner's planned adaptation of Guitar Hero, we're not sure what to expect anymore. Will we wake up to the Hollywood Reporter announcing Michael Bay's Shamwow!, or perhaps a whimsical, Wes Anderson-directed adaptation of Mein Kampf? (Jason Schwartzman, call your agent.)

• Bekmambetov to direct 'Moby Dick' [Variety]

"I was hired to come in and help transform our model," Silverman says. "Day to day I'm maybe 80% revenue-oriented and business-oriented. I'm working with ad sales. Connecting with broadcast partners and connecting with advertiser clients globally. ... The reality is we've got to collectively be thinking about how we put shows together and get them financed, and people are resisting that."

At NBC, Silverman has introduced international co-productions to the mix, starting with the upcoming "Crusoe."

Because it's shot overseas, "Crusoe" costs less than half of an average hourlong drama. And with U.K. producer Power funding more than 75% of the show, it's a virtually risk-free investment for NBC.

"Instead of a 3 rating, we can survive with a 1.2 rating," Silverman says.

It's unclear if Silverman will even stick around long enough to see if his model will yield the kinds of turkey-resistant results he envisions, and help NBC turn a profit despite future Nielsen-stillborn brainstorms like Soap Star Illusionists and Supertrain 3000. Variety reports that "Zucker has already begun conversations with Silverman...about his future at the network." You know—the kinds of "conversations" in which Zucker pulls out a giant binder of golden parachute fabric swatches, and stands over Silverman's shoulder as he thumbs through its glistening pages.

• Ben Silverman's Peacock problem [Variety]

Universal — which has a three-year first-look deal with the helmer inked in June ’07 — and del Toro are making a long-term commitment by setting up four directing projects, including remakes of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Slaughterhouse-Five.

The fourth project is an adaptation of Drood, a Dan Simmons novel acquired by U that will be published in February by Little, Brown. ...

Frankenstein represents a longtime fascination for del Toro, who has made his home a memorabilia shrine to the Karloff monster from the 1931 U film.

"To me, Frankenstein represents the essential human question: ‘Why did my creator throw me here, unprotected, unguided, unaided and lost?’ " del Toro said. "With that one, they will have to pry it from my cold dead hands to prevent me from directing it."

Well, then. His involvement with Slaughterhouse-Five is slightly less intimate, with the director determined to explore the ways author Kurt Vonnegut "plays with and juxtaposes time" in ways that he says George Roy Hill's 1972 adaptation didn't. There are a few of his own screenplays in there as well — none of which del Toro is attached to direct, alas, which suggests that even he and his Uni bedfellows are anticipating the current trend in paranoiac, risk-averse rehash (See Exhibit A) to worsen before it improves. Fine with us! Whatever might keep The Hobbit to one movie is a cutback we can most certainly live with.

• Guillermo Del Toro booked thru 2017 [Variety]

The sing-a-long edition makes it easier — and in fact encourages audience members — to sing along with the characters, and their fellow audience members, in effect contrasting those pre-show public service announcements scolding that silence is golden. The lyrics to the songs are displayed in bright, colorful letters at the bottom of the screen.

At a preview screening of the sing-a-long edition earlier this week — probably apropos to nothing, the same night Hillary Clinton gave her speech at the Democratic National Convention — a crowd of mostly women, many around age 50, seemed tentative at first to give it their all, but relaxed and seemed a little more comfortable with the concept toward the end of the screening. If they had sold shots of ouzo at the concession stand, that might have helped, quite frankly.

Hence the rumored, BYOB Mamma Mia! The Drink-Along Version planned for re-re-release some time this fall, with viewers receiving limited-edition shot glasses and instructions for concocting the deliciously fruity (if slightly bitter) new cocktail "The Brosnan." Or maybe that one's just better suited for DVD.

• With this 'Mamma Mia,' you can sing, if you dare [NC Times]