"War Is Over" billboards promote Lennon film

[Mark]

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"War Is Over" billboards promote Lennon film
Wed Aug 2, 2006 11:08 AM ET

By Nicole Sperling

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - In an effort to tap into anti-war sentiment, billboards will appear in New York and Los Angeles this month declaring "War Is Over! If You Want It."

The statement is not so much political as commercial: independent film distributor Lionsgate is using them to promote its documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon," set to open September 15 in both cities.

The billboards are a reproduction of those created and posted by Lennon and wife Yoko Ono in 11 cities in 1969 as a protest against the Vietnam War.

The documentary from filmmakers David Leaf and John Scheinfeld is a chronicle of Lennon's transformation from musician to anti-war activist and how the U.S. government sought to silence him, in the view of the filmmakers. Leaf, Scheinfeld and Lionsgate marketing executives spent a lot of time with Ono preparing the campaign.

"It's unfortunate that the world is at war" again, Leaf said. "I think a story about John Lennon, who was fearless in his campaign for peace, is particularly relevant in a time when fear seems to rule."

Lionsgate co-president of theatrical marketing Tim Palen said he was so impressed by Lennon and Ono's artistic vision and activism that he decided "the smartest thing we could do would be to borrow their ideas directly for the campaign."

That meant reproducing the billboards as close to the original as possible. "We tried to use the same font and same spacing as the originals, so not to take any liberty with their art form," Palen added. "Even though it's white on black and most people see it as generic, the brilliance is in its simplicity, and we wanted it to be as exact as possible in the details."

The New York billboard will be unveiled Wednesday on Seventh Avenue at 10th Street in the West Village, and the Los Angeles billboard will bow August 15 on Sunset Boulevard near Cory Avenue in West Hollywood. The one difference to the original billboard is that the Web address www.joinnutopia.com will appear at the bottom. The link is for a site Lionsgate created to highlight the conceptual country Nutopia, which Lennon and Ono created when the government tried to deport him.

Nutopia, according to Lennon and Ono, has "no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people." Visitors to the site can obtain citizenship and download the official Nutopia flag.

Another component to the campaign is the Grudge Report at http://www.theusversusjohnlennon.com. A play on the well-read Drudge Report, the Lionsgate site features links to Web sites presenting information relevant to the film.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Movie trailer:
http://www.theusversusjohnlennon.com/site/trailer.html

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-02-2006/0004408369

Lionsgate Reproduces Controversial 1969 John Lennon/Yoko Ono 'War Is Over! If You Want It' Billboards in New York and L.A., Promoting New Theatrical Documentary THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON

Antiwar Message Remains Relevant Today
Studio to Harness Elements of Original Lennon/Ono Art Projects Throughout
Marketing Campaign for Politically Timely Doc

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, announced today that it will unveil two billboards in August for its new theatrical documentary THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON, a co-production with VH1 Rock Docs. The billboards reproduce the famous "War Is Over! If You Want It" billboards created and posted in 11 cities around the world by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in December, 1969. The announcement was made jointly by Lionsgate President of Theatrical Films Tom Ortenberg and Co-Presidents of Theatrical Marketing Tim Palen and Sarah Greenberg.

Said Ortenberg, "Our marketing campaign for THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON is directly inspired by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who demonstrated such boldness and creativity in spreading their message of peace and hope. It just made sense to go right to the source and reproduce some of their original art projects to promote this film."

Said Palen, "THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON is a film about what happened to a world-famous musician when he spoke out against an unpopular war and advocated for peace, thereby crossing a powerful and determined presidential administration that did not take kindly to dissenters. However you view the parallels to today's political climate, John and Yoko's message of peace -- that 'war is over if you want it' -- is just as meaningful now as it was then. And that further underscores the relevance of THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON."

The New York billboard is scheduled to go up on August 2nd on 7th Avenue at 10th Street. The Los Angeles billboard is scheduled to up on August 15th on the north side of Sunset Boulevard at Cory Avenue, facing east.

The billboards are part of Lionsgate's aggressive marketing plan for THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON, which is produced, directed and written by David Leaf and John Scheinfeld. The co-production with VH1 Rock Docs is a compelling and provocative look at John Lennon's transformation from beloved musical artist to anti-war activist to iconic inspiration for peace that also reveals the true story of why and how the U.S. Government tried to silence him. Other elements of the studio's marketing campaign include:

* A website, The Grudge Report at http://www.theusversusjohnlennon.com. A play on "The Drudge Report," the website features headlines that link to websites presenting information relevant to the film. Visitors can access materials including archival television footage of the Lennon/Ono "Bed-In" in Montreal; the movie trailer and information about the filmmakers; an article by Leon Wildes, the immigration attorney who represented Lennon and Ono and who is one of the witnesses featured in THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON; and much more.

* A separate website, http://www.joinnutopia.com, inspired by another original Lennon/Ono collaboration. On April 1973, as Lennon fought government efforts to deport him, the couple declared the birth of the conceptual country NUTOPIA, with "no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people." Visitors to the NUTOPIA website can obtain citizenship and view and download the official NUTOPIA flag.

http://www.VH1.com.


* * * *

For further information, contact:
Sarah Greenberg
310-255-3856
sgreenberg@lionsgate.com

Russell Nelson
310-255-3858
rnelson@lionsgate.com