How the West Was “Punked” by Some Russian Director You’ve Never Heard Of

Remember that video of the Russian worker flipping out and how most of us wondered if it was just some kind of viral marketing stunt? Big surprise—it WAS.

However, I’m not sure how successful it was because the connection between the viral video to the product it markets (which is, for the record, the movie Wanted, due out on June 27) is a hazy one. Essentially, the director, Timur Bekmanbetov, wanted to show what stepping outside your boundaries was like…and um, how gullible the West is. He explains all of this (in Russian—feel free to go translate) on his livejournal. (Insert only-emos-and-14-year-olds–use-livejournals joke here.)

Really, Timur? Don’t you see how posting a video that has nothing to do with your movie might confuse people? Especially all of us stupid Americans? Or even your own comrades who were posting news stories about it? All you had to do to get an American to go see your movie was market your stars Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy. Especially James McAvoy. Mm… You see, we’re really that shallow and not all that complicated, but thanks for the video anyway.