'The Rocker' Tries to Virally Rainn in Viewers

No one can say Rainn Wilson is a dilettante when it comes to promoting his work.

The actor, best known as Dwight Schrute on the sitcom "The Office," is at the center of a viral online campaign to plug his new movie "The Rocker."

In the movie, Wilson plays Robert "Fish" Fisher," a failed drummer who is given a second chance at stardom after being kicked out of an eighties hair band right before they became famous.

Sure, he's making the usual rounds, appearing on talk shows and doing newspaper and magazine interviews. But Wilson has also taken the unusual step of kidnapping one of his "Office" co-stars, Jenna Fischer, to draw attention to the film.

At least that's what he'd like you to believe.

On Aug. 11, a message appeared on Fischer's blog from Wilson, who claimed to have hacked into her MySpace account to announce he had tied up the actress and put her in the trunk of his Firebird.

"To free America's sweetheart, Pam Beesly, one half of the magic which is 'Jam'," he wrote, "you must attend my new movie, 'The Rocker', which opens August 20th. As soon as the film grosses 18.7 Mil, she will be released and given a peach smoothie."

Sites like USA Today's Pop Candy picked up on the posting, also giving a plug to the companion FreeJennaNow.com site.

At the FreeJenna page, visitors see dual countdown clocks, one counting down the movie's opening and the other to when "Jenna's time is up." There are also video blogs showing other "Office" co-stars demanding Jenna's release (or, in the case of Creed, simply inquiring what kind of knots Wilson used to tie her up.) And of course, a link to Fandango where tickets to the film can be purchased in advance—thus helping to "save" Jenna—is prominent.

There is also a contest (the person who sends in a photo with the most "Rocker" ticket stubs from the film's opening weekend will get a customized video podcast from Wilson) and a computer game that allows the player to choose items to help save Jenna (typical choices include tartar sauce, nail polish, a cloak of invisibility and Jughead comic books).

Will it work? Considering the film isn't about a superhero and this is Wilson's first outing as a leading man, it couldn't hurt. Ultimately, only time—and box office receipts—will tell. We just hope he cracks the car window soon.

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