Hollywood is selling the end times hard this week with the opening of “2012,” a blockbuster-style movie about the last days of the world for humanity.

Apparently, we were warned!

It’s based on junk theories about how the 5,125-year-long Mayan Long Count calendar ends on Dec. 21, 2012, which can only mean that so goes the universe.

Why someone would cite this as proof that a massive cataclysmic event is coming is somewhat amusing–maybe the Mayans just ran out of stone to chisel?–although it makes for a pretty awesome trailer for the movie, which stars John Cusack and a battleship falling on top of the White House.

The movie opens Friday, with tons of marketing and advertising online and off and a Web site with the cheeky moniker, www.whowillsurvive2012.

So, until the apocalypse, enjoy a video of the trailer, as well as the original teaser:

Here’s the new trailer for the upcoming videogame-to-live-action Disney (DIS) movie, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.”

It still looks an awful lot like a videogame and is chock full of special effects–but the adaptation also seems to feature much in the way of shirtlessness and mascara-wearing on the part of star Jake Gyllenhaal.

Directed by Mike Newell, the fantasy-action adventure is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer of “Pirates of the Caribbean” fame, so you just know a theme park ride is next on the list.

Opening May 28, 2010, the story follows along the lines of the videogame, as a rascally prince and a comely princess try to stop an ancient dagger that can reverse time and give unlimited power to evil folks.

If this sounds like every plot of every videogame, with a little “Lord of the Rings” and British accents for all thrown in, you win!

The original videogame series was published by Ubisoft.

Here’s the trailer video, which does look kind of good (and now leads as the choice for the annual movie outing for the D8 staff before our next conference):

Here is a funny but decidedly creepy new commercial from Microsoft (MSFT), in its ongoing marketing campaign to push its Bing search service.

In the commercial, below, titled “Vampire Decision Engine,” the software giant taps into vampire mania, playing into Halloween and the next chapter in the “Twilight” movie series, “New Moon,” set to debut in November.

In it, an Edward Cullen type, aided by a comely young woman, is looking for a place to “eat.”

According to Bing’s blog, it’s one of a new series of television spots in its $100 million marketing campaign.

The creative is different from earlier commercials, which featured search-overloaded people spouting keywords.

“Our latest Bing advertisement is the first in a series of new commercials where we highlight specific ways Bing can help simplify your life and help you make decisions faster,” said Bing in its blog.

You can see more video on Bing’s YouTube channel, owned by, yep, Google (GOOG)!

For many years now, one of our regular attendees at the D: All Things Digital conference has been award-winning movie and television director, producer and writer Barry Sonnenfeld, who is–as it turns out–a not-so-closeted geek in his spare time.

(He also appeared onstage in 2006 at D4 in an interview with Walt Mossberg, which you can see here.)

In fact, the man behind movies like “Men in Black” and TV shows like “Pushing Daisies” (and who likes to sport a Stetson and cowboy boots 24/7) does a gadget review column for Esquire magazine called “The Digital Man.”

Now he is branching out to a vlog about his geek passions on Crackle, which will appear every two weeks from wherever he is–either from his homes in East Hampton, N.Y. or Telluride, Colo., or from movie or TV sets.

And, compared to the cinéma vérité style of BoomTown (translation: shaky filming and bad sound), Sonnenfeld’s vlogs are pretty high quality, although they are not too overdone as those from Hollywood types always are, and it’s hard not to admire the editorial use of a martini.

Here’s his intro video vlog below, as well as one about a cross-country trip Sonnenfeld and his “analog” dog, named Lucky, took in a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO (super high output) and another about his experience helping his wife, Sweetie, cook for some film industry friends using the Traeger Professional Wood Pellet Grill.

Next week: A chain saw, although I hope Sonnenfeld will go light on the martinis for that demo.

From Crackle: The Esquire Digital Man Preview:

From Crackle: Ford Taurus SHO:

From Crackle: Traeger Professional Wood Pellet Grill:

Four years ago, the movie, “Snakes on a Plane,” became a genuine Internet phenom well before the movie was in theaters.

Which, in the end, only showed that online buzz had negligible impact on the viewing public, given that the movie’s box office turned out to be tepid at best.

But will another small film, about a demon-plagued couple with an infrared-equipped videocamera, called “Paranormal Activity,” prove that the chatter of Facebook and Twitter has more legs today?

It looks like it, given that the very-low-budget film–acquired by Viacom (VIA) studio Paramount Pictures as a remake–performed spectacularly well last weekend, selling out midnight-only shows focused on college towns.

That middle-of-the-night tactic was made larger this past weekend, creating a ton of online heat, which led to an expanded release planned for this coming weekend at all hours.

Of course, along with a clever television marketing push, the studio is using Internet feedback to discern where to head next and how.

Well, “Paranormal Activity” looks scary and all–although BoomTown would like to know exactly when people will stop trying to irk demonic spirits.

That quibble aside, it will be interesting to see if the reliance on Facebook (where the movie has about 32,000 fans, most whom are posting variations of “It scared the crap out of me!!!!”) and Twitter (where is it now a trending topic) turns a cult win into a mega-hit.

That’s what many predicted would happen to camp thriller “Snakes,” starring Samuel Jackson, especially considering the deluge of Internet frenzy starting in 2005 that actually forced Time Warner (TWX) studio New Line Cinema to finally release it.

But the movie buzz peaked too early, well before the film debuted, and it limped to a weak box office–leaving the blog-fueled “Snakes” as an asterisk in the annals of failed Web marketing hype.

So, until all the tweeting gets you to the theater–I shall pass, as I prefer skeletons in my closet–here is the clever promo for “Paranormal Activity,” as well as the classic line from “Snakes”:

In the ongoing fight between Redbox–which rents DVDs from kiosks for $1–and major Hollywood studios, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment just filed a brief to dismiss Redbox’s lawsuit against it.

Said Fox in a statement:

“Redbox’s legal claims are fatally flawed. Fox’s filing today makes clear that, in the end, the case is all about Redbox’s refusal to make a business deal on general terms similar to those paid by others in this industry. Instead, Redbox has insisted that Fox sell DVDs to them through distributors, on the date they demand, at the price they want to pay. Unable to get the terms it wanted at the bargaining table, Redbox instead decided to file this meritless lawsuit.”

In a statement, Redbox president Mitch Lowe responded to the filing by stating that Fox was anti-consumer.

“Twentieth Century Fox continues its pursuit to prohibit consumer access to new release DVDs at affordable prices…Redbox remains steadfast in our commitment to protecting consumers’ rights and to providing our customers the DVDs they want, where they want and at the low price they want.”

In two briefs filed this afternoon, refuting Redbox’s allegations, Fox is asserting that it has not refused to provide DVDs to the outfit and has tried to negotiate a deal.

Under contention between the two are the price and terms of when DVDs of hit movies can be released to Redbox.

Redbox has asserted that Fox is violating antitrust laws and copyright misuse in not selling DVDs to the company.

Fox denied that claim in the brief, noting that Redbox simply did not want to pay up in order to get certain DVDs on the “street date,” as do other retailers.

Fox is one of three studios that have become embroiled in lawsuits with Redbox.

Located in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., and is wholly owned by Bellevue, Wash.-based Coinstar (CSTR), Redbox is seeing strong rental growth due to its $1-a-night price for first-run movies, which the company distributes via its 15,000 freestanding machines in supermarkets and convenience stores, as well as in big chains like McDonald’s (MCD), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Walgreens (WAG).

Its fascinating legal battle with the studios centers around the issues of steep discounting, release windowing and the price for premium content.

Redbox recently sued Warner Home Video, owned by Time Warner (TWX), for denying it the opportunity to buy DVDs without being required to wait a month or more to rent them out.

It has previously gone after NBC Universal’s Universal Studios Home Entertainment, owned by GE (GE) and Fox, a unit of News Corp. (NWS), for similar release restrictions.

The trio’s movies make up 40 percent of the DVD rental market.

In its brief today, Fox noted that it was willing to sell to Redbox directly, rather than via wholesalers, but that talks collapsed over pricing issues.

And while some studios are holding fast to fighting price declines represented by consumer-friendly, idiot-proof tech solutions like Redbox, others are not.

Redbox has inked deals with Sony (SNE); Lions Gate (LGF); Paramount, a unit of Viacom (VIA); and also gets movies from Walt Disney (DIS).

Here are two briefs filed by Fox in U.S. District Court in Delaware, the first, a motion to dismiss the lawsuit by Redbox, and the second to transfer venue to California:

FINAL Opening Brief in Support of Fox’s Motion to Dismiss

Redacted Transfer Venue Brief

(Full disclosure: Fox is owned by News Corp., which also owns Dow Jones, owner of this site.)

Memo to all Cyborg Geeks:

“Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology….We can make him better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.”

Wait, that’s “The Six Million Dollar Man” motto!

But it might as well apply to the entertainment outfit that owns the “Terminator” movie franchise.

Today, according to blogger Nikke Finke of Deadline Hollywood, the Halcyon Holding Group, after recently filing for Chapter 11 protection, has hired FTI Capital Advisors “to evaluate strategic alternatives for the company.”

In other words: Selling off Skynet!

Halcyon, which made the most recent “Terminator Salvation” film and “owns the first-look rights to the works of science fiction writer Philip K. Dick,” has been fighting with a hedge fund that gave it money to buy the famous series that takes a very bleak view of the future.

Almost as bleak as that of Halcyon if it doesn’t come up with a plan to bring me my annual dose of cybernetic organisms, which is–of course!–living tissue over a metal endoskeleton.

It better be back.

Here’s the original trailer for the very first “Terminator” movie, which pretty much rocks:

It was meant all in fun, as poking holes in the frothy atmosphere around the innovative microblogging hottie is kind of an easy layup.

But Matthew Alexander called my use of the wacky Kool-Aid pitcher man image (see below) “kinda harsh” in a tweet.

And I got several other how-could-I-not-see-the-genius-in-overblown-investing-hype emails too.

Sensitive Sallys all, but in the interest of fairness, here are some other visual choices–in images and videos–for a metaphorical depiction of the Twitter valuation.

Please select whichever suits you!

Frothy beer mug hat:

Nena-99’s Luftballoons (How much do I love this song? Muchly much!):

Bubbles the chimp with his special friend:

Violet Beauregard blowing up like a blueberry in the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” movie, including cool Oompa-Loompa song:

And, for all your dreamers, just right:

Of course, the video features her in a spoof of the silly action movie, although this one is much more entertaining than the real thing.

Here’s the video:

Since it was tacked onto the slasher movie, “Sorority Row,” which opened this weekend, many have been posting the brand new trailer for “New Moon.”

The second installment of the “Twilight” vampire series debuts Nov. 20, natch!

And, actually, while the first film left me in a mild stupor–BoomTown is so not the demographic for the film–this one looks pretty good because it seems chock full of the Olympic broodiness of Kristen Stewart (who is also filming a biopic about Joan Jett, which completely redeems her in my book).

Here’s one of the many video trailers, one of which already had 2,732 comments on Google (GOOG) video site YouTube since it was posted just yesterday, most of which are text versions of teen girls screaming:

And here are the first two trailers, released earlier this summer:

Although it is not a particular surprise, because Microsoft and Yahoo execs had previously said they expected as much, the Justice Department lobbed in a “second request” for information about the search and online advertising partnership the pair struck earlier this summer.

A Microsoft spokesman confirmed the request to BoomTown.

“As expected Microsoft and Yahoo received an additional request about the agreement, as we said when this agreement was announced,” said Microsoft’s Jack Evans. “We anticipated this deal would be closely reviewed and we continue to be hopeful that it will be approved by early 2010.”

Simply put, the Justice Department wants more information about the 10-year deal and will do more investigation before approving it–or not.

This kind of review is typical in deals of this magnitude, although it is unlikely to be as fraught as Yahoo’s attempt last year to form a similar partnership with Google.

That deal collapsed after regulators indicated that they would oppose the arrangement, which caused Google to pull out.

At the time the partnership was announced in July, execs at both Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo (YHOO) said a lot of scrutiny was likely from Justice, although they were also confident that it would go through.

And, indeed, there seem to be no major objections from publishers and advertisers, as was the case with Yahoogle, even though a privacy group has raised some concerns.

Even Google (GOOG) has been unusually quiet about the deal, perhaps because its nearly 70 percent of the search market makes it the behemoth. Together, Yahoo and Microsoft have close to a 30 percent market share.

The deal must also be approved by European regulators, according to the terms negotiated by Yahoo and Microsoft. But since Google’s share there is even higher, roadblocks seem unlikely.

Meanwhile, according to numerous sources, Microsoft and Yahoo are separately working on transition plans in order to move quickly once it gains regulatory approval.

While they cannot work together as yet at a detailed level, Microsoft will eventually be absorbing hundreds of Yahoo search engineers as part of the deal.

So as we all wait in breathless anticipation, enjoy this hysterical video version of the famous gruel scene in the movie, “Oliver,” with the lines speeded up and then slowed down:

Eric Boyd (pictured here), a high-profile techie from Yahoo who left the company for a start-up last year, is now headed to Microsoft to work for its digital group, now run by another ex-Yahoo, Qi Lu.

UPDATE: Microsoft confirmed the hiring, although declined to provide further details.

Boyd, who is well-known for his card-counting team exploits while at MIT (which were later made into the movie, “21”) had been VP of platform engineering at Yahoo (YHOO) and worked on a variety of projects there.

With the addition of Boyd, sources said, Microsoft has acquired a huge swath of the top tech talent of Yahoo, many of whom came to the software giant because of Lu and to escape the turmoil at Yahoo.

At a recent tech offsite at Microsoft held by Satya Nadella, SVP of Research and Development at its Online Services division, in fact, one person remarked that a full 10 percent of the techies were former Yahoo execs.

There will be more to come, up to 400 or more, if the search partnership the pair recently struck passes regulatory muster, although Boyd is not part of that deal.

He had worked at Yahoo for a decade, but left last spring to take over as VP of engineering at Mochi Media, a San Francisco-based gaming-related start-up backed $14 million in funding by Shasta Ventures and Accel Partners.

He will be working for Microsoft (MSFT) in Silicon Valley, in its group related to search and advertising, sources said.