'High Five!': MySpace Screenings Promote Borat Flick

As ‘Borat’ himself would say to MySpace users, “Jagshemash!”

Fox Interactive Media has talked a good deal about the cross-promotion potential of MySpace, and a new deal may demonstrate it. The company said Friday it plans to screen the fictional Kazakh reporter’s new movie, produced by its Twentieth Century Fox subsidiary, exclusively for MySpace members in six countries, including 20 U.S. cities. In the process, it hopes to generate online buzz for the film ahead of its wide release on November 2.

The promotion between MySpace and its corporate sibling is the first in a series of “Black Carpet” screenings MySpace plans to offer its users.

The movie, titled “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” is an expansion of a character on HBO’s “Da Ali G Show” played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

The company is offering MySpace members in the United States, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and Australia an opportunity to sign up for an exclusive screening of the movie.

To take part in the MySpace Black Carpet screening events, users must join the specially created Black Carpet profile pageand opt in to receive bulletins with details on locations and show times. At press time, the profile had attracted nearly 79,000 friends.

“The most exclusive experience in movie history is here,” pronounces that page. “Add the Black Carpet Screenings as your friend to get access…. Twenty Five Cities. Six Countries. One World. One Borat.”

Fox Interactive Media declined to discuss projections for the promotion, which it hailed as the first time members of the MySpace community from around the world will have simultaneous access to an exclusive event hosted by the Web site.

It’s been over a year now since Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. acquired MySpace, which according to data from HitWise is among the most visited sites on the Internet, ahead of established portals like Yahoo and Google.