Lionsgate hires Dylan Mulvaney to promote struggling 'Are You There God? It's ... trends now
Controversial influencer Dylan Mulvaney has been added to the promotional campaign for Lionsgate's struggling adaptation of Judy Blume's seminal novel 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.'
The film, which stars Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates and tells the story of the title character's dealing with faith and puberty in New Jersey, has struggled to date at the box office, earning just $16million in three weeks.
Despite the films 99 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes - along with an equally impressive 94 percent audience score - the film hasn't come close to making back its $30million budget.
That has led the studio Lionsgate to bring out 'a last-minute paid partnership to draw attention to the film' with Mulvaney - whose advertisement with Bud Light has seen sales drop up to 20 percent a week - posting an interview with the celebrated author Blume on TikTok, according to Hollywood in Toto.
'Are you there God, it's me, Dylan!' Mulvaney excitedly begins the clip, which she captioned by calling Blume - who backtracked after receiving backlash for saying she is '100 per cent' behind Harry Potter writer J.K. Rowling - 'one of my heroes.'
Controversial influencer Dylan Mulvaney (pictured left) has been added to the promotional campaign for Lionsgate's struggling adaptation of Judy Blume's (pictured right) seminal novel 'Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret'
'Get tickets and take your mom, grandma, or the mother figure in your life to see Are You There God? #ItsMeMargaret this Mother's Day weekend. It's the iconic story we all love finally on the big screen! #lionsgatepartner,' she added in the caption.
Mulvaney spoke to Blume about freedom of speech and the banning of books like hers.
'What I am saying now is, having lived through the '80s with the book banning, what's going on now is scarier and much worse,' Blume argued.
Blume, 85, who is known for teen novels Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and Deenie, said she had wanted to show empathy with Rowling as someone 'who has been harassed online'.
The New Jersey-born author said her comments to the Sunday Times were 'taken out of context' in a tweet today defending herself against criticism she received for the interview.
'I stand with the trans community and vehemently disagree with anyone who does not support equality and acceptance for LGBTQIA+ people. Anything to the contrary is total bull****.'
Even so, when asked by Mulvaney about how 'young creatives' should share their stories despite being 'scared of societal backlash,' Blume said to ignore censors.
Rowling has been heavily criticised in recent years for her remarks about trans rights, facing backlash from LGBTQ groups, but has denied being transphobic.
Abby Ryder Fortson stars as the titular character in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret
The film, which stars Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates and tells the story of the title character's dealing with faith and puberty in New Jersey, has struggled to date at the box office, earning just $16million in three weeks
Judy Blume, 85, who is known for young adult novels Are You There God? It's Me, said her comments on supporting JK Rowling were taken out of context
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has been heavily criticized in recent years for her remarks about trans rights
Blume has also faced online abuse in the past for themes in her books, which are typically coming of age stories shedding light on adolescent
