Valentino's the last emperor

I've been wanting to see the documentary Valentino the last emperor since I first read about in Vogue. It was playing at the Film Forum in New York but I just couldn't get over to see it before the end date.

There was a great deal of buzz around the release in New York. Valentino staged a premier dinner with Madonna and Gweneth Paltrow, then an after dinner. The Film Forum had sold out showings including a Q&A with André Leon Talley, VOGUE Editor-at-Large, and Matt Tyrnauer, the filmmaker.

Then I read that the Film Forum extended the showing and the Q&A with André and Matt. So the buzz continues, the Q&A shows are sold out and everyone is still talking about the film, except me. I still haven't seen it but it made me wonder if a lot of this has to do with peer pressure to see or read something that everyone is talking about.

A year ago, Razorfish developed a hypothesis that "the way people were influencing each other -- online, in small groups, through peer pressure, reciprocity or flattery -- was giving rise to a whole new form of marketing called Social Influence."

I can see that hypothesis being proven through Valentino's film. People are influencing each other to see this film, to be in the know, to be a part of "the" group.

I don't think the film was extended because of a successful advertising campaign. It was extended because of social influence.