5:20AM STV | Playboy’s presence in The House Bunny went a smidge beyond what most filmgoers would count as garden-variety product placement; the title and marketing materials alone conspicuously invoked Hugh Hefner’s registered trademark, and the story — a model ousted from the Playboy Mansion finds redemption with a clan of sorority outcasts — made the magazine integral to its heroine’s rich feminist empowerment. So what’s a studio’s going rate for that kind of feature-length exposure? Details are sketchy but surprising — especially with Playboy making the money — not the gang at Columbia Pictures.
More »
