Google Goes Hollywood, With Big Role in New Film

The phrase "product placement" doesn't begin to cut it. In the upcoming comedy The Internship, Google has something more akin to a starring role, reports the Los Angeles Times. The company not only allowed the comedy with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn to shoot for two days at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, it worked with the filmmakers on everything from "tech-speak notes" to give the script authenticity to details such as the propeller hats worn by interns.

The company is central to the plot, in which two washed-up watch salesmen land an internship there. During the movie, you'll see just about every Google product under the sun, along with cameos from the likes of co-founder Sergey Brin. The Times phrases the arrangement like so: "Google did have approval over how its products and culture were represented in the film, but it did not have final cut." The movie is out in June, and if it "can convey a spirit of openness and fairness, of connecting the world and doing no evil, then it is going to be very positive for Google's image," says one marketing professor. Which can't hurt as Reuters reports a new round of antitrust scrutiny. (More The Internship (movie) stories.)