Chuck's new novel "Pygmy" is now being typeset. This means we have to get Chuck the winning contestant's name of the Choke Movie Contest, so he can include it as a character in the book. So consider this a last call for submissions.

If you participated in last weekend's contest and have pictures of you and friends holding you CHOKE movie ticket stubs, send them to: chokecontest@chuckpalahniuk.net.

I'm going to allow the weekend for people to send in photos. But the photos must be from last weekend. On Monday, the person who submits photos with the most people will win.

Just like the news title says: We Need Everyone To See CHOKE This Weekend! If you planned on seeing it during the week, or even waiting to next weekend, or a couple weekends after that... don't.

We need you to see CHOKE this weekend. Now even. As soon as you're done with reading this, grab some friends, get your ticket, and head to the nearest theater showing it. (listings here)

The opening box office numbers for CHOKE might not mean much to you... but in the long-run, they'll mean a ton to the future life of other Chuck Palahniuk adaptations. 'Fight Club' was a box office failure, and did not make back, domestically, what it cost to make the film. As a result, we had to wait over eight years for our next Palahniuk adaptation.

So let's not let that happen again. Let's all make sure CHOKE hits a homerun this weekend. I'm sure that, with the Presidential Debate on last night, they took a hit in their Friday numbers. So let's make up for that today and tomorrow.

I know I'm talking to thousands of you here. And every one of you can make a difference. But it has to be THIS weekend.

Go see CHOKE now. Consider this a homework assignment from Chuck Palahniuk... the real Tyler Durden.

You can also view the trailer in HD at MTV.com!

Here's the description from moviesblog.mtv.com:

We knew it would be special when we visited its set last summer, and now we’re happy to roll out the trailer premiere for “Choke,” the film based on the book by “Fight Club” author Chuck Palahniuk. The movie finds Sam Rockwell as a sex addict who fakes choking episodes at restaurants to con money out of them. The film opens September 26.

Fox Searchlight has finally released their first poster for the upcoming 'Choke' movie (September 26th release).

Props to AJ Brown for being the first to let me know about this.

Comments?

I actually think this is good news.  Choke will have a much better run and gain more exposure and word of mouth if it's not jampacked into the middle of one of the craziest tentpole movie blockbuster summers in recent history.  With that, here is the lovely Samantha Bond, from the publicity department of Fox 2000:

Hi Dennis-

JUST found out that the film is officially moving from August 1st to September 26th for its theatrical release. That date is official and ok to put on your site let fans know.

Oh, and you had asked about festival screenings. The following have been confirmed for CHOKE:

Los Angeles Film Festival: June 23rd and June 25th
CineVegas Film Festival, Las Vegas, NV: June 20th
Sundance @ BAM, Brooklyn, NY: screening on June 5th and June 7th, Q&A with Clark Gregg
Seattle Int'l Film Festival: June 5th and June 7th 

Screenings of Choke have begun popping up.  It's movie festival season, so I need you all to keep things under your radar, as you never know when Choke will end up in a city near you.  Thanks to Patrick DiDomenico, we know that Choke will be screening at the BAM Festival (Brooklyn Academy of Music) on June 5th and June 7th. 

Here are the details!

The official theatrical release for Choke is August 1st, 2008.

Chuck has an awesome new article in the May 2008 issue of Maxim magazine. It's about his experiences on the set of the Choke production in New Jersey last summer.

Go pick up the issue now.  There's also a great picture of Chuck inside, and some short write-ups about his books.  (not to mention, it's got picture of Elisha Cuthbert in it...)

Props to Branden Palomo for alerting me to this one.

Check out the below article about a real life choking game, turned deadly.  Props to Sean Anderson for this one:

THURSDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- At least 82 youths have died from playing the "choking game" since 1995, a new government report shows.

Also known as the "blackout game," "pass out game," "scarf game," "space monkey" and other monikers, the activity involves intentionally trying to strangle oneself or another with hands or some sort of noose to briefly achieve an euphoric state.

Read The Rest Of The Article Here

Steve Weintraub over at Collider has just posted a wonderful video interview he conducted with Chuck Palahniuk during the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.  The interview gets very indepth on the topics we all want to know the most about. 

Video Interview With Chuck Palahniuk On Collider

The interview is broken into three parts.