As many filmmakers realize, once we've overcome the challenge of creating our works it's just as difficult to tell the world about your movie.  Websites such as Internet Movie DataBase require publicity about your movie before they will include the work on the site.  However, if your movie has yet to be submitted to festivals, or you plan to go directly to distribution, the path to publicity is difficult to navigate. 

The movie After Hours, which I co-produced and shot has a half dozen reality TV stars in various roles.  Throughout the two-year course of the production several of these celebrities have featured in news  articles on television and on the web.  Although some of the coverage painted the celebrities in an unflattering light, our movie would have benefitted from the recognition.  Recall the stories about Lindsay Lohan that surfaced while she was filming Ugly Betty. 

So, my question is aside from hiring publicists, what tactics can 
the indie filmmaker employ to garner publicity for our projects?  Especially when that publicity is warranted.  I'm referring to the spate of bad behavior by several reality TV celebs, bookended by the Balloon Boy fiasco, and the gate-crashing Salahis.