Basterds @ Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Weinstein Co. is stepping into the ring.

The mini-major is making an unconventional marketing move for its upcoming period pic “Inglourious Basterds,” partnering with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to promote the film.

The Quentin Tarantino movie will be featured at the mixed-martial-arts organization’s UFC 100, a large-scale pay-per-view event set for Saturday in Las Vegas. “Basterds” will get an animated billboard and placement inside the fighting ring, aka the “octagon,” and a trailer will be shown to about 11,000 fans in attendance at Mandalay Bay.

The move marks an interesting approach for TWC in seeking young males for “Basterds.” The pic, set for an Aug. 21 domestic release, is set in Nazi-occupied France and features long stretches in non-English languages.

But TWC hopes to break the film out of the art house by highlighting its action sequences and star Brad Pitt. UFC, with its mainstream fan base, is seen as one of several keys to reaching a wider audience.

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