Background: Criss Angel was born on December 19, 1967, at Hempstead General Hospital in Hempstead, on Long Island, New York. He is of Greek descent. Angel was raised in Elmont until fourth grade, when his family moved to East Meadow, New York. His father, John Sarantakos, owned a restaurant and doughnut shop.
Context: On October 20, 2002, Angel performed in the ABC Family television special named Criss Angel Mindfreak: Postmodern illusionist, an hour-long performance and tribute to Harry Houdini. The special aired again on December 24, 2002 on Channel 4 in the UK. The Birmingham Evening Mail reviewed the show, writing, "Criss Angel is currently making a name for himself as a more provocative, darker alternative to [other illusionists]. He walks the streets of New York, hypnotising passers-by, turning cups of take-away coffee into cockroaches and suspending himself from the ceiling by inserting hooks into his back. The piece de resistance of all these mind games is an update of the Houdini underwater trick - an attempt to stay in a (cell) tank of water for 24 hours, padlocked and restrained. All seems to be going well, until the filter system breaks down and the water begins to heat up."  On October 31, 2003 SciFi Channel aired the one-hour special Supernatural starring Angel. Kate O'Hare said of the special that, "Filmed in part at Universal Theme Park in Orlando, Fla., "Supernatural" finds Angel crawling up buildings, passing a quarter through his skin, spontaneously combusting and having otherworldly creatures burst from his chest." When asked about his process in creating television specials, Angel said that, "I like to have my hand in everything on my TV specials. I'm the executive producer; I direct it; I create it. I write all the music for my TV specials and my live performances. It's on my label. I write it; I produce it." During the special Angel performed stunts including lighting himself on fire and making a tarantula emerge from a pedestrian's soda can. In 2003, Angel was also featured in the two-hour TBS special Made in Japan.  In early 2003, Angel performed at the release of the new branding for Miller Lite beer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the 80th anniversary of Houdini's last performance in that city. For the performance, he was suspended ten stories in the air and bound in a straitjacket, from which he escaped. He also performed an illusion at Ozzfest in 2005. During this period Angel also earned money selling signed merchandise, making up to $50,000 a day.
Question: when did he start his promotional appearances?
Answer: On October 31, 2003 SciFi Channel aired the one-hour special Supernatural starring Angel.

Background: Tropic Thunder is a 2008 black satirical action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller, who stars with Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. as a group of prima donna actors who are making a fictional Vietnam War film. When their frustrated director drops them in the middle of a jungle, they are forced to rely on their acting skills to survive the real action and danger. The screenplay by Justin Theroux, Stiller, and Etan Cohen was from a story by Stiller and Theroux. The film was produced by Stuart Cornfeld, Stiller and Eric McLeod for Red Hour Productions and DreamWorks Pictures as an international co-production between the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
Context: A trailer for the film was released in April 2008. The Calgary Herald gave it a rating of 3/5, commenting: "This could either be good or very, very bad." Gary Susman of Entertainment Weekly questioned whether the film would "... turn into precisely the kind of bloated action monstrosity that it's making fun of." The trailer received the "Best Comedy Trailer" award at the 9th annual Golden Trailer Awards. DreamWorks also released a red band trailer, the first of its kind used by the studio to promote one of its films.  Stiller, Downey, and Black appeared on the seventh-season finale of American Idol in a sketch as The Pips performing with Gladys Knight (via archival footage). The three actors also later performed a sketch at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards which featured the actors attempting to create a successful viral video to promote the film with awkward results. In September 2008, Stiller and Downey attended the San Sebastian International Film Festival to promote the film. A screening was shown, but it was not chosen to compete against the other films at the festival.  Between April 2008 and the film's commercial release in August 2008, the film had over 250 promotional screenings. On August 3, 2008, Stiller, Downey, and Black visited Camp Pendleton, a U.S. Marine Corps base in California, to present a screening to over a thousand military members and their families. The screening was on behalf of the United Service Organizations and included the actors heading to the screening by helicopter and Humvees. On August 8, 2008, a special 30-minute fictional E! True Hollywood Story aired about the making of Tropic Thunder. In video games, a themed scavenger hunt was incorporated into Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, and Stiller allowed his likeness to be used in the online Facebook application game based on the film.  As a tie-in for the film's release, Paramount announced it would market the energy drink known in the film as "Booty Sweat". Michael Corcoran, Paramount's president of consumer products, commented on the release: "We're very excited, because it has the potential to live for quite a while, well beyond the film." The drink was sold in college bookstores, on Amazon.com, and at other retailers.
Question: anything interesting about promotional efforts?
Answer:
Stiller, Downey, and Black appeared on the seventh-season finale of American Idol in a sketch as The Pips performing with Gladys Knight