Rose Boy or Rosebud?

Did Kodak win or lose with Rose Boy? Like Charles Foster Kane's beloved "Rosebud", this is a PR stunt which may go down in flames.

Let us size up the winners and losers in what seemed to be a no-lose publicity gambit.

As of this writing, the young man who attempted to give Megan Fox a rose has yet to meet her. The boy, identified as 11-year-old Harvey Kindlon, is apparently a celebrity-loving Brit who has attempted to meet stars before, according to Gawker. The website also reports that Kindlon, an aspiring entertainer, was surprised at public reaction to the photo of him being snubbed unintentionally (allegedly) by Fox during the premiere of "Transformers" in London earlier this month.

As readers of this blog know, Eastman Kodak offered $5,000 to the person who could identify the boy in the photo. Kodak promised to fly him to the U.S. to meet Fox and finally hand her that rose. Two people identified Kindlon to Kodak. The company then found the boy and brought him to New York, where he was supposed to meet Fox during an appearance on "The Today Show" Friday. But Fox was bumped from Friday's show because of Michael Jackson's death, and she never met Kindlon, reportedly returning to LA.

So...what now?

I'm told it's all up in the air.

Kindlon went on "Good Morning America" and enjoyed a free weekend in the Big Apple. Clearly he's a winner, even if he never meets Megan Fox. He's famous now, which he would not have been if he'd given Fox her rose in the first place.

Will Alexander/WENN

Megan Fox and Rose Boy

The two people who identified him are each getting $5,000 from Kodak, so they're winners, too.

But Kodak? Fox? Not so much. The film giant never technically promised "Rose Boy" would actually meet Fox, but the offer was implied. Otherwise, why do this? I'm not privy to what conversations, if any, were made between Kodak and Megan Fox's people, but, clearly, something was amiss. Kodak got massive publicity out of the stunt, but no Kodak moment. Not exactly a home run.

As for Megan Fox, I know she's busy, and maybe she's rightfully miffed that offers were being made without her consent (at least that's what I'm hearing), and maybe the 11-year-old Kindlon is a little too obsessed with celebrities. But how hard is it to give him five minutes of your time and make this all go away? Now, instead, she'll be forced to smile and greet every fan she ever meets along the red carpet again. Heaven forbid there's a second snubbing caught on camera.

Bottom line: next time any of us run into Harvey Kindlon--don't ignore him. And have someone snap a photo. He's suddenly the most powerful man in Hollywood.

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