{"id":337229,"date":"2025-12-10T17:24:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/337229\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T17:24:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T17:24:07","slug":"is-kevin-james-doing-a-stealth-marketing-campaign-for-his-new-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/337229\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Kevin James Doing a Stealth Marketing Campaign for His New Film?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tHas the King of Queens taken a page from the Longlegs playbook? <\/p>\n

\n\tOnline speculation is growing that comedy star Kevin James<\/a> is engaging in some stealth marketing<\/a> for his upcoming film, Solo Mio, by posing as \u201cart teacher Matt Taylor\u201d online, spreading bread crumbs for fans and generating buzz ahead of the film\u2019s release next year.<\/p>\n

\n\tStarting in October of this year, a user \u2014 who bears a striking resemblance to the Hitch and Paul Blart: Mall Cop actor \u2014\u00a0began posting short videos on Instagram and TikTok. Under the \u201cthisismatttaylor\u201d account, the man, who claims to be a high school art teacher, does short Bob Ross-style painting videos and talks about his life, particularly his search for love. <\/p>\n

\n\tSome users quickly cottoned on that \u201cMatt Taylor\u201d might not be all he appears to be. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYou are Kevin James! You are not going to gaslight me into thinking your name is Matt Taylor. I know who you are,\u201d one user, going by the handle @xmookie4, posted in a response video<\/a> on TikTok. Others quickly pointed out the similarities between Taylor and James, and began dropping Kevin James memes, scraped from his long film and TV career, into the comments section of Taylor\u2019s videos. <\/p>\n

\n\tOne user, @joegray, posted a spoof video<\/a> claiming \u201cMatt Taylor is not Kevin James, he was my actual art teacher,\u201d before going on to note that his \u201cart teacher\u201d started out \u201cas a delivery driver for IPS where he called himself \u2018The King of Queens’\u201d and even worked \u201cas a mall cop\u201d and became \u201cPresident of the United States, with Adam Sandler serving in his administration\u201d \u2014 the final quip being a reference to the James\u2019 role in 2015 feature Pixels. <\/p>\n

\n\tA few connected the dots between the supposed Matt Taylor persona and James\u2019 upcoming film, Solo Mio. The rom-com, which James co-wrote and co-produced, sees him play Matt, a man who, after being left at the altar in Rome, decides to go on his honeymoon alone, meeting Gia (Nicole Grimaudo) along the way. Alyson Hannigan, Kim Coates, and Jonathan Roumie co-star in the film, directed by Chuck Kinnane and Dan Kinnane (Home Team) and produced by Mark Fasano and Jeffrey Greenstein of A Higher Standard. Angel Studios (The King of Kings, The Sound of Freedom) is releasing the film wide in the U.S. on Feb. 6, marking the first romantic comedy from the faith-based studio.<\/p>\n

\n\tAside from their shared first name, the Matt of Solo Mio and Matt Taylor are both lonely hearts looking for love. In several of his videos, Matt Taylor references \u201ca very special lady\u201d he is seeing, and expresses his disappointment when he is stood up for dates. <\/p>\n

\n\tIf Matt Taylor is an elaborate guerrilla marketing campaign for Solo Mio, it\u2019s unclear if Angel Studios and the producers are in on it. Months after Taylor began posting his videos, Angel Studios, unannounced, dropped the first poster for Solo Mio, showing James looking snazzy in a suit, sitting on a bench in Rome, holding a bouquet of roses, and looking hopeful. Angel made no mention of art teacher Matt Taylor, noting only that the film hits theaters Feb. 6. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are as surprised as anyone by all the Matt Taylor speculation online,\u201d an Angel Studios spokesperson told THR.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Hollywood Reporter has reached out to James for comment.<\/p>\n