Here’s one for movie marketing history books. And please note that Hollywood has never been short on promotional prowess.

    The Weinstein Co., the film making outfit run by Oscar kingpin Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob, release new Dimension Films horror movie “The Mist” on Wednesday. Based on a Stephen King novel, the film tells of people trapped in a supermarket as an eerie mist descends on town and unleashes deadly creatures.

    Tuesday morning, a thick fog settled over all of Los Angeles and cloaked Hollywood in a creepy gray dawn. Quick to seize the opportunity, the Weinstein Co. sent an e-mail to reporters wondering whether it was “A publicity stunt? Or an eerily timed, Stephen King-style wake up call to moviegoers.”

    “You be the judge!,” said the publicists at Weinstein Co.

    Well, I don’t know about you, but when it comes to Harvey Weinstein vs. Mother Nature, Hollywood’s likely betting on Harvey.