This is a promotion so strange that if I hadn't gotten it directly from Paramount Pictures, I wouldn't believe it's true. A major motion picture studio wouldn't pull an April Fools prank, would they? Here's the press release that just showed up in my inbox:

New York, NY, April 1, 2009 – MTV Games and Harmonix’s Rock Band® are joining forces with Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment to celebrate the May 8th theatrical release of the film STAR TREK from director/producer J.J. Abrams. The first-of-its-kind collaboration will fuse together the massive cultural followings of both STAR TREK and the video game phenomenon Rock Band to engage fans with free music, an in-game battle of the bands, and futuristic avatar creation contest.

Beginning today, fans can register for a 15-day sweepstakes that will give away 500 free Rock Band Music Store downloads each day from April 7th through April 21st for the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360® and PlayStation®Store for PlayStation3.

And if that’s not enough – fans will want to fire up Rock Band 2’s online Battle of the Bands mode to participate in the STAR TREK Ultimate Battle. Bands of three to four players can battle the Rock Band galaxy. The band with the highest score will win a STAR TREK hometown movie screening for their band and their friends. Additionally, twenty randomly selected players will win an awesome STAR TREK/Rock Band prize pack equipped with STAR TREK and Rock Band gear. The Battle of the Bands component will begin on April 20th and run through April 27th. more...