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Author
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Topic: questionable film marketing practices
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Jerry Chase
Phenomenal Film Handler
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Posts: 1068
From: Margate, FL, USA
Registered: Nov 2000
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posted 03-21-2001 11:09 PM
Business as usual. Ever look at the reviews in movie ads? They actually used to mean something back in the 1970s. Look further back... "The Tingler" was shameless marketing to the uneducated that we look on as fun hokum. "Banned in Boston!" was used as marketing to bring in greater grosses from people looking for lewdness. I suppose some people are taken in by hype, but the tradition goes back before P.T. Barnum and is a part of all theatre.One of the unique features of movies is that each film is an individually marketed product, and yet the theatres have to try to build a regular audience for the long run. This is a recipie for disaster over the long term. I remember promoting films at the drive-in years ago, getting a good crowd to show, and then having the film turn out to be a total rip-off. People drove out mid-show and never returned. After about the third time, I said "Screw this!" and told the D.M. that he could forget about my promoting the schlock. Part of the demise of the drive-in theatres was caused by the repeated disappointment of customers that had been suckered by promotions. Our industry as a whole has no interest in building a reputation for consistant great entertainment. Every man is out for himself, and the local theatre owner usually ends up on the short end of the stick. I'd be more surprised if someone said that the folks in Hollywood weren't using bogus web sites.
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Thomas Procyk
Phenomenal Film Handler
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Posts: 1842
From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Feb 2002
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posted 08-24-2002 11:16 AM
The facts are right there:If a studio has to create a FAKE fan site, the movie sucks. If the movie has a REAL fan site (with REAL fans, of course) then it may actually be pretty good. As for the water effects looking fake, every time I see a trailer or clip or TV spot for xXx, and they show that avalanche scene, it looks worse than the ice falling in the beginning of "Ice Age"!! (at least the latter was supposed to be a cartoon!) =TMP=
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John Pytlak
Film God
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Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000
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posted 08-26-2002 10:52 AM
I recall that Steven Spielberg felt the mechanical problems with "Bruce" the shark actually helped make "Jaws" the tremendous success it was. Because of the problems, the actual screen time for "Bruce" was minimal, and mostly during the climactic end of the film, so the movie relied on the power of the cinematography, editing, and music to build suspense, rather than images of the (fake) shark itself: http://www.jawsmovie.com/ In the hands of a great artist, less is often more. ------------------ John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243 e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
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