The late actor Val Kilmer is resurrected in a movie trailer via artificial intelligence technology, in a film marketing milestone. Kilmer, who died a year ago and is famous for his “Top Gun” roles, is re-created for independent-made western “As Deep as the Grave” (trailer screen grab with Kilmer above). “The footage includes Kilmer at various ages — at one point, he’s a … [Read more...] about AI Resurrects Actor for Trailer
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Hard-Action Trailer Targets Fanboys
What do the professional film critics say? This audience doesn’t care. What’s the plot of the movie? It’s immaterial. Welcome to the world of the hard-action film trailers. Liongate acquired distribution rights to the Hong Kong martial arts film “The Furious” for May 29 cinema premiere in North America (U.S. and Canada). It’s R-rated and the trailer is a case study … [Read more...] about Hard-Action Trailer Targets Fanboys
‘Bride’ Tagline Aims to Shock
Faced with a difficult movie to market, Warner Bros. Pictures went to the edge of good taste with key copy line “Here Comes the F*%#ing Bride!” The character salad in the text clearly suggests a curse word to promote “The Bride!” The shock-treatment language (image above is from a “The Bride!” marketing email) did not help. The R-rated horror drama bombed its opening weekend … [Read more...] about ‘Bride’ Tagline Aims to Shock
Serious Thrust Trips Up ‘Running Man’
“The Running Man” is a rare example of a film suffering declining audience interest the more that its marketing campaign rolls out. Starring up-and-comer leading man Glen Powell, the dystopian drama got knocked for being too serious , which hews close to its source Stephen King novel, a dark thriller. The 1987 film adaptation with the identical title starring Arnold … [Read more...] about Serious Thrust Trips Up ‘Running Man’
Fan-Made Film Trailers Flourish
Hollywood trade-news website Deadline.com blows the lid off the murky world of unauthorized, fan-made movie trailers. The trailers splice together bits from legitimate Hollywood content that is coupled with manufactured material, often created with artificial intelligence technology. (Pictured above is a screen grab of a fan-made trailer with John Travolta as Superman in a … [Read more...] about Fan-Made Film Trailers Flourish
Filmmakers Self-Brand With Text Styles
The Best-Picture Oscar winner Sean Baker uses the same curvy type-face for logo-treatment for all his movies: the flowery, handwriting-like Aguafina Script, which graces his “Anora” (pictured above). A Fast Company magazine article notes top filmmakers tend to use the same typefaces for multiple movies, which is a subtle branding exercise. “Wes Anderson has an obsession … [Read more...] about Filmmakers Self-Brand With Text Styles
Classic Monsters Enjoy Film Revival
Remakes, sequels and re-imagings of classic monster movies dribble to cinema and TV screens, but that small but steady flow is now a torrent. Five sizable films are hitting cinema and TV screens. Universal Pictures premiered “Wolf Man” (marketing image above) in cinemas this weekend and Netflix has “Frankenstein” coming later this year from auteur Guillermo del Toro, among … [Read more...] about Classic Monsters Enjoy Film Revival
Hot Tech Looks Cool in Faux Film Trailer
Artificial intelligence company Perplexity employs the traditional film trailer format as newfangled tech goes old school in its consumer marketing. Perplexity is an “answer engine” that employs AI. AI capabilities and startup companies are revolutionizing computing, achieving huge valuations with investors, and closely held startup Perplexity is trolling for human users. … [Read more...] about Hot Tech Looks Cool in Faux Film Trailer
‘Civil War’ Cleverly Disguises Its Politics
A24-distributed “Civil War” is a surprise cinema hit over the weekend, defying odds since such topical-political movies are typically boxoffice poison. The R-rated violent drama from distributor A24 posted a hefty $25.7 million over the April 12-14 weekend, exceeding tracking-research expectations. The dystopian action film set in the near future presents the United States … [Read more...] about ‘Civil War’ Cleverly Disguises Its Politics
‘Haunting in Venice’ Downplays Pedigree, Hypes Horror
“A Haunting in Venice” is based on an Agatha Christie mystery novel, but the theatrical film adaptation was marketed as a horror film, ignoring its best-selling author pedigree. What gives? It seems Walt Disney Studios decided that moviegoers are not moved by literary acclaim, but horror sells at the boxoffice. Christie, who died in 1976, did not get noticeably … [Read more...] about ‘Haunting in Venice’ Downplays Pedigree, Hypes Horror