Romantic comedy “It Ends With Us” is headed for a relatively big cinema premiere Friday, helped by buzz from its star-laden premiere. “It Ends,” whose star Blake Lively was catalyst for extensive media coverage of its premiere, is a PG-13 rom-com from Sony Pictures Releasing. The film is based on the best-selling novel by Colleen Hoover. The gala Aug. 6 premiere at the … [Read more...] about Premiere Press Coverage Propels ‘It Ends’
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Film Marketing Takes to Streets
The “Star Wars” franchise has mounted a marketing initiative that projects lighted images on a famous New York City building, attracting the attention of street traffic and, more importantly, the press. “Star Wars” imagery gets beamed on the side of the 102-floor Empire State Building at night. This supports licensed movie merchandise and runs of “Star Wars” saga movies on … [Read more...] about Film Marketing Takes to Streets
‘Dune 2’ Blasts Off With Global PR Tour
Big-budget “Dune: Part Two” basks in the glow of copious good press after distributor Warner Bros. Pictures mounted an extensive six-country, whistle-stop publicity tour of talent. The “Dune 2” publicity parade made stops earlier this month at New York City, Mexico City, Paris, London, South Korea and Abu Dhabi. That press tour covered the world because each stop became a … [Read more...] about ‘Dune 2’ Blasts Off With Global PR Tour
Film Awards Juggernaut Suffers Dings
The movie awards industry, whose apex will be the Oscars telecast coming March 10, is buffeted by isolated storms though the promotional juggernaut keeps cruising along. It’s estimated that several hundred million dollars are spent each year on awards marketing. A film critic organization is fighting allegations of vote tampering, the bellwether Golden Globes is in rehab, … [Read more...] about Film Awards Juggernaut Suffers Dings
‘Mean Girls’ Cast Leverages Social Clout
The casts of the two “Mean Girls” movies pack a wallop in social media, which was leveraged for a theatrical premiere this past weekend. The high-school satire musical opened Jan. 11-23 in cinemas to an estimated $28 million in domestic boxoffice (decent given horrible winter weather across the nation). The PG 13-rated film mixes in the cast of an identically titled movie … [Read more...] about ‘Mean Girls’ Cast Leverages Social Clout
Websites, Fest Outreach Best Low-Cost Marketing
The best use of a shoestring $20,000 marketing campaign for a documentary is a website to promote creative elements and serve as a permanent beacon, says documentary maven Chris Albert. Followed by film festival outreach in order to target opinion leaders, “I’d spend about $1,500 on a very rudimentary website where the film could live so when I meet people I can send them on … [Read more...] about Websites, Fest Outreach Best Low-Cost Marketing
Striking Actors Angle for Publicity
Hollywood’s actors strike prohibits overt publicity to support movies and TV shows, which hurts boxoffice and TV program launches that would otherwise get a lift from plugs by star talent. The New York Post detects that A-listers, hamstrung by union no-work mandates, are now angling to indirectly “stay in the public eye — and in the minds of Emmy and Oscar voters — through … [Read more...] about Striking Actors Angle for Publicity
Swift, Beyoncé Bounced From Oscars
The upcoming Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concert theatrical films shape up as cinema blockbusters, but neither is expected to be eligible for Oscar consideration under current Academy Awards rules, according to a Variety story. The problem is these are self-made films crossing a line into self-promotion, and not from independent documentarians. Both concert films fall into the … [Read more...] about Swift, Beyoncé Bounced From Oscars
Netflix Film Gets ‘Nose’-ticed
The Netflix-produced movie about composer/conductor Leonard Bernstein is getting unexpected publicity because of star Bradley Cooper’s prominent prosthetic nose in its trailer. Cooper portrays the late Bernstein in “Maestro,” which is also the actor’s second time as a director. He also co-wrote the film. Critics snipe that the large nose is an antisemitic swipe since it's … [Read more...] about Netflix Film Gets ‘Nose’-ticed
Strikes Derail Film Marketing, Cinema Comeback
The Hollywood strikes by actors and writers undercut movie publicity for new releases — since talent ordinarily publicize their films — and more ominously threaten to push back normal film flow already upended by the pandemic. The actors SAG-AFTRA work stoppage started July 14, which augments the May 2 beginning of the Writers Guild of America walkout. The strikes impact … [Read more...] about Strikes Derail Film Marketing, Cinema Comeback