Sign Up | My StoryLink | Help | Sign In
Movie trailers in decline.
I'm a fan of movie trailers. They're quick little bursts of hope. And over the years I've prided myself on becoming incredibly accurate when judging a movie from its trailer. Saved me from quite a few horrors in the theater (only to see them later on cable with a self righteous smile).
However lately I've discovered a disturbing trend. The television trailers have become increasingly vague as of late. They show snippets the movie - but not the plot - and then focus on the cast (and any awards they seem to have won, ever). This is nothing new as far as using stars to sell a movie. But this new trend of avoiding the story (aka the movie) isn't going to pull people to the theater.
Let me pepper you with some examples. I first noticed it with Nicholas Cage's action movie Bangkok Dangerous. The television trailer showed Nicholas Cage's character shooting everything that moves followed by his V.O. of "My name is Joe. This is what I do." Oh well sign me up. I can't buy enough tickets for this one. And how did the movie fare? Not well. It topped the first weekend with such a low number (because nothing else was out) that it would have been buried during the summer.
The crappy trailer phenomenon continued into other movies: Righteous Kill, Body of Lies, Pride and Glory, Nights in Rodanthe, Miracle at St. Anna. I'm not saying any of these movies are crap. And maybe their theatrical trailers were much better. But the state of television movie trailers seems to have shifted from quality to confusion. "Just show the stars." seems to be the new order.
Or maybe they're just trying to hide the fact that all these movies are terrible.
Comments
I'm glad you added your thoughts about recent trailers to your blog and it was on Storylink's homepage. Not to change the subject about trailers but this gives me the chance to thank you. If you don't appreciate thank you's then don't read any further and forget this comment.
I submitted my first Pitch to Storylink's recent Pitch contest with your help. Your sample was one of three and yours was the one that worked for me. Being a newbe, studying examples is a must for me in this business. So thank you for that.
My story is a suspenseful crime drama. I hope I have a chance at being a finalist. If not, then my work is out there for the Pros to see.
Thanks again for your sample pitch of Victim's Song. Nice website as well.
Carol
Hey Jeff... Couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for letting me know about the next Frameforge class. Hope I can make it. Many years ago late 70's, LA had a fantastic Film Festival (primarily funded by RO Anderson, CEO of ARCO) called FILMEX.
It was 2-3 weeks of non-stop films in dozens of theaters all over town all at the same time. It was incredible. And one of the best programs that always sold out was "COMING SOON" a collection of old and new trailers. The first year they had it, it was so popular, the Festival Organizers had "SON OF COMING SOON" every following year.
And of course, even back then (meaning trailers from the 30's through the 70's) the majority of the ones shown were far more intertaining than the movie.
Hey Jeffrey... couldn't agree with you more! DJ Halver (David)