'Bonneville' Cruises into a Unique Marketing Scheme
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Distribution, Movie Marketing
A few years ago, a little film called Bonneville premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. A year went by, and then the film popped up at a few more festivals. Finally, SenArt Films grabbed the feature, and it's finally making its way to the big screen this year. You'd think that it must be some sort of super-indie to create pretty much zero buzz and not find any takers for well over a year after its premiere, but it's actually a film that has quite of few big-name actresses in it -- Joan Allen, Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, and Christine Baranski. (On the male side of things, there's also Tom Wopat, yes that Wopat, and Tom Skerritt.)Now that it will hit screens this February, The Hollywood Reporter has posted about the film's unique marketing campaign. You'd think with a road trip movie named Bonneville, they might have some sort of car promotion, or maybe even a big party in Bonneville, PA. Not in the least. Instead, they are teaming up with Princess Cruises and hosting sneak previews on a number of the line's ships. It will be shown on oceanic trips to destinations like Australia, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and Argentina.
I don't get it, but nevertheless, even if you're not cruising around the world on a Princess ship any time soon, this is what you'll get if you go see the flick next month -- a woman named Arvilla (Lange) is faced with a big life decision, so she grabs her two best friends (Bates and Allen) and they take a road trip across the US in a '66 Bonneville convertible. Of course, this trip is a rediscovery, so I imagine it'll be a bit like Boys on the Side, but for an older generation. Limited release begins on February 29.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-01-2008 @ 12:16PM
Amy said...
Wonderful movie!! I feel like grabbing my friends and going on a road trip re-discovery!! Makes you think about life and friendships!!
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3-03-2008 @ 6:14PM
catastrocastrphe said...
this movie was very mature, and for once I'm proud at hollywood for not targeting the typical mid-20 age group. While the critics were unimpressed, we must consider the fact that critics are either older and male, or younger and both geners, leaving out the critical older female demographic this movie relates most to.
I personally fall under that category and must say, I was highly impressed with the script and acting.
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3-03-2008 @ 6:17PM
andrew said...
I agree with catastro, even though I'm not a part of that age/sex group, I still see the bias everywhere with critics these days.
I saw this movie with my mom and she loved it just as much as I did. I was probably laughing even more than her and my aunts, and felt just as deeply as them when the serious moments of the movie passed.
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