Cinematical

On the one hand, I can see why a film would want a few drastically different posters -- you can appeal to a wider audience and get more butts into the seats. At the same time, this technique runs the risk of alienating the people you just intrigued. You look at one poster, get all excited, then see another, and begin to wonder if you'd really be interested in it. Two posters for the upcoming sports comedy Leatherheads have been released this week. To the right, you get my favorite, which popped up yesterday over at Coming Soon. It's fun, and I love the faces George Clooney and John Krasinski are sporting. You know it's a retro sports comedy, and that you'll get some light laughs from the film's stars.

Now, over here to the left, this is the poster that popped up today on Empire. It's overly-airbrushed, and frankly, too romantically serious for the film -- at least in comparison to the last poster and the trailer that came out last month. I understand playing up the romance angle, but there's two much better ways to do this -- play up the triangle between Renee Zellweger, Clooney, and Krasinski, or use a funny image from the film -- Renee driving off and leaving George in the mud, or of the pair post-kiss with lipstick smudged everywhere. Then, you're displaying the romance without making it seem like some typical romcom.

What do you think?