Selling 'Hannah' to the Masses
Filed under: Comedy, Drama, Independent, Romance, IFC, Home Entertainment, Movie Marketing, Cinematical Indie
How do you sell the merits of an indie film to the masses? Scott Macaulay raises the question at the Filmmaker Magazine blog in connection with the release of Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes the Stairs on DVD tomorrow. The film debuted at last year's SXSW and then received a brief theatrical release last summer. Macaulay posted pictures of the theatrical release poster, in contrast with the home video box cover.
Which is more effective? Chris Thilk at Movie Marketing Madness commented on the poster last summer, describing it as "a very cool poster that manages [to] mix the starkness that identifies it easily as an independent, character-driven film with some wacky visuals that play the same sort of tune the trailer did. I love it." The DVD cover, with the titular character of Hannah (played by Greta Gerwig) almost fading into the background, makes it look more like a mainstream ensemble romantic comedy.
But, wait! The photo on the cover was one of the original publicity photos and can be found on the film's official site. It may not be the most representative, though, since the film is all about Hannah and how she flits through relationships rather quickly. The Chicago city 'scape background was obviously added later. The blurb is snipped from Owen Gleiberman's review in Entertainment Weekly. The theatrical poster featured a quote from Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe. Is one critic's quote more appealing than the other?
In her review, Jette Kernion wrote that the film "isn't a standard narrative that you just sit back and enjoy mindlessly -- you have to put a little work into paying attention, sticking with a nontraditional plot structure, getting to know the variety of characters ... I hope more people will get the opportunity to see this film outside of festivals, perhaps on DVD."
I agree that Hannah Takes the Stairs deserves a wider audience, but I'm not sure the DVD cover will make people want to pick it up and take a chance on renting or buying it. What do you think?
2011 Will Not Feature a Summer Pixar Film?
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-21-2008 @ 1:30PM
kevjohn said...
"The photo on the cover was one of the original publicity photos and can be found on the film's official site."
Or... since you've displayed both here on this page you can just tell us which one is which, the left or the right. I searched the official site briefly and found nothing to indicate what the DVD cover will look like. That may be because my workplace internet filter blocks some images, or it may be because that site doesn't have the best layout in the world.
To answer your general question, I might think about a movie with the cover image on the left, but I wouldn't so much as give the cover image on the left a second glance. It looks too bland and whitebread, like Friends With Money or The Family Stone. If I had to make a snap judgement (which is what you commonly do when perusing the shelves at a rental store), I'd most likely pass this on by on the assumption that this film's Chicago is probably located in the same homogeneous universe that contains the NYC from Friends and Seinfeld.
Reply
4-21-2008 @ 6:01PM
jasonsmurphy said...
This one has actually been available on dvd for a little while now - at least as a Blockbuster exclusive.
All of that navel-gazing got to be a bit much for me, though.
Reply
4-21-2008 @ 2:19PM
GL said...
Neither picture grabs my attention. Thilk's comments seem to work if you already know what the movie is about, but it doesn't exactly come across that way without the background.
Thilk's comments do give readers a clue as to which is which.
Reply
4-21-2008 @ 3:07PM
dopiestghost said...
Honestly? Both look bad to me. The theatrical one looks like yet another indie slice of life movie, the DVD looks like yet another bland ensemble rom-com. Neither look like they bring anything new or interesting to the table.
Reply
4-21-2008 @ 4:27PM
Wiley Wiggins said...
The one on the right looks like either a straight to video movie that was cast off from a Gay and Lesbian film festival or a Christian film festival. Or it could be an ad for herpes medicine.
The original blue/yellow one actually looked like someone with some design sense took a swing at it (other than the horrible wacky-font tagline on top).
Reply
4-21-2008 @ 8:05PM
Richard von Busack said...
I'd go for the left one too, on the grounds that the goggles make it looks more like quirk than "Friends". As Tom Carson put it, Friends don't let friends watch "Friends". But I think this film needs to embrace its destiny a little more in big screaming capital letters. Whatever happened to showmanship, anyway?
"WHAT IS...MUMBLECORE??? 99 OUT OF A HUNDRED CAN'T STAND MUMBLECORE. ARE YOU THAT SPECIAL 100th VIEWER? A FRANK, SHOCKING EXPOSE OF THE LIVING ROOMS--AND THE SHOWER ROOMS!--WHERE TODAY'S HEDONISTIC, ANYTHING FOR A THRILL YOUNG PEOPLE DRINK COFFEE AND COMPLAIN ABOUT THEIR JOBS! OR LACK OF THE SAME! IF PEOPLE SITTING ON SOFAS DISTURB YOU...STAY AWAY! IF YOU AREN'T TOUGH ENOUGH TO HANDLE MEN WHINING ABOUT THEIR LOVE LIVES...STAY AWAY! Due to the seemingly unedited and barely audible conversations, this film is not yet rated. An American Mumblecore International Production."
Reply
4-22-2008 @ 1:44AM
Nate said...
I wonder how much say the Weinsteins have in DVD artwork since they distribute DVDs for IFC...
The difference seems pretty clear when you consider the change along those lines.
Reply