How to Sell 'American Teen': Psst, Don't Mention the "D" Word
Filed under: Documentary, Movie Marketing, Images, Cinematical Indie, Paramount Vantage, Posters
It's been a tough year for documentaries at the box office. How do you market a critically-acclaimed film about five Indiana high school teens that just happens to be a doc?
The film is American Teen, and the hurrahs began at Sundance this year. James Rocchi described it as "an engaging, stylish and surprisingly smart piece of non-fiction entertainment." Paramount Vantage acquired distribution rights and then released a poster a couple of months later that intentionally reminded everyone of John Hughes' The Breakfast Club (note poster on the left, above).
The company changed tactics somewhat with their campaign inviting people to become "fans" of the real-life characters in the movie. You can see more about this at the film's official site. Filmmaker A. J. Schnack questioned the wisdom of selling documentary subjects as marketable commodities. A new poster took a different approach (see above, right), though the trailer is still selling the nostalgia element.
In the Los Angeles Times, Mark Olsen examines the marketing challenge in detail. Among other things, he quotes director Nanette Burstein as not wanting the Breakfast Club poster as anything more than a teaser. But Paramount Vantage exec Megan Colligan claims they are not "trying to hide the fact that it's a documentary ... One of the challenges of this movie is making people feel like this is a cinematic experience that will feel to them like a great teen comedy." American Teen opens in limited engagements on Friday, July 25.
Do you plan on seeing American Teen?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-17-2008 @ 9:40PM
Jonathan Kuhn said...
I actually saw this Tuesday night at a screening at USC, and four of the teens from the film answered questions afterward.
I can understand why they'd want to market it without focusing too much on the documentary aspect. It's funny how many plotlines in the film relate to things we're used to seeing in Hollywood movies. (Except the film treats high school more seriously than most movies have post-80's.)
That said, I think it could be good for teens to see because it might make them think about how they would appear if captured in a documentary. Some of the people come of as pretty bad, and they spoke about how they've matured since then and what it's like to look back at themselves from two years ago.
Unlike a lot of documentaries, it's following normal people in their normal lives. It's not some quirky thing that a seemingly normal person does. It's just real life, playing out for us to watch.
I've got more to say about this unique aspect of the film here:
http://slowclapchildren.blogspot.com/2008/07/this-was-your-life.html
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7-17-2008 @ 10:39PM
Ghonius said...
The Breakfast club poster was a real turn-off for me, to even compare your first little film on such a grand scale to a cult movie that resonated with a generation; while totally ripping off the clothes and composition, placing this 80s look on these post-millenials, it just rang of uncreative, stolen art. It said to me, "Hey look at this 80s man...", than it slapped me in the face when I saw how awful the content was. John Hughes should sue the ppl behind this for tainting the Club and whoever came up with the idea should check their head -- they've really ruined the original poster I think by defacing it with poor content. To than see what course they have taken in the marketing of a documentary, making its subjects into fan fodder, totally taking back the 80s nostalgia and replacing it with a "Crossroads" middle road approach is abhorrent. They took a poop on the Breakfast Club for what? Dawsons Creek live?
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7-18-2008 @ 12:07PM
Jonathan Kuhn said...
First off, I have to point out that this isn't her first film. She directed "The Kid Stays In The Picture," which got a lot of acclaim.
Secondly, she likely had no say over how the film was marketed. This post alludes to her not being entirely happy with how it's being marketed.
While I personally feel that "The Breakfast Club" poster is a cool homage (That's really one of the last big films to take the struggles of high school seriously.), I can see why people would call it a rip-off. But to say that it's tainted the film is ridiculous.
If we were talking about a remake, I could agree with that. People would see it and not bother with the original, perhaps. But people that have seen the movie aren't going to have their opinions swayed by a poster homage/rip-off. Those that haven't seen it aren't going to get the reference in the first place.
7-18-2008 @ 4:47AM
V.M.L. said...
AMERICAN TEEN sounds like a reality show.
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7-18-2008 @ 8:26AM
Michael C. said...
I caught AMERICAN TEEN at the Provincetown International Film Festival and was very disappointed at it manipulative plotlines and staged sequences. I was also disappointed at the film's validation of every stereotype and cliche of teen life in the movies, so THE BREAKFAST CLUB poster is actually pretty apt as a marketing tool.
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