Posters Tagged Articles at Cinematical

A dizzying array of elements are involved in creating a movie poster -- everything from contractual requirements dictating the size of the stars' names to psychological studies on which colors and fonts produce which emotions in viewers. But Ron Henriques at Latino Review suggests there might be more to it. In a very amusing article -- or an infuriating one, depending on how seriously you take it -- he shows multiple examples of what he considers racist "rules" in the way minorities are shown in posters.

For example, Henriques says it's only OK for a minority (he's mostly talking about African Americans) to brandish a gun in a movie poster if they're cops, secret agents, or FBI. What's more, he says, the posters tend to make it clear that the person is in law enforcement, either through costume elements or in the text on the poster, lest observers think he's a criminal. (White people, he implies, are allowed to hold guns on posters without being identified as cops.) "Perhaps this will change in time if the powers that be will get over their fears that minorities brandishing weapons on a simple movie poster is going to make their kids go postal," Henriques writes, making it hard to tell whether he's exaggerating for the sake of humor or whether he really believes that that's what movie marketers believe.

Another of his observations: Minorities brandishing weapons often have their faces partially obscured from the poster. He shows American Gangster, Smokin' Aces, and Matrix Reloaded as examples; in each case, the black actors' faces are cut off just above the nose. But in fairness, so are the white actors' faces.

Does anybody remember movie novelizations? They've made a bit of a comeback in recent history, but whoo boy was I a fan of them back in the '80s. Of course, as an adult that love has turned into nostalgia, and to this day, my Lost Boys novelization holds a prominent location on my bookshelf. But I'm not the only one with a soft spot for those books, because over at Spacesick they have won my heart by creating the "I Read Movies" series. Granted, these books don't exist (and how I wish they did), but you have to love these retro covers they've created for everything from Shaun of The Dead to Ghost Dad.

We do plenty of poster launches around here, but sometimes it seems like we just don't see the same effort being put into our movie one-sheets like we used to. You know you're in trouble when fictional book covers are more impressive than your average studio marketing campaign. But before I start to sound too much like a crotchety grandpa, I'm going to focus on the positive and that's where the fans come in. Take a look around and you'll see some pretty awesome work being done, so we can only hope that some of that creativity rubs off on actual studio releases.

Check out some of our favorites in the gallery below.

The world of movie marketing certainly has changed over the years, and some of the greatest films to ever come out of Hollywood never got the chance to have high powered marketing teams behind them creating multi-million dollar campaigns. But when it comes to poster art, classic artists like Saul Bass or Bob Peak have yet to be matched. Now, thanks to Turner Classic Movies, we've got a perfect blend of the old and the new in their set of teaser posters for their Summer Under the Stars programming line-up (you can download the full schedule on the TCM site) and the results are in a word: fan-freaking-tastic.

There are 12 posters in total, and they include some breathtaking new images for movies like To Catch a Thief, The Big Heat, The Magnificent Seven, and Dr. Strangelove. TCM has provided a heck of a programming month for fans of classic movies, and if you have never seen some of these films, now is your chance. Since I'm a bit of geek when it comes to these things, I immediately began fantasizing about buying a reproduction to hang in my living room -- but I'm not that lucky, because it looks like these posters aren't for sale and, instead, I will just have to make do with downloading the desktop wallpapers.

TCM's Summer Under the Stars will start in August with the films of Henry Fonda, and will run for the entire month. Check out some of our favorite classic movie teaser posters below, and see if you can guess the film.

LEGOs really are the perfect toy, aren't they? Think about it: no pesky gender divide about what boys and girls like, they thrive off of pure imagination, and they come in handy for some pretty geeky fan art. Now, we've already seen Silence of the Lambs done in LEGO, recreations of our favorite scenes, but now an industrious group of individuals at Speckyboy Design Magazine have compiled some great examples of movie posters that are made of those oh-so adaptable plastic building blocks. There's a poster here for everybody, including a few nods to the current summer movie season (my favorite just might be the Inglourious Basterds recreation courtesy of Dr. Sinister -- it's not easy to find a bat that small), but we've also got some classics like Jaws by LegoLyons, and Rocky by Marcin ImpreSariO to round out the mix.

So it just goes to show that with a little imagination and a few plastic blocks, there is no limit to what a fan can, or will do. Check out some of our favorites in the gallery below.

I love a good movie poster. I've collected them, often paid way too much for them, and even once managed to snag one of those subway ads for Interview with a Vampire (don't ask). II know a lot of you out there couldn't care less about a new poster (it's just advertising< right?), but I also know there are plenty of you out there who are just like me, and can be found slowly meandering along a row of coming soon posters at your local theater, mouth open, day-dreaming .... mmmm. But anyway, let's start with the very good and work our way down to "the other stuff."

Where the Wild Things Are:
Damn if this new poster isn't another jaw-droppingly beautiful image; cute but with an edge. We've got the monster front and center, beautiful colors, and all of the small detail adds up to something I'd be proud to hang in my living room. Granted, most of us were probably sold on Spike Jonze's adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic as soon as that first bar of Wake Up in the trailer started, but this new poster is another cherry on what looks to be one hell of a cake. Image included in gallery below.



The Box:
Sometimes you almost feel sorry for Richard Kelly. He was supposed to be the next big thing until Southland Tales happened, and he's never heard the end of it. Things haven't gone much smoother for his 'ode to Twilight Zone' either, but hopefully the bad part is over and now we have our very first glimpse at the one-sheet. So how do you make a poster for a movie that nobody knows all that much about? Well, it turns out you make a Hitchcockian poster, because nothing says suspense like a little touch of the man himself. Personally, I like it, but if you have a thing against 'big head' posters you might feel a little differently. Image included in gallery below.

Making a great movie poster is an art, but making a so-so one? That seems to be something that any studio can do. There are now four new character posters for the feature film version of the Real American Hero, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, and for those of you who were disappointed after only receiving head shots in the last round of one-sheets -- well, you aren't going to be much happier (that is, unless you have a torso fetish). The latest batch (see below) showcase Duke, Ripcord, Snake Eyes, Scarlett and The Baroness all in their best leather fightin' gear, which might not be much to write home about, although, I'm sure fanboys will be pleased with the tight leather outfits sported by Scarlett (Rachel Nichols) and The Baroness (Sienna Miller).

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is set ten years in the future, and, like the title says, will center on the origins of the Cobra Organization. It would seem that it will be origin stories all around, as Stuart Beattie's script also puts Duke (Channing Tatum) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) at the center of the action with their induction into the Joe team.

You would think that for a film expected to be a big hit this summer, there would be a little more 'oomph' injected into their marketing. But, I guess it wasn't meant to be ... yet ... and for now we're going to have to suck it up and deal with all these posters. However, there is one notable exception in all of the posters so far, and it is probably the one fans are most anxious about: good old Cobra Commander himself (as played by *Jason Joseph Gordon Levitt). Surprisingly, any images of Cobra have remained under lock and key, so I guess we'll have to keep our fingers crossed that he makes an appearance in the Superbowl trailer.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra will arrive in theaters on August 7, 2009. Check out the new and old posters below.

I know you probably haven't had your daily dose of awesome yet today, and so might I suggest ordering a personalized David Hasselhoff poster for that special someone in your life. Over at the site Universal Poster, one can actually choose between several Hoff posters before being able to personalize the thing with your own words ... but in Hoff's handwriting! And to think you were just about to buy your kid a boring old Dark Knight DVD when stuff like this exists in the world. Other celebrities on the site include Tom Jones, Julio Iglesias and Paul Potts. Each poster runs £7.95 without the personalization, and with it this marvelous piece of holiday joy will cost upwards of £15.45. Feel free to thank us when your dorm room is the hottest spot on campus.

One of the studio-based horror projects that I've got my eye on is The Ruins, which is based on a very fine novel by Scott B. Smith. If they hew closely enough to the source material, I'm thinking The Ruins could make for one ferociously memorable little terror flick -- but we'll have to wait until April 4 to find out.

Helmed by first-timer Carter Smith and starring folks like Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey, Shawn Ashmore and Jena Malone, The Ruins tells the tale of an ill-fated trip into the jungle ... but it's NOT your typical hack 'n' slash affair. Trust me on that. Two new posters for the flick gives away a little bit of who/what the antagonist is, but not enough to ruin the fun. Check out that one-sheet right here at Shock, and then head on over to JoBlo's for a peek at the second poster. (Starting to sense a theme in these posters?)

The official site also has a new "red-band" trailer up, and it's even better than the "all ages" teaser that appeared a few weeks back. Ooh, and best of all: The Ruins has been rated R by the MPAA for "strong violence and graphic images," in addition to some other adult-oriented stuff. So to those who were worried that Smith's story would be toned down for a PG-13 crowd, feel free to offer some thanks to Paramount and DreamWorks.

Clowns and robots ... need I say more?

• That Dark Knight teaser website has been updated with a slew of clown photos; all of which can also be accessed through a new site, Rent-a-Clown.com. Readers can now scroll through seven pages of regular folk with their faces painted like the Joker, while listening to that annoying circus music. If I had to take a wild guess, it looks like the photos were taken during ComicCon, and they're now being used as part of yet another viral promotion for next summer's The Dark Knight. A message above the images reads: "Hire any of these clowns to entertain you at the public gathering of your choice. They will do almost anything for a laugh." Anything? Really? Oh, I can think of some things ....
• And speaking of viral marketing, Pixar has already started building hype for next summer's WALL•E by releasing a few character posters during ComicCon. You can scroll through five of them here. Once you're done with that, head on over to Buynlarge.com -- apparently this is the website for the fictitious robotics manufacturer that created the robots featured in the film. There's plenty of detail stuffed into the site, but you can scope out pics (as well as read about their individual specialties) of four different robots: SALL•E, GAR•E, NANC•E and WEND•E. You can read much more about Pixar's next flick in our ComicCon coverage of the Disney/Pixar Presentation.
• Since I just got finished telling you about clowns and robots, it's only fitting that I leave you with one story that involves both. Some dude posted a short film up on YouTube which follows director Michael Bay (portrayed by a hilarious actor) around town while he attempts to convince people to go see Transformers. I've watched it three times now, and the thing just keeps cracking me up. These guys are so out of their minds. For those of you in the office, there's a bunch of foul language included within, so keep that in mind. My favorite line: The actor playing Bay runs up to the camera and says, "I just got done banging my assistant in a giant pile of cash." Yeah, that about gives you an idea of where this one is heading. Enjoy. [via Defamer]

Does the choice of colors used in movie posters really mean anything? I never paid attention before now. Recently, someone with far more knowledge than me has taken a look at movie posters, wondering if there is some correlation between color, content and box office success. Starting with the iconic poster image of Showgirls in mind, Armin Vit at Speak Up has written a fascinating article entitled "Dark and Fleshy: The Color of Top Grossing Movies."

Vit is an experienced graphic designer, so he approached the subject from that angle: "I love black backgrounds more than anything else in the design business, and yet I was still very surprised to acknowledge how dark theatrical posters are and that, specifically, in this context, the top 25 grossing movies of all time across all ages didn't run a very wide gamut." He broke down the colors of 25 posters, representing the top five box office earners in each MPAA category: G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17. The graphic results certainly surprised me and may depress you with the bland similarities. The entire article is well worth reading, though, as are the comments.

Having read Vit's article, I find myself looking at posters in a whole new light. Even one that stands out as "badass" -- as Erik Davis aptly described the 3:10 to Yuma poster -- is predominantly composed of dark colors. As Vit acknowledged, there are always exceptions to the rule -- he cited The 40 Year Old Virgin, and Wedding Crashers is another that comes to mind -- but next time you visit the multiplex, check out the posters for the most popular films and see what colors predominate.