Prior to an hour ago, I had no idea what kind of behavior could get your film tossed out of Muskogee's Bare Bones International Independent Film and Music Festival ... but now I do. According to news sources out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the independent horror film A Beautiful Day was scheduled to play the festival, but the filmmakers have been asked to take their celluloid and go home. Why? Cuz the "little guys" thought they could borrow some of that viral marketing from the big boys, that's why...
Apparently the guys put together a very vague trailer for their film's festival screening -- and it was so damn vague it was mistaken for a possible terrorist threat! The trailer never lets on that it's a ... movie trailer, plus it had some creepy voice-over that went a little like this: "People of Muskogee. Open your eyes. April 25th is a day you'll come to remember." Yikes. Given the current state of affairs in American high schools, it's no surprise that school officials caught wind of the clip and brought it to the awareness of various authorities.
(Note: Above image was chosen totally at random. Yup. We'll go with that.)
It's beginning to look a lot like summer blockbuster season everywhere you go.
I've heard the words "calm before the storm" mentioned more times in the past week than I have all year. That's because it's almost April, which means the official start to the summer movie season is only one month away. One month! That's it! Are all of you as excited as we are? (Don't all stand up and cheer at the same time.) Anyway, pretty much all of the big summer flicks have released trailers by now (with the exception of The Mummy 3 ... and maybe something else that I'm forgetting -- it is Monday after all).
We've seen trailers for The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Speed Racer, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk, WALL-E, Prince Caspian, Hellboy II, The X-Files, Wanted, The Happening, Hancock ... and so on. Of course, some films have been a little more aggressive than others -- like Iron Man (which comes out first), WALL-E (a few trailers, teasers and a very early viral campaign) and The Dark Knight (one teaser, one trailer and 50 billion viral sites). Indy's shoveled out a bunch of videos, as well as a trailer, and The Incredible Hulk has given us one trailer and a few images. One imagines all of these films will ramp up their marketing as their release dates draw closer.
But here's our question today: Which summer blockbuster trailer pumped you up most to see the film? Feel free to answer the poll below or write in your favorite in the comments section. (Me? I'm going with The Dark Knight.)
Yesterday, Eric D. Snider mentioned an interesting exercise by The New Republic's Christopher Orr. Annoyed at the recent glut of trailers that give away the entire film, he decided to write a review of 21 (which hits theaters today) based only on the trailer. Eric thought the "review" was actually pretty accurate, and I agree. I also agree that the trailer is egregiously inconsiderate of people who'd have liked to go into the movie unspoiled at least as to the third act. It's a shame.
But I'm sure you agree that it doesn't have to be that way. Trailers don't have to give away the game, and they don't have to be tacky and ham-fisted either. They're a marketing tool, of course, but trailers are also -- or can be -- an art form in their own right. Sometimes a trailer is such a skillful composition of images, sounds, words and music that it winds up having more of an effect on me than the movie I'm in the theater to see. (Often, too, the trailer turns out to be better than the movie it's advertising, which is always a disappointment.)
So while yesterday Eric asked you for examples of trailers that pissed you off because they revealed too much, I'd like to know which recent trailers you've loved. Not necessarily which ones you think advertised their movie in the optimal way, but which ones have been great in themselves -- scary, rousing, moving, beautiful. Take a look at some of my favorites and sound off after the jump.
The man known in most circles as Sly Stallone surprised the heck out of people last winter with Rocky Balboa -- the sixth and final installment in Stallone's 31 year-old boxing franchise. It was a slow film, sure, but it reflected Sly's age, as well as the physical and mental spot Rocky was in. Now, however, Stallone is going in a completely different direction with John Rambo -- the fourth and final installment in Stallone's 25 year-old action franchise. Co-written and directed by Stallone (first time he's helming a Rambo flick), the couple of teasers we've been shown so far clearly reveal that Sly is still a lean, mean fighting machine -- and for those who thought he might be holding back due to age or whatever, you'll need to check out this latest trailer (if you can call it that -- it's more like a montage of clips) in which John Rambo is violent as all hell.
And I love the way the film looks too -- there seems to be none of this Hollywood-style hiding of the blood; John Rambo makes no doubt about the fact that it will be a high-octane, balls-to-the-wall, R-rated action flick ... and I don't know about you, but we need one of those. In the film, Rambo is placed in charge of rescuing a group of Christian human rights missionaries after a group of brutal Burmese army men take them hostage. Aiding Rambo on his mission are five young mercenaries -- although I have a feeling our man won't need their help much. Also starring in the film are Julie Benz, Matthew Marsden and newcomer Maung Maung Khim, as the villainous Major Pa Tee Tint. John Rambo is due out this December.
I'm filling in for Matt this week while he's off lounging in Vermont. Mmmm ... lounging. This week I decided to focus on trailers that feature actors and actresses who are just so damn good looking. Bonus points go out to the person who can tell me who spoke the line used in the title of this post, and in what context.
Descent: If anyone could go up against Angelina Jolie in a Sexiest Hollywood Lips competition, it would be Rosario Dawson. In Descent, which first premiered earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Festival, Dawson plays a college girl who is brutally raped by a guy she trusted. From there her entire world flips upside down as she struggles with the transformation this attack has caused, as well as whether or not she should exact revenge upon the guy who did this to her. The film was also slapped with an NC-17 rating, which means this ain't no after school special about coping with a brutal attack while sipping Juicy Juice in the park. Check out Ryan's coverage of the film from Tribeca; Descent is scheduled to hit theaters (or should that be "a theater") on August 10.
Rendition:. Does it get any hotter than Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal? What if we add Peter Sarsgaard, Meryl Streep and Alan Arkin to the cast? When her husband is kidnapped and sent off to some faraway "torture" prison for being a suspected terrorist, one woman (Witherspoon) hunts for the truth, one guy (Gyllenhaal) hunts for reasons and everyone else goes along for the ride. Has Oscar come knocking a bit early? Directed by Gavin Wood (whose Tsotsi won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language pic two years ago), Rendition arrives in your local theater on October 12. Check out the trailer below.
A brand new trailer for Rob Zombie's re-imagined Halloween has just arrived online, and I have to say it looks pretty good. Of course, since the trailer is quite obviously cut together so that it doesn't offend anyone, we can't truly see how bloody and gory Zombie's taken our old friend Michael Myers. What we need is a sweet red band trailer for this bad boy; I want to see Myers tearing someone's head off. The violence we do see, however, looks a bit more hand-to-hand and realistic than other Halloween sequels. I dig that. I often tire of watching someone like Myers (or Jason) rip a flagpole out of the ground and stick it through some poor, unsuspecting teenager having sex. I want to see fights. I want to see people scratching and clawing for their lives. I want to see Zombie bring Myers down to a level where we can almost imagine something like this happening somewhere in the real world.
And that's what Zombie is doing with this updated version; at least it appears that way. Right off the bat, we hear a news story that compares the Myers killings (when the young Myers hacks his family) to the Manson murders. By grounding this film in reality, I feel it will be a lot more successful. I already love the stuff with Myers in the mental hospital -- this was an aspect of the Halloween story that I always wanted to see more of. Just the fact that Zombie will dedicate a good amount of the film to this time in Myers' life is definitely something that intrigues me. Will we see Myers up to his old tricks? Hell yes. There will be plenty of him returning to Haddonfield, slicing his way through neighbor after neighbor, until he finally ends up face-to-face with the sister he came searching for. I would've liked to see some more of Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) in the trailer, but part of me almost likes the fact that Zombie is keeping him in the background until it's time to see the film. Check out the new trailer, and let us know what you think. Halloween arrives in theaters on August 31.
Hollywood being the enclosed universe that it is, it's pretty easy to spot patterns developing as one film seems connected to the next . This week on Trailer Park: yet another five degrees of trailer separation
Drillbit Taylor Seeking to avoid the daily humiliations that come with being a dork, three high school nerds hire a homeless man named Drillbit Taylor (Owen Wilson) to act as their bodyguard.. The idea has some merit and Wilson seems to carry the role well, but the kids in this movie just have no on-screen appeal. Knocked Up star Seth Rogen was one of the screenwriters, and the trailer pushes the fact that this is from "the guys who made Knocked Up and Superbad." I can't see rushing out to see this one, but I'll probably catch it on DVD. Martha Fischer first posted about this film here about a year ago. Check out the trailer yourself:
...and speaking of Owen Wilson. The Darjeeling Limited Wilson plays one of three brothers who are attempting to rekindle the family bond by taking a train trip across India. The other two brothers are played by Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman (who also co-wrote the screenplay), which gives this sibling trio a fascinating mix, and the film is directed by Wes Anderson of The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore. Favorite line: "I love you too, but I'm gonna mace you in the face." This looks awesome and I'll be checking it out when it hits theaters on September 29. Here's Erik's take on the trailer.
This week on Trailer Park, darkness falls across the land.
1-18-08 The turning point in this trailer is when a party is plunged into darkness. This preview, which has been playing with Tranformers, is one of the coolest trailers I've seen in... well, possibly ever. A farewell party in New York City is interrupted by a power failure and a massive explosion several miles away. The roar of something huge is heard in the distance, and a large piece of shrapnel turns out to be the Statue of Liberty's head. Over on IMDB this is still being called the Untitled J.J. Abrams Project. Speculation is running wild on this one. Just check out all the comments on Erik's posting about the film's teaser website. I for one am dying to see what this is all about.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane As Jette recently mentioned here, this teen horror flick has dropped off the summer release schedule entirely, been picked up by a new distributor and reassigned an early 2008 release date. In this fairly dark tale of teen lust and angst, a former ugly duckling has fallen in with the popular crowd. Every boy in her class has lusted after her, and during a weekend excursion to a remote ranch, several highly hormonal young men hope to get to know Mandy a whole lot better. Things turn ugly, though, and people start dying. The trailer resorts to lots of quick cuts, preventing the viewer from seeing who is getting offed, but there's a manic energy here that I find intriguing. Check it out:
Similar to the game Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon, connecting one film project to another is simply a question of finding what they have in common. It's Connect the Dots week on Trailer Park.
Rocket Science Since we're currently in the thick of the Summer blockbuster season and all the excess that goes along with it, this quirky little no frills comedy is a breath of fresh air. A teenage boy with a stutter is recruited for the debate team and he falls for the girl who talked him into joining up. There's a hilarious scene of our tortured hero throwing a cello through someone's window that has me wanting to find out what it's all about. This one looks downright charming, with a vague hint of Napoleon Dynamite. Cinematical's Scott Weinberg reviewed the film at Sundance. And speaking of first loves...
30 days of Night One of my first loves was comics (sad, I know), and this film is based on a graphic novel. A swarm of vampires prey on a small Alaska town that won't see daylight for another month. A cool concept, though I seem to recall a similar idea being used in an episode of the 1980s revival of The Twilight Zone. Here's a trailer that doesn't waste any time. Almost immediately something unseen breaks through a window and drags a woman outside and underneath a nearby building while her husband gives pursuit. The impression I'm getting here is Salem's Lot on steroids, and this baby looks wicked cool. Here's Scott's take on the trailer. And speaking of vampires...
It's deplorable in real life, and even in the movies it's not always welcome, but let's face it, violence is a key element of a lot of films. This week's Trailer Park is Rated V For Violent.
Shoot 'Em Up I have to admit I never would have expected to see Paul Giamatti in an action film (Planet of the Apes doesn't count, because you couldn't see him). Giamatti plays a hit man on the trail of a woman (Monica Bellucci) and her baby. Clive Owen seems to be reprising his role of guardian angel from Sin City and Children of Men, as he plays a former soldier with black ops training who takes it upon himself to protect mother and child. As the title implies, there's lots of gun play and stunts as well as some humor, and more than once I got the impression that this trailer was being beamed in from a parallel universe where Owen was the new James Bond. Looks like it should be a good time, and my favorite scene was Owen trying to buy bullets with food stamps. Here's Scott's take on the trailer.
Daddy Day Camp I'm not saying that every comedy has to be a "smart" comedy. Sometimes three idiots whacking each other in the head with blunt objects or a rabbit armed with an anvil and some dynamite will get the job done. But when a trailer has a puke gag, an injury to the groin joke (there's your violence), and an exploding toilet bit, I'm inclined to think this is going to be a painfully stupid movie. This sequel to Daddy Day Care sees Cuba Gooding Jr. assuming the role played by Eddie Murphy, and he wants to expand his day care business into the summer months, hence the title. Yet another film that proves winning an Oscar doesn't necessarily guarantee a stellar career. Interestingly enough, Fred Savage is directing.
Everybody's been in that situation, the one where -- for good or ill -- you've traveled outside your comfort zone and find yourself in unfamiliar territory. The trailers we're looking at today feature actors or characters in situations that are new to them. It's Fish Out of Water week on Trailer Park.
He Was a Quiet Man Christian Slater plays an office drone who saves a woman's life when one of his co-workers goes postal. In keeping with today's theme, Slater's character is thrust into fame and a new position in the company, and develops a romance with the now paralyzed woman. Maybe it's because I haven't seen him in a film recently, but Slater seems to have transformed for the role, and it took me a second to recognize him (that's him in the photo above). This looks like the sort of film that will get a limited release, but I think it will be worth seeking out. Jette reviewed the film here.
Blonde Ambition While I'm not a fan of Jessica Simpson's work, the recent behavior of her contemporaries Britney, Lindsay and Paris make Simpson look downright level-headed by comparison, so I tried to cast aside any preconceived notions I had about her, although that "Chicken of the Sea" thing was kind of hard to forget. Blonde Ambition has her playing a young country girl who follows her fiancé to the big city only to find that he's been cheating on her. Marriage was her one and only dream, and with that gone she stays in the city to forge a future of her own. The trailer has a few laughs in it, mostly in the scenes Simpson shares with Luke Wilson, but it kind of hits a sour note when our heroine's manipulative new employer gives the mousy country girl a makeover and she emerges looking like... well, looking like Jessica Simpson. This is a big transformation? The whole hick in the city thing has been done so many times I see no value in reworking it. The film doesn't look horrible, but that won't be enough to get me to shell out for a ticket. Here's Erik's take on the trailer.
The Game Plan Dwayne Douglas Johnson, better known as pro-wrestler turned actor The Rock stars in this dopey looking family comedy. Kudos to him for trying something different, but this one just makes me cringe. The Rock plays a pro football player who suddenly finds himself caring for a daughter he never knew he had, and this testosterone-based life form is forced to find his inner daddy. Alleged hilarity ensues. The presence of someone as well known as The Rock is the only thing that keeps this from feeling like a made-for-Disney Channel movie.
Remember when hotshot director Ron Howard was Opie on The Andy Griffith Show, or when Bill Murray was one of Saturday Night Live's Not Ready For Primetime Players? Lots of movie actors got their break on television, and we're saluting that tradition. This week on Trailer Park, we're looking at Graduates of the Small Screen.
Fay Grim Back in 1991 Parker Posey was playing Tess Shelby on the daytime drama As the World Turns, and she also did a made for TV movie that year called First Love, Fatal Love. Now, the always interesting Ms. Posey is starring with Jeff Goldblum in Fay Grim, a sequel to 1997's Henry Fool. Goldblum is a CIA agent who wants a set of notebooks belonging to the husband of Posey's character. The books carry information that may be detrimental to U.S. national security. The trailer shows Posey as a single mom being drawn into a web of international intrigue, and it looks awesome. Perhaps just as intriguing as the film itself is that the movie will be released theatrically and on HDnet Movies on May 18, with the DVD release coming on May 22, which is the following Tuesday. Cinematical's Kim Voynar posted a review of the film here.
Superbad Michael Cera has an impressive number of television credits for a guy who's only 18. While it wasn't his first appearance, Cera is probably best known for playing George-Michael Bluth on Arrested Development.Superbad is about a pair of dorky best friends (one played by Cera, the other by Jonah Hill) who will be going their separate ways after graduation, and the scene in which the two drunkenly proclaim their fondness for each other while lying in sleeping bags looks like a Brokeback Mountain joke in the offing. Along the way we see our heroes trying to do what high school guys always try to do in teen comedies: get drunk and get lucky. There are a few laughs here, but the teen sex romp has been done to death, so I'll be skipping this one. Scott Weinberg had this to say about the trailer. Check out the trailer yourself:
In the song "Soak Up the Sun," Sheryl Crow says "it's not having what you want, It's wanting what you've got." It's a clever turn of phrase, but if everybody lived by that credo, then a lot of movies would never get made. So many films are driven by a character's desire and pursuit of something, whether it be love, money, success, or the perfect wave. This week on Trailer Park we're pursuing out heart's desire.
The Hoax Richard Gere stars in this true story about Clifford Irving, a writer who wanted success so badly that he faked a biography of billionaire recluse Howard Hughes and sold it to a major publisher for an obscene amount of money. Of course, things quickly spin out of control. It looks like a fascinating story, and I've been avoiding digging any deeper into the actual history until after I've seen the film. How could he have expected to get away with it? Gere appears to be in good form, and he's joined by the likes of Alfred Molina and Marcia Gay Harden. This one opens today in limited U.S. release.
Surf's Up Who would have thought that penguin movies could become a Hollywood trend? Recent years have given us March of the Penguins, Farce of the Penguins, Happy Feet, and now Surf's Up. Whoever owns the Chilly Willy character should dust the little guy off, because if he's ever going to make a comeback, now is the time.The trailer says this is based on a true story, but since this is a film about surfing penguins a grain of salt should be kept at the ready. The preview is narrated by Cody Maverick, voiced by Shia LaBeouf, a young surfer recalling the heyday of The Big Z, the guy who revolutionized surfing for all penguin-kind. Cody's desire is to follow in Big Z's footsteps, but as you'll see, he's got a ways to go. The movie looks like fun and it seems to have what it takes to keep both kids and grown ups entertained. Judge for yourself:
Here's a gaggle of trailers whose stories appear to be fueled by bad ideas. Not that they're necessarily bad movies, but the films are based around one or more characters making questionable decisions. It's bad idea week on Trailer Park.
Wind Chill Taking a ride home for the holidays from a potential stalker and then letting him take a detour down a little used road? Bad idea. Our two heroes find themselves stranded on a back road in the middle of a blizzard and hunted by malevolent ghosts. The trend of the modern torture/murder horror flick in the vein of Saw or Hostel seems to be ebbing a bit in favor of supernatural thrillers like this one that traffic in creep outs rather than gross outs. It looks pretty cool, and I'm hoping a bad idea for the characters turns into good news for moviegoers. Karina Longworth first mentioned this project her on Cinematical back in 2005.
28 Weeks Later Return to London now that the military says the rage epidemic has been contained? Bad idea indeed, but I'm looking forward to this sequel to Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, the zombie film without zombies. The last of the infected have died off, life appears to be returning to normal and Londoners are being allowed back into parts of the city. If all was well, however, we wouldn't have much of a movie. A single carrier serves to reignite the crisis. None of the characters are returning from the original, but I don't think that's going to have a negative impact. This looks like a solid creep-fest. Here's Scott Weinberg's take on the trailer.
Vacancy Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale play a couple whose car breaks down, forcing them to stay the night in a seedy motel. You guessed it: bad idea. The place has roaches big enough to take your head off, and the video tapes in the VCR show movies that appear to be snuff films that were shot in that very same room. Someone's travel agent is going to get an earful, but in the meantime our heroes must survive the night. Paranoid and claustrophobic, this looks like it has potential. Here's what Scott thought.
There's a certain magic to the movies, though sometimes that magic is more literal than others. Let's talk precognition, lycanthropy, vampires, near death experiences, and the wrath of God. It's supernatural shenanigans week on Trailer Park.
The Invisible A teenage boy is beaten nearly to death and he finds himself somewhere between life and death. No one can see him and he can't effect objects around him. Will his body be found in time? Based on a Swedish film from 2002 called Den Osynlige, this looks to be an entertaining thriller. The bit where our hero is told the nature of his predicament by an old man who is in a similar situation seems like overly convenient exposition, to say nothing of being reminiscent of Ghost, but the rest of the preview held my attention. I especially liked the idea that this teen horror film doesn't seem to adhere to teen horror conventions, at least from what I can see here. Scott Weinberg had this to say about the trailer.
The Reaping When an Oscar-winner is the star, studios tend to use the term "supernatural thriller" rather than "horror movie." In either case, Hilary Swank, stars as a professional debunker of religious phenomena who comes across a small town suffering the biblical plagues that were brought down upon Egypt, including rivers turning to blood, locusts, frogs, etc. Definite creepiness at work here, and the preview sells it nicely. This trailer's been out for awhile, but with the film's release coming up on April 5 I thought it worth a look. Here's Martha Fischer's take on it.
Next Nicolas Cage plays a man who can see the future and the government needs his help to prevent a nuclear catastrophe. The idea seems solid, and the scenes from the film are exciting, but there's something about the trailer's overwrought presentation that turns me off. It's doing a hard sell, and I'm finding that annoying. Still, the movie looks like it could be an entertaining bit of fluff with lots of big explosions. Scott Weinberg talked about the trailer here.
Prior to an hour ago, I had no idea what kind of behavior could get your film tossed out of Muskogee's Bare Bones International Independent Film and Music Festival ... but now I do. According to news sources out of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the independent horror film A Beautiful Day was scheduled to play the festival, but the filmmakers have been asked to take their celluloid and go home. Why? Cuz the "little guys" thought they could borrow some of that viral marketing from the big boys, that's why...
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