That movie with the dragons in it...

So I'll be the first to admit I'm not the avid movie guy I used to be. College and sports have definitely taken a toll on the marketing messages I see and hear for new movies coming out so I feel if studios marketing campaigns can reach me, then they are good enough to blog about.

Well, that is...most of the time. Have you seen the trailer for Dragon Wars (or what people on the street are callin' it, D-Wars)? The answer to that is most likely. Have you seen the actual movie? The answer to that is most likely not. The movie was created by Director Hyung-rae Shim and stars Jason Behr (better known for his character of Max Evans on the WB's Roswell) and Amanda Brooks. What a lot of people don't know is that the movie was actually created in large part for the South Korean audience and is a sequel to the 1999 un-smash hit Yonggary, which was later brought over to the US and renamed Reptilian.

What surprises me about the movie is the huge marketing and creation budget they allowed it to have. The movie originally cost 33 million dollars to make, which is a pretty big chunk of change. It was able to make most of that money back however seeing as how the movie was highly successful in South Korea where it pulled in 55 million dollars so far. However, over here in the US where you couldn't turn a channel without seeing the movie preview, the movie has only made around $10 million in its first two weeks, which is what we refer to ladies and gentlemen, as a flop.

Shortly after its release, the movie was continually bashed and made fun of on virtually every movie web site. Rotten Tomatoes has given it a 24% and one out of four stars at my colleges very own newspaper The Ithacan (we are a film school, I trust they know what they are talking about). The even bigger shocker is that apparently the company has not learned its lesson in losing money in the United States. Hyung-rae Shim shocked the movie going world when he announced that a Dragon Wars sequel is already in the works for 2009. Apparently, he didn't get the memo.

The Grudge?.. Nope. The Ring?...Wrong Again. One Missed Call?...You got it

It seems that us fantastical Americans are having some trouble coming up with movie plots of our own these days. Following the release of The Ring in 2002, movie studios have been buying up Japanese horror movies left and right and creating their own remake.

The newest movie to join the ranks is One Missed Call starring Edward Burns and Shannyn Sossamon. This Japanese horror film remake centers around pretty much the same idea as its foreign buddy The Ring. People receive a voicemail from their future selves which describe the date and time they will die, only for it to come true. Shannyn Sossamon's character Beth witnesses her friends slowly being picked off one by one. As the police enter, most of them give her the cold shoulder thinking she is crazy. Edwards Burn's character Detective Jack Andrews however believes her due to a previous event in his past that claimed the life of his sister. Beth soon moves from the spectator position into the game when her cellphone shows that she has one missed call (duh duh duhhhhhhhhh).

Although I couldn't find any information on an apparent cell phone service they would use in the movie I began to think to myself the reason why for this. It being a horror movie I completely understand why some companies might not want to tie their name to it. It should be interesting however to see how much sales boost for the ring tone that plays when you get "the call" once the movie has been released.

So in closing, I leave you with a preview of the poster for the new movie. I've also attached the cover of the DVD for the original One Missed Call (Chakushin Ari) movie. Feel free to enjoy it or be repulsed, the option is up to you. One Missed Calls opens in theaters on January 4th, 2008 if you're interested in checking it out.

An Unusual Marketing Tactic

Its seems like it was just yesterday I was heading over to the cinema to watch the highly anticipated summer flick Transformers. After watching the movie however, I didn't come home to look up things about the movie but instead facts about a movie preview I saw.

Anyone who saw the movie knows the movie preview I'm talking about. After it was done showing on the screen, I watched as everyone in the packed movie theater turned to the person next to them and began discussing what in the world the movie could be about, or more importantly, what the name of it was.

I'm talking about the new J.J. Abrams movie that doesn't even have a title attached to it yet. Since the human mind needs closure, the title 1-18-08 (its release date) has become the known name.

The movie preview opens up as we watch a farwell party going on for a man named Rob who is currently leaving NYC to live in Japan. The party seems to be going fine, that is until the power goes out. Pedestrians run to the street to see what the noise coming from the center of the city is caused by. The coolest part of the preview is that it looks like it is shot entirely through a home video camera. Then we hear another roar, and the Statue of Liberty's head comes flying into the street.

J.J. Abrams, who is most commonly known for his hit television series Lost, is partnering with Paramount in keeping the project extremely secretive. Many speculations have come out since the release of the trailer including the idea that the movie is perhaps named Cloverfield, all that the fans know is that the movie centers around a monster attack in NYC.

With such a simple idea of not putting a title to a good movie, Paramount has created one of the most highly anticipated movies of the new year. On its release date, searches for the movie spiked up an impressive 88% with fans trying to figure out what exactly the movie was all about. If you think about it, if they did attach a title to the movie, I don't think fans would have been equally impressed. I'm sure they would have still looked for it, but not like they have been. People are always intrigued to find the answers to secrets, which is exactly what this movie is doing. The studios even went as far as to not even release the trailer to any news corporations and tore it down for the internet, making the movie theater one of the only places to see the trailer. Paramount took a simple idea of buzz marketing and pretty much used it to its full advantage. Props to Paramount.

Want to know more? Hope on over to my bestest buddie Jovanna's Viral Marketing page for her interpretation on the buzz marketing sensation known as 1-18-08.

Lets Head Back Through the Wardrobe...

Disney and Walden Media have officially released the poster for their newest Chronicles of Narnia film, Prince Caspian. Although this film is originally the fourth book in the chronological order of the series, Disney and WM have decided to produce it next to adhere to the aging of the actors as well as try to follow the storyline C.S. Lewis intended.

The four Pevensie siblings once again find themselves in the enchanted lands of Narnia 1300 years after they left. The land they once knew and loved has been destroyed and it is up to them, along with the help of Prince Caspian, to tip the scales of good and evil.

The movie was originally intended to be released in December of 2007 but was pushed back to the summer of 2008 after conflicts arose. Walden Media will be releasing another movie entitled The Water Horse which was originally supposed to open around the same time as the Narnia movie. Since the company did not want its two movies competing at the box office, they figured that Narnia would have a good of shot if any in the summer running after becoming the number one selling DVD in 2006.
As part of their beginning marketing tactics, Disney opened up its door to run a fanart contest in which internet users could submit their doodles for the film. For a preview of all the fantastic work, click here.

Disney and Walden Media have also announced their intentions of beginning the filming of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader hopefully before the big Hollywood Strike takes effect. Supposibly the contracts had with Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild, and Writer Guild will all end sending Hollywood into a scramble to produce movies. The companies hopeful release date for this movie will be one year later in May of 2009. Walden Media has also made the fourth movie in the series, The Silver Chair, top priority.

Its no doubt that the release of the poster is just the tip of the iceberg for these movies. With powerful funders behind them like Disney and Walden Media, items such as action figures, books, and DVD collectors items will be pushed onto the shelves in no time. I for one am excited for the movies since I was read them as a child, and am looking forward to all the Narnia movies Disney and Walden Media can shove in my face.

And I Want All the World To See

Ok, so let me tell you flat out, I'm not a Beatles Fan. Never have, but I can't exactly say never will be. Last January I attended the OLD movie theater here in the beautiful town of Ithaca, NY. It was there that I saw the first preview for Across the Universe. Now I have to admit, I had seen the movie poster online, and thought "oh here we go, another ridiculous movie". But it wasn't until I began seeing more and more clips, did I actually become excited. The song "I've Just Seen A Face" has become my new favorite song. I was especially excited today, because after months and months of waiting for the films version of the song, it is finally available!

So why exactly did the movie take so long to come out? Well kiddies, here is where I am going to tie in my o-so-awesome movie marketing knowledge to explain the circumstances. Revolution Studios apparently did some things behind director Julie Taymor back that she didn't appreciate at all. Turns out the chief of Revolution Studios Joe Roth created a shorter version of the film and tested it out without letting Taymor know. When Taymor caught wind of this, she was furious, and who wouldn't be? It would have been a different story if they would have let her known, but instead the movie studio apparently felt they could generate more profits with a newer version, so they recut it the way THEY liked it. But what Revolution Studios forgot that although they might have funded it, it wasn't THERE movie. It's Julie Taymor's movie, and I agree with her getting so angry. I'm personally happy that in the end they decided to stick with the original version. I just wish it didn't take them all those months to do it.

In the end, I guess it's not a bad thing. The anticipation for this movie certainly has to have built tremendously. We have all seen the preview before the movies with Sonys "First Look" that they now offer ( Am I the only one who wishes they could find the guy who invented commercials before movies and tell him EXACTLY what I think of him?) This current spot has been running for months while Revolution Studios and Taymor have been trying to figure out what cut to run. I remember seeing the preview in January, not hearing about the movie for a while, and then seeing the First Look in May. I remember thinking to myself "Oh sweet, that movie again, but when is it coming out?". Well after 9 months of anticipation, all I have to say is that its about time.

I've attached the YouTube video of the song I love so much. I hope everyone likes it too!

Saw This One Coming......

Well its October and everyone knows what that means. Thats right ladies and gentlemen, its Saw time (Saw IV to be exact). After its intial debut in 2004, the Saw movie franchise has been able to spin off three sequels with rumors of two more in the works.

It amazes me that even after Saw III the multiple industries funding these grotesque pictures continue to spill out money for them. Sure, the first Saw was great. It was a movie that wasn't only full of horror, but also played with your mind. Who knew that at the end the dude in the middle of the floor was the one actually running the show (I called it about 30 minutes into the flick, but I don't want to brag).

The problem with these movies is once you've seen one, you've SAW them all (ahahaha, I had to, it was just to easy). The Saw movies are famous for their huge twist at the end but face the problem of not reoccuring the same climax in each film. The original movie was so great because you didn't expect the major twist at the end. Now when people watch the movies not only are the expecting it, but they are searching for it (who didn't notice that Amanda was the only one not coughing blood in Saw II? Maybe I'm just a smart little detective like that).

The coolest thing about these movies is something many people might not know. Each year Saw teams up with The American Red Cross to sponsor a blood drive. This event in turn has raised over 38,000 pints of blood that has helped to save over 112,500 lives. This event has seen a positive increase each year, going from collecting only 4,200 pints in 2004 to 23,493 in 2006. With the numbers jumping up substantially each year, both the American Red Cross and Saw expect to reach record numbers once again.

Although the American Red Cross is participating in the event with the movies they have attempted to withdraw public knowledge of it. This first occured when the Saw III Blood Drive posters were realased showing gothic nurses with packets of blood. The Red Cross apparently didn't want people to associate them with sexy, scary nurses, so they asked that the Red Cross symbol be withdrawn from all poster ads. You can see examples of both below.


The advertisement on the left is the remodeled version of the Saw III Blood Drives. As you can see, the Red Cross symbol had to be cropped out. Photographs for every years campaign have been snapped by Liongate's Palen. Also watch the tube for PSA featuring Tobin Bell, better known as Jigsaw, advertising the events.

Marvel-ous

When it comes to summer blockbusters, no one does it quite like Marvel. Using the cartoons and characters my generation (18-24) has grown up, Marvel has been able to revamp its image by taking their characters from the drawing board and into Hollywood.

I recently read an article posted on cinematical.com explaining the release of Marvel's newest movie Iron Man. A smart move on Marvels part, the release date for the actual movie isn't scheduled until early May of 2008. It seems marvel is already gearing up for the famous summer blockbuster wars by positioning themselves early on in the running, much like it did with Spider-Man 3.

The trailer is savvy, funny, an action packed; everything you would expect from a Marvel movie. Robert Downy Jr. plays Tony Stark, the newest super hero to move his way from the comic book pages and onto the big screen. Marvel has successfully been able to land big name stars for their movies ever since the release of Blade in 1998, which brought in close to $100 million dollar with only a $45 million dollar budget.

I also found it clever how right off the bat, Iron Man established one of its only corporate tie in that it allowed for this movie. In the movie, super hero Tony Stark will be driving around in luxory in Audi R8. As you can imagine, Marvel didn't ask Audi to use their car, Audi begged Marvel to make it Tony Starks shaggin wagon. After auditioning automakers to find the car that best suited the movie, the R8 was chosen due to its sleak elegant looks with its masked power under the hood. Filmmakers believed this fit the persona of Tony Stark perfectly. Audi went to great lengths to secure this deal, flying in two R8's for the production crew to view. Audi also remodeled the car somewhat to resemble the costume that Tony Stark wears when he is Iron Man; remodeling the headlight to look like his eyes and the engine housing in the rear that resembles the life support system Tony Stark creates to stay alive.

The best part of the Audi tie in is the fact that filmmakers wanted a car viewers could relate to, or in fact even own. True, you don't see many, or any, Batmobiles roaming the streets these days, but you may actually see one of two R8's, assuming you have $108,000 floating around in your wallet.

So with the release of the trailer, users are flocking to Quicktime to begin viewing their first glimpse at this major motion picture. Problem? I think so. One day after being released, the web site has been flooded by online viewers. Hopefully Apple will be able to fix the problem that they have run into, where the trailer stops playing within the last 15 seconds. On a lighter note however, this only instills more curiousity in its viewers. Marvel fans will keep returning to the site over and over until finally, they can view the whole trailer.....or we can just wait a day til someone eventually puts it on YouTube.

Swing and a Miss

So here it goes, my first official "movie marketing" blog. I wasn't exactly sure how to start, so I just began by surfing the net and looking at some of the marketing campaigns and techniques that studios are using for their upcoming movies. As I read through the millions and millions of dollars that these corporations are spending to try and convince us to get off the couch and go to the theaters, I couldn't help but think about how some of these movies are sure to be humungous flops at the box office.

We've all seen them. We go to a movie, after watching the trailer, expecting it to be a phenominal showing. I remember when Catwoman came to theaters. I was so excited. I mean, come on, Halle Berry (one of my favoritest actresses) running around, kicking the crap out of bad guys. How could that possibley be a bad movie?

Well for those of you who have seen it, you know how the end of the story goes. A sad plot line and poor execution on everyones part, I wonder what was going through the minds of the movie studio execs when they threw this movie out to the general public. Warner Bros gave this movie a $100 million dollar marketing budget, only to have it generate a $40 million dollar revenue. You do the math, thats $60 million down the drain. It would have been smart for the studio to begin pulling it marketing campaign once they saw a rough draft of the movie. It wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to get up and say "Um, I don't think we are going to make any money off from this".

And the list doesn't stop there. Who can forget movies like Battlefield: Earth or Evan Almighty. Movies studios think that so long as they slap a big time star in movies, it should automatically begin to sell at the box office. To bad their numbers don't confirm that.

For a list of more movies that have tried and failed, check this out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_US_box_office_bombs