Post by Neverending on Apr 29, 2015 13:15:38 GMT -5
The summer blockbuster season begins on Friday with The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and of course, every studio in Hollywood is putting overtime into their marketing campaign. Unlike smaller movies which rely on word-of-mouth and critical acclaim, summer blockbusters depend almost entirely on their marketing. So with that in mind, I present to you the CS! Golden Trailer Awards. Now keep in mind, there IS a REAL Golden Trailer Awards. This is just our version... or should I say... my version. Anyway, since we have a long summer blockbuster ahead of us, I'm gonna try to do every year that qualifies. Most people agree that the summer blockbuster season began with Jaws in 1975, but that's not really true. Jaws sparked the flame but the fire didn't actually begin till after Star Wars. That's why I'm gonna start with...
1979
THE CONTENDERS
APOCALYPSE NOW
Apocalypse Now is considered a "prestigious" film, but it was released in August of 1979, and the trailer is definitely targeted at the people who go to the movie theaters in that month. It focuses more on the action and humor of the movie than the artistic aspects of it. If you were alive in 1979 and watched that trailer, you would have expected a completely different movie. Some people call that bad marketing, but it did get butts on the seats. Apocalypse Now grossed $78.7 million in 1979, which is $254.8 million in 2015 money. Does it give you a different perspective of Apocalypse Now's history? PG Cooper
ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ
Here's another trailer that's very misleading. The studio sold it as a fun Clint Eastwood movie, when in reality, it's a serious film. I can't blame the studio because Clint Eastwood was fresh from his biggest hit, a comedy featuring an ape as his sidekick. Escape from Alcatraz grossed $43 million in 1979 which is $139 million when adjusted for inflation. That's not a huge number, but it's decent business for a prison escape film. Ain't that right, Doomsday ?
PHANTASM
Phantasm has a textbook trailer and marketing campaign, but since it centered on the visuals, I think it works. Even for modern standards, it does a good job of piquing the interest of the audience. It's also a good contender for this year's Halloween thread. Dracula
ROCKY II
We live in an era with so many sequels and remakes and reboots that filmmakers need to do something different to get the audience to reinvest in the franchise. But in the old days, sequels were usually a repeat of the first movie but with a twist. That's why the Rocky II trailer is so amusing. It's basically telling people, "hey! It's Rocky again, but this time he wins!" And it worked. Rocky II grossed $85 million which is $275 million in 2015 money. SnoBorderZero
THE WINNER
ALIEN
I'm not a fan of Alien, like most people, but there's no denying that the marketing was A+. 1979 was a year filled with wannabe Star Wars movies. Even James Bond got in the act. But Alien set itself apart by being more of a horror film and it resulted in the same box office revenue as Apocalpyse Now, and also the same critical respect. Alien actually launched the summer 1979 blockbuster season and set the bar in the eyes of many people. Jibbs
So what do you guys think? Do you agree? Do you disagree? What would you have included? What would you have excluded? Tomorrow I'll do 1980, and as I progress, I'll try to add more categories. Don't forget things were different in the old days. We didn't get a huge movie every weekend. That began in the mid-to-late 1980's.
1979
THE CONTENDERS
APOCALYPSE NOW
Apocalypse Now is considered a "prestigious" film, but it was released in August of 1979, and the trailer is definitely targeted at the people who go to the movie theaters in that month. It focuses more on the action and humor of the movie than the artistic aspects of it. If you were alive in 1979 and watched that trailer, you would have expected a completely different movie. Some people call that bad marketing, but it did get butts on the seats. Apocalypse Now grossed $78.7 million in 1979, which is $254.8 million in 2015 money. Does it give you a different perspective of Apocalypse Now's history? PG Cooper
ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ
Here's another trailer that's very misleading. The studio sold it as a fun Clint Eastwood movie, when in reality, it's a serious film. I can't blame the studio because Clint Eastwood was fresh from his biggest hit, a comedy featuring an ape as his sidekick. Escape from Alcatraz grossed $43 million in 1979 which is $139 million when adjusted for inflation. That's not a huge number, but it's decent business for a prison escape film. Ain't that right, Doomsday ?
PHANTASM
Phantasm has a textbook trailer and marketing campaign, but since it centered on the visuals, I think it works. Even for modern standards, it does a good job of piquing the interest of the audience. It's also a good contender for this year's Halloween thread. Dracula
ROCKY II
We live in an era with so many sequels and remakes and reboots that filmmakers need to do something different to get the audience to reinvest in the franchise. But in the old days, sequels were usually a repeat of the first movie but with a twist. That's why the Rocky II trailer is so amusing. It's basically telling people, "hey! It's Rocky again, but this time he wins!" And it worked. Rocky II grossed $85 million which is $275 million in 2015 money. SnoBorderZero
THE WINNER
ALIEN
I'm not a fan of Alien, like most people, but there's no denying that the marketing was A+. 1979 was a year filled with wannabe Star Wars movies. Even James Bond got in the act. But Alien set itself apart by being more of a horror film and it resulted in the same box office revenue as Apocalpyse Now, and also the same critical respect. Alien actually launched the summer 1979 blockbuster season and set the bar in the eyes of many people. Jibbs
So what do you guys think? Do you agree? Do you disagree? What would you have included? What would you have excluded? Tomorrow I'll do 1980, and as I progress, I'll try to add more categories. Don't forget things were different in the old days. We didn't get a huge movie every weekend. That began in the mid-to-late 1980's.
