I thought movie marketing was supposed to be savvy. Attending my local multiplex to see Julie and Julia, among a largely suburban crowd of older foodies and public broadcasting subscribers, I saw trailers for a remake of the Oedipul nightmare The Stepfather; plus the long awaited film of the pedophile/slasher novel The Lovely Bones; and an apocalytic sci-fi flick in which the world ends in 2012 with St. Peter's basilica toppling and rolling over a crowd of worshipers, an air craft carrier capsizing and washing over the White House, and Manhattan island sliding into the Atlantic, New Yorkers dying like ants.I suppose I should be grateful to the theatre for warning me off these atrocities, but I can't help wondering if pitching popcorn movies to a crowd that came for bouef Bourguignon and thon a la Provencales, doesn't show a lack of, shall we say, savoir faire?
Julie and Julia is very tasty, by the way, but I suggest you show up a soupcon late to skip the premier plat du repas .
5 comments:
I must admit I get quite shell shocked when attending a cinema these days, sitting in icy air-conditioned darkness with a bunch of irritating strangers being forcefed audio-visual material when, if watching in the privacy of my own home, I would most likely edit out the rubbish (or watch if if I felt inclined). I can also eat what I want, lie on the couch under a blanket with a pillow under my head and fall asleep if I want to (and usually do) knowing that I can watch the movie again when I awaken. Yay for DVD's. Glad you enjoyed Julie and Julia.
It seems everyone is writing now about "Julie and Julia". This post is different as it deals with the trailers and the crowd. The others discuss Meryl Streep's acting and Julia Child's cooking.
I haven't seen "Julie and Julia", but from what I read in some blogs, the star of the movie is..Food. Nothing new under the sun. Food, kids, and dogs always steal the show.
The movie is indeed " tasty" as you put it, considering all those awesome french dishes.
I beg to differ....The original The Stepfather (1987) with Terry O-Quinn and Shelley Hack was an excellent classic suspenser! It's a genre film; you have to accept that to appreciate it. Like the first Hallowe'en or the original Terminator--I think they're all brilliant. And I thought Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones was one of the best and most affecting pieces of fiction I've read in many years--it's sad and beautiful, hardly a pedophile/slasher story. Nor does Peter Jackson's film version look like it's going to be, although I'm not sure about his visual take on it....
Sharon, I'm sure all these movies are worth somebody's while. I just wonder if advertising them to Meryl Streep fans isn't an indication that there's a dearth of sophisticated comedies and mature dramas in the pipeline.
Loved the old film poster - he-he! :)
I agree, one would think logically that the theaters would show trailers befitting the audience that bought tickets to see the film which they were there for but nah, it all boils down to getting folks to talk about upcoming movies - it's the cheapest form of promotion on the planet. Glad you enjoyed the main attraction!
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