Weekend quickie – this is a joke, right?
By Burbanked on Oct 27, 2007 in DVD, Movie Marketing 101, Movies | 1,415 views |
I saw this flashy banner ad on CHUD.com recently, in which we’re encouraged to buy the DVD for Captivity, available October 30th.
Apparently the DVD marketers have elected not to focus on the film’s scenes of torture and imprisonment. And they refuse to hype the young female charms of starlet Elisha Cuthbert. And if you’d hoped that the DVD release would try to drum up some additional controversy, you’d be out of luck there, too.
No, the so-very-far-outside-the-box thinkers at Lionsgate have decided to focus their marketing message on the directorial resumé of Roland Joffé, as if that had absolutely anything to do with the content, atmosphere, character, theme or aesthetic of Captivity.
And by the way, Joffé’s next movie is Finding t.A.T.u., a Mischa Barton-headliner about a couple of lesbians trying to score tickets to the concert of a fake lesbian Russian pop group. Way to climb every mountain, Roland!
Not only did the director of Crystal Skull find Michael Bay’s movie to be “awesome”, but in Michael Bay’s opinion, Spielberg might even feel that the movie is perhaps Michael Bay’s best. Awesome news for Michael Bay fans of Michael Bay movies! (
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Ray | Oct 27, 2007 | Reply
And I have no doubt that the kids who fell in love with “The Killing Fields” and “The Mission” will run to the video store to see “Captivity” and be sorely disappointed.
Norm Schrager | Oct 27, 2007 | Reply
Ain’t that the truth. The fact is nobody’s running anywhere to get this DVD. So the label figures they’ll screw a few suckers browsing in the store who might appreciate Roland Joffe’s short-lived cinematic respect.
Norm
http://www.meetinthelobby.com
Megan | Oct 28, 2007 | Reply
Hey I liked The Mission. Kinda.
Burbanked | Oct 29, 2007 | Reply
Ray: Are there any such “kids”? It’s almost as if they’re trying to market more to someone of, I don’t know, MY age – you know, someone who actually might know who Joffé
iswas.Norm: But really, how many suckers could that actually be? Aren’t marketers supposed to aim a bit higher, a bit broader?
Megan: Then I’d suggest watching that again instead of Captivity. I’d always go with “kinda” instead of “shouldn’t've”.
MC | Oct 31, 2007 | Reply
See, if I was on the marketing team for that movie, I would have wrote it something like this:
Watch the actress who played Kim Bauer finally get her comeuppance on film. Admit it, you always wanted to see her get tortured on 24, and this is the next best thing.