When bad details happen to good one-sheets.
By Burbanked on Jan 31, 2008 in Movie Marketing 101, Movies, Newest, One-Sheetery | 652 views |
This might have been a terrific movie one-sheet had it not been for this little detail shot of a typically clichéd Hollywood ugly-adorable dog, dressed up in a moronic football uniform, added to the poster for…what, exactly? (click to see the whole one-sheet) It’s not a bad poster at all; it’s got a nice sense of visual comedy, the tagline is clever and the look of the photo has a fun old-timey look. But the stupid dressed-up dog says “this is W-A-C-K-Y!” all over it. (via Movie Marketing Madness via ComingSoon.net)
Dedicated screenwriting 101 here: From an interview with Harrison Ford on the MTV Movies Blog in which the inevitability of another Indiana Jones movie is mentioned:
How do I get out of this? I love going to the movies with my boys, opening up their minds to the great pleasures of cinema and all that, but this is a hard one. Please help me: do I suck it up and just go, or can anyone out there provide me with a plausible, kind-hearted, permanent way out? (
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pacheco | Jan 31, 2008 | Reply
You’re right, the poster is great, but the dog seems a little out of place. I predict plenty of cutaways to the dog eating things he shouldn’t, licking someone’s face, and other “WACKY” things.
Burbanked | Jan 31, 2008 | Reply
It’s too bad if that ends up being the case. The Leatherheads trailer wasn’t bad, but forced humor along these lines will get old real fast.
And the dog will probably fart or tinkle as well.
MC | Jan 31, 2008 | Reply
Well considering the name of the team is the Bulldogs, it does seem a little more appropriate for the one sheet, especially given the time period. I think the team name is likely the reason that it appears in the one sheet as there is no canine actor listed in the credits at the IMDB as yet.
Burbanked | Jan 31, 2008 | Reply
MC: But if the team is called the Bulldogs or the Lightning Bolts or the Marauders or the Haberdashers, it really doesn’t make sense to put their mascot on the poster, unless 1) the mascot plays just as important a role as Clooney and the team or 2) the movie’s marketers are trying to convey something specific about the movie’s genre: wacky comedy hijinks vs. amusing period sports piece.
The movie itself is probably the latter, but I’m just betting that some dopey art director or marketing stooge saw the picture and said “I don’t know…it needs something…can we put a kooky dog in there or something?”