Monthly Archives: May 2019

Selling GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS

Posted on by

My latest marketing recap for The Hollywood Reporter covers the campaign for Warner Bros.’ Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Audiences could be forgiven for not immediately realizing that this week’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the third film in what’s been dubbed the “MonsterVerse” from Legendary and Warner Bros.

 

While it’s a direct sequel to 2014’s Godzilla it also exists in the same shared universe as 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Those connections haven’t been aggressively promoted by Warner Bros. The story focuses on the threat faced by the emergence of the massive “Titans,” monsters believed to be myth that are now raining destruction down on the planet.

You can read the whole thing here.

Selling Aladdin

Posted on by

My latest marketing recap for The Hollywood Reporter covers the campaign for Disney’s live-action (sort of) remake of Aladdin.

This new version, opening during the busy Memorial Day holiday weekend, uses that cast to tell a story that pulls generously from the original while adding some new elements to give the audience something original. The marketing — posters, trailers, billboards, paid social media buys — has relied heavily on nods to the 1992 animated classic to present the movie as something both familiar and as nostalgic as possible.

via Disney Conjures Nostalgic Magic to Sell ‘Aladdin’ Remake | Hollywood Reporter

Selling John Wick: Parabellum

Posted on by

My latest marketing recap for The Hollywood Reporter covers the Continental-heavy campaign for John Wick: Parabellum.

This time around Wick is on the run from other assassins, having broken a cardinal rule of the industry by killing one of their own. Everyone is after him to claim the $14 million price that’s been put on his head and, as an outcast, he doesn’t have access to the resources previously available to him. That includes not being able to seek shelter in The Continental, the secret hotel where dangerous people can hide and recover in times of trouble.

via ‘John Wick’ Marketing Riffs on ‘Matrix’ Action to Sell ‘Chapter 3’ | Hollywood Reporter

Selling Detective Pikachu

Posted on by

My latest marketing recap for The Hollywood Reporter covers the campaign for Pokemon: Detective Pikachu.

The movie, co-produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary, is the first attempt to bring the Pokemon franchise to the big screen in a decade and the first time it’s taken a hybrid live-action/animation approach.To that end, it’s given the movie a campaign that focuses heavily on those characters while also using Reynolds’ signature wit as a primary selling point.

via ‘Detective Pikachu’: How Warner Bros. Sold the Return of Pokemon to the Big Screen | Hollywood Reporter

Warner Bros. Goes Influencer for IT: Chapter 2 Tease

Posted on by

My latest column at Adweek is about a buzz-building campaign Warner Bros. has been running to build anticipation for IT: Chapter 2‘s first trailer.

With the first movie such a success, it’s no surprise that Warner Bros. is starting to roll out the marketing for this year’s It: Chapter 2. The movie, scheduled for release this November, tells the story in the second half of Stephen King’s original novel, following The Losers Club as they are now adults who’ve been pulled back to their hometown by the reemergence of Pennywise the clown.

via Stars of ‘It: Chapter 2’ Are Being Haunted by a Red Balloon on Instagram – Adweek

Selling Long Shot

Posted on by

My latest contribution to The Hollywood Reporter is a recap of the marketing for Long Shot.

Seth Rogen takes another stab at playing a romantic leading man, albeit one still very Rogen-esque, in Lionsgate’s Long Shot, in theaters on May 3. Previously titled “Flarsky” after Rogen’s character, the story follows Jeff Flarsky, a successful journalist who one day finds himself coming into contact with his old babysitter Charlotte (Charlize Theron), now the Secretary of State and an aspiring presidential candidate at the outset of election season.

‘Long Shot’ Marketing Bets Rom-Com Chemistry Can Still Bring Audiences to Theaters | Hollywood Reporter