Warner Music Group has announced they will begin experimenting with three-to-four song albums, abandoning the long-play record format altogether for the first time. The goal is to stop the ever-growing (at least in the mind of record company executives) piracy of songs via services like Grogster and others.Unless Warners in particular and the industry in … Continue reading Is the record business changing?
Must Love Dogs – Marketing Recap
John Cusack needs to get out of whatever artistic funk he's been in since about High Fidelity. There was a brief moment of hope after I watched Max but other than that it's been a steady stream of studio flicks that have done nothing to stretch him creatively or live up to the promise of … Continue reading Must Love Dogs – Marketing Recap
Selling Batman Begins
Warner Bros. has not had an easy time restarting the Batman ranchise. So much ill-will was generated by 1997’s "Batman & Robin" that riots the likes of which hadn’t been seen since revolutionary France sprung up across the nation. So the studio had to be sure they were doing it right the next time. The … Continue reading Selling Batman Begins
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Marketing Recap
The Poster How can you not like this poster? It looks so much like a Sears ad that the company signed up for some cross-promotion. Seriously, though, it is a good poster and gets the whole point of the movie being about a close-knit group of girls very well. The Trailer (Apple, Yahoo!) Again, this … Continue reading Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Marketing Recap
Selling House of Wax
You can read my full recap of the marketing campaign for House of Wax at FilmThreat. “House of Wax” is the latest in a trend – that’s been going on forever it seems – that basically follows the following formula. 1. Take existing classic horror property. 2. Plug in hot young stars with perfect skin who are … Continue reading Selling House of Wax
Batman Begins ads in Matrix Online
Superhero Hype! - The latest superhero movie news and rumors Warner Bros. is cross-promoting the upcoming Batman Begins by placing ads for it in their Matrix Online game. So much is made of companies buying rights to advertise in platform-based games, this is a great way to use intracompany relationships to their benefit. Theoretically they … Continue reading Batman Begins ads in Matrix Online
Exorcist: The Beginning – Marketing Recap
(As I mentioned yesterday, I wrote a MMM column for Exorcist: The Beginning but for some reason never submitted it for publication. Here's the column in its entirety.) My, what wandering paths films sometimes take from the pitch (which for me will always be mentally visualized with Buck Henry pitching The Graduate: Part 2 to … Continue reading Exorcist: The Beginning – Marketing Recap
Exorcist: The Beginning Version 2.0
It'll be interesting to see what - if any - kind of marketing push Warner/Morgan Creek gives any eventual release of Paul Schrader's original version of the Exorcist prequel. On the one hand they have a lot of good will to be gained by really promoting it and making it available widely. Fan boys (and … Continue reading Exorcist: The Beginning Version 2.0
Selling Miss Congeniality 2
You can read my full recap of the marketing campaign for Miss Congeniality 2 at FilmThreat. Sandra Bullock is done. Has been since about five minutes after "Speed 2" opened. Her career since then reminds me of that old Borscht-belt joke: This woman died six months ago, but no one has remembered to tell her. … Continue reading Selling Miss Congeniality 2
Warner Brothers Sponsors Podcaster
Warner Bros. - more accurately their Reprise Records subsidiary - are sponsoring a podcast dealing with music and entertainment. This story doesn't have to do with movies but the possibility of this practice moving into movie-related podcasts is of course right around the corner. Podcasting is an as-yet untapped market for both advertisers as well … Continue reading Warner Brothers Sponsors Podcaster