August
10
Stardust Stirs Memories of Princess Bride
[Posted by Peter Debruge]
Box office predictors are crying doom and gloom for Stardust (some suggest the weekend total will be as low as $15 million off 2,540 situations), and I’m inclined to believe them. Nobody seems to like the Stardust trailers — no argument here (judge for yourself). (The reviews are fine: 73 % fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.) It’s a shame, really, given how original the film is, but how do you sell it?
For me, the best analogy is to The Princess Bride, another multi-genre fantasy film that blends adventure and romance and pirates and princes in such a way that marketers simply can’t seem to wrap their minds around it (plus, with the addition of stars such as Robert De Niro, Peter O'Toole and Ricky Gervais in what amount to cameos, the Stardust ads have to squeeze them in, too). For some perspective, I went back to my bookshelf and consulted Princess Bride screenwriter William Goldman’s 2000 memoir, Which Lie Did I Tell? More Adventures in the Screen Trade. Goldman writes:
The studio did not know how to sell us. (No criticism intended here. Heartbreak sure, but everybody was behind the movie.) But what the hell was it? They never figured it out. Our trailer—one of the more crucial selling tools—was so confusing I was told it was pulled from theaters, something I had never heard of before. The ad campaign was changed and changed again. We had nothing to sell us, no stars. The book, successful, was a cult success, but no King, no Grisham.We came out and were a mild hit: $30 million, would have been $60 today. A double, to use their terminology. (A home run today is over $100 million in box-office gross—although your children will live to see the day when that’s a flop.) Audiences loved us once we got them in. They just didn’t see any reason to come. When we came out on cassette, word of mouth had caught up with us and we were the hit we should have been in theaters.
Have a look at the Princess Bride trailer — it truly is among the worst I’ve ever seen:
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I hope this isn't a prelufe to what Matthew Vaughn, who was named to helm the upcoming Marvel Studios film "Thor," has in store for us there too.
It would be a disaster to me to see one of my favorite Marvel characters turned into something that isn't able to be connected with by viewers.
Posted by: Gary Bourgeault | August 10, 2007 at 06:10 PM
My sweet Lord. That *is* the worst trailer I've ever seen! Was Rob Reiner that unpopular, even back then? It's as if someone was trying to sabotage his movie. And what's with the soundtracks? It sounds like an outtake from "Arthur."
Posted by: Dana | August 10, 2007 at 06:28 PM
Not to overtly pimp my own stuff...oh alright that's exactly what this is. I actually went over the whole Stardust campaign in my latest MMM column: http://www.moviemarketingmadness.com/blog/2007/08/08/movie-marketing-madness-stardust/
I arrived at much the same conclusion. It's a great story, the book is a lot of fun. But it's a nearly impossible sell. I kind of like the trailer, but I think having read the book so recently helped that quite a bit.
Anyway, the column has my full thoughts. Take them for what you will.
Posted by: Chris Thilk | August 10, 2007 at 07:43 PM
That's a pretty terrible trailer, all right. Not only is it clumsy and awkward, it gives away all the best jokes.
Posted by: J.D. Rhoades | August 12, 2007 at 02:20 PM
That Princess Bride trailer was truly terrible. It actually managed the double-feat of spoiling the story without making it look remotely appealing...
Posted by: Bren | August 12, 2007 at 05:32 PM
The music is absolute ass and they spend waaaaay to much time with the kid.
Posted by: MW | August 13, 2007 at 11:58 AM
Stardust - the best movie this summer! I didn't know the story, I'd barely heard of Gaiman. The trailer hooked me (but hey I love Legend, Neverending Story, even Return to Oz).
And Gary, I think "Thor" will be spectacular with Matthew Vaughn, let's just hope the studio can sell (and get) the movie (which they sadly didn't seem to do with this one).
Posted by: Matt in LA | August 13, 2007 at 09:17 PM
This reminds me of Serenity, which similarly was great but couldn't attract an audience. It seems like the movie marketing machine has pretty much broken down, so only ridiculously heavily promoted films featuring massive household names have any chance.
That's indicative of a very deep malaise and Tinseltown had better do something about it if they want any kind of long term future.
Posted by: Chris Denton | August 14, 2007 at 10:10 AM
I'm mystified by the idea that marketing people "can't" figure out how to promote smart, funny, romantic fantasy-genre films effectively. Are all marketing employees really so lacking in imagination, or - more likely - are their better efforts rejected by shortsighted execs? I'm in advertising myself, and can't count the times stupid client demands overrule creative good sense.
Totally agree that the Princess Bride trailer is dire and does no justice to the feel of the film - the music alone would have put me off! I feel lucky I saw it on rec of a friend back in the day on the big screen...
Posted by: Noël | August 17, 2007 at 08:49 PM
well dose any one know the plot?? a short plot not a long one??
Posted by: alise | October 30, 2007 at 07:11 PM