5 Examples Of Movie Marketing That Shamelessly Embellished What "Starring" Means

2. The DVD Artwork For Camp Hell Focuses On Jesse Eisenberg's Dreamy Face

After starring in hits like 2009's Zombieland and 2010's The Social Network, Jesse Eisenberg and his awkward persona not only grew in popularity but, if Eisenberg's publicists are to be believed, he became something of a sex symbol for girls who are attracted to actors who portray brainy, scrawny guys who think they're better than everyone else because they think they are smarter than everyone else.

That's the only possible explanation I can think of for the original DVD cover art of Camp Hell, which featured an extreme close up of Eisenberg's face with his eyes aglow with red-hot passion. Or red-hot hellfire. I'll leave that up to you. Either way, neither demonstrates what the movie actually is, which is a psychological thriller that doesn't star Jesse Eisenberg.

Though the film wasn't released direct-to-DVD until August 2011, it was shot in 2007 and a much-less-famous Eisenberg shot his scenes, which amount to a little over four minutes of screen time, for a few thousand dollars. The film was shelved until Eisenberg's increased profile gave Lionsgate, which had the rights to the film, a good excuse to release it.

The cover art was obviously a ploy to catch the eye of anyone who actually would consider seeing any movie just because Jesse Eisenberg is in it. Eisenberg later sued Lionsgate for $3 million alleging that he was wrongfully promoted as the star of the film. Though the outcome of the suit wasn't reported, the current DVD cover art features a much smaller image of Eisenberg and he is no longer the only actor billed, so the lawsuit probably had something to do with that. It's just too bad that Lionsgate will miss out on future windfalls of Eisenberg heartthrob money.