7. The Misleading Trailer
Every now and again, a movie comes along that the Studio knows is going to be a hard sell to a mainstream audience. And almost as if theyre panicking, they craft a trailer that makes it look like something else entirely in the hopes that it can be made to appeal to a broader audience. A prime example is John Hillcoats 2009 post-apocalypse drama The Road. Check out the trailer: http://youtu.be/hbLgszfXTAY Now, if you hadnt seen the movie, what would you say it was, based on the trailer above? A fast paced, action-packed, post-apocalypse chase movie or something along those lines, right? Well it isnt. The Road is a slow, miserable, character driven journey through a hopeless world devoid of life or colour. Its a powerful story of survival; of mans will to press on, even in the most inimical of landscapes. But, thats not going to put bums on seats, or not enough bums to cover the budget anyway, at least according to Hollywood reasoning. So those who paid the ticket fee because theyd heard it was actually a decent movie were satisfied, while those whod simply bought into the trailer were likely bored to tears, but still, Hollywood had their money regardless. Not cool, Hollywood.