You ever watch a movie trailer and realize you pretty much just watched the entire film? Of course you have. It happens all the time. As frustrating as that feeling can be for movie fans, it’s gotta be even harder on directors. Don’t just take our word for it.
Kenneth Branagh (as Hercule Poirot): “A passenger has died. He was murdered.”
Hey, hey — don’t tell me who the killer is until I see the movie!
It seems like a simple request, but ya never know. Don’t ya think trailers show too much these days?
Kenneth Branagh: “Oh, it’s such a good question, and I’m afraid I think yes, I do.”
Kenneth Branagh — and his mustache — starred in and directed “Murder on the Orient Express.”
Kenneth Branagh (as Hercule Poirot): “I am probably the greatest detective in the world.”
Since the movie is a whodunit, it’s especially tricky to balance between appealing to potential moviegoers without spoiling anything.
Kenneth Branagh: “When you have that sinking feeling, ‘Wow, I just saw the whole movie at one minute and a half, I don’t need to see the two-hour version’, I feel so sad.”
The director of “Daddy’s Home 2” puts it another way.
Sean Anders: “It makes you cringe every time another joke is given away in a trailer.”
The trailers for a comedy better be funny, though. Hopefully just not at the expense of the actual movie.
Sean Anders: “At the end of the day, the marketing people have to do their job, and you just hope that not too much is given away.”
We’re counting on you, faceless marketing people!
And, the director of “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” told Deco, maybe it is safe to count on them.
Dan Gilroy: “These marketing departments have statistics and quants and all these things. We’ve done demographics, and I’m always going, I think most directors are going, ‘You’re telling too much of the story, there’s too much going on in the story’. And they’ll show you the data.”
Meanwhile, Dee Rees told us she didn’t have any such issues directing Oscar hopeful, “Mudbound.”
Dee Rees: “It depends on the studio, how much say you have over creative. Luckily with Netflix, they’re very artist-friendly, so I had a direct impact on what the trailer was and what shouldn’t be in there.”
Now, if everyone else could just get on Netflix’s level…
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