Ok, I normally don’t post a rant very often here on this blog, but I just can’t help it after seeing this TOTAL RECALL ‘teaser trailer to a trailer’ that’s just released yesterday:
…
Never mind the Inception-sounding music or whether or not you agree that this movie should be remade. What I want to point out here is that this video is NOT the actual trailer. Instead, it’s a TEASER to a trailer that’s about to be released on Sunday! Say what??
Yep, you read it right. It’s a growing trend in movie marketing today and it’s darn right discombobulating. Apparently earlier this month, Ridley Scott did the exact same thing with Prometheus (the Slate writer astutely called it a Borgesian development in movie marketing yet) Fortunately I missed that one until the actual trailer was released. Notice that both of these teaser videos contain the line…‘Get ready’ or ‘Prepare to experience…’, as if seeing a series of selected shots from a given film is such a grandiose occasion that it needs to be advertised.
Just when and why the heck did this disturbing trend begin??
It’s apparently not enough that we’re constantly bombarded with a plethora of movie previews every single day, which sole purpose is to ‘tease’ us with the most noteworthy parts of the film in question, the studios now feel compelled to bait us with a teaser … to a trailer?? [face palm]
Now, don’t get me wrong. I actually enjoy watching trailers, and I wholeheartedly agree w/ Louise’s post about the joy of trailers that was featured on IMDb today: Trailers have a special magic all of their own, they draw us in, entice us, thrill us and hopefully persuade us to spend our hard earned cash going to see the finished film. That last part is key obviously, which sadly, is lost on a lot of trailer makers today who tend to tell us the whole darn story instead of enticing us to find out for ourselves when we watch the movie.
Heh, I was actually looking forward to seeing the Total Recall trailer as the footage I saw at Comic-con was cool, but between the leaked Taiwanese trailer a few weeks back and this one, I’m actually losing interest before the actual trailer is even released!
– end rant
Anyway, what do you guys think about this ‘teaser for a trailer’ trend? Anybody else bothered by this or is it just me?
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I think this came from some marketing director who thought, hey let’s start teasing people before we show them an actual trailer and the Hollywood executives all jump up and down with excitement, yes let’s start doing that and people will get even more excited!
I’m with you, the more teases they give us the less I care or even get excited about the trailers. I mean the point of the trailer is to tease the audience before we go see the actual film, why the hell would you start another teaser before the damn trailer!! Okay I’m done with my rant too.
I think this is just some marketing ploy that I hope it will backfire to the studios soon.
Yep, I hope it’ll backfire and makes people LESS interested in seeing their movie! Seriously, it’s such a huge waste of money for something so trivial and silly… but then again, Hollywood is full of those, ahah.
I think ted hit the nail on the head here. Teasers are silly
Indeed!
Rebuttal for this trend’s existence: Cosmopolis!
Ahah, yeah, I doubt Cronenberg would ever be on board w/ creating a trailer for a trailer for his films!
He just did, and it was awesome!
Do you have a link to it, Paolo?
It’s on my blog, but I guess it’s a ‘trailer to a trailer’ thing.
I hate this too. Soo stupid. I wish we had just one trailer like the old days. In fact no trailers so we all go in blind!! 🙂
I second this motion…no trailer at all, leave it a bit of a gamble!
But also agree totally that a teaser for a trailer is just a marketing gimmick run amok.
And…shaking my head at trailers that give away the whole movie. What is the incentive to see something that you think you’ve already got figured out? And if it isn’t easy to figure out, then the trailer should reflect that!
There I feel better now LOL
Scott & Paula, ha..ha.. well I actually don’t mind trailers if they’re well done, I mean if I’m anticipating something that won’t come out for another year like The Hobbit, Man of Steel, etc. I could use a bit of a mouth-watering tease. I even enjoy seeing the video journals that Peter Jackson are doing, but I really don’t need a stinkin’ preview to the trailer itself! Marketing gimmick run amok… yep, you hit the nail right on the head there, girl.
I’ve posted that teaser a month ago 🙂 and I’m with you, I don’t get teasing the trailers? It’s counterproductive. And I think everybody hates it.
It’s been around for a month?? I thought Sony just posted it in Youtube on the 26th. In any case, it’s just silly all around, but I’m sure we’ll see a heck of a lot more of these now.
yep, they kept talking it down from YouTube and I had to change at least five or six clips at my place 🙂
I’m loving the teaser by the way, and you have a gorgeous trailer for RISE OF THE GUARDIANS today at my place.
I was just about to head over to HS later today, Dezzy. Thanks for the heads up.
I agree, lame. And I’m really said that no one’s going to say “Get your ass to Mars.” in this movie.
Hi Robert, welcome to FC! Ahah, well they still might say that in the actual trailer 😉
Terrible, I never watch or post these because they bring absolutely nothing to the table. Who cares about 30 sec of meaningless footage when you can wait a couple of days and enjoy the full trailer. To when the teaser of the teaser for the trailer??? 😀
Exactly Castor! Before you know it, there’ll be a teaser to the teaser trailer for a trailer!! Sheesh, what’s the world coming to!
Marketing, and whatever experiments called such. Sometimes they work (Hunger Games) and other times not (remember ‘Snakes on a Plane’?). Personally, this is one I wanted to be remade. I’m actually looking forward to ‘Total Recall’. Go figure ;-).
I love the original film, maybe Arnold’s best flick second only to T2. I vaguely remember the book it was based on but this remake, I’m still not sold yet, mostly because I’m not too thrill about the people who are making it. Len Wiseman and Kurt Wimmer are some good examples of hacks in Hollywood. I hope they’ll prove me wrong though. Also, Jessica Bield is in the movie, she’s probably the most cursed actress in Hollywood, all of the big budgeted films she’s starred in has failed.
Hi Michael, I too am looking forward to it as the panel at Comic-con was quite entertaining and the footage does look pretty good.
Like Ted, I’m also skeptical about Len Wiseman, but who knows maybe this one would be a step forward from his usual movies. Yeah, I’m not crazy about Biel either but she might be ok in action stuff. I thought the sci-fi set pieces look awesome, so I’m quite hopeful about this one. We’ll see what the full trailer’s got to offer.
Good point about Jessica Biel, Ted. Remember her in ‘The A-Team’? Exactly. But, do you want to see Jessica and Kate Beckinsale recreating that memorable all girl fight from the original?
forgot about that – um yes, I think they can pull it off.
Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that fight scene between Rachel and Sharon. I think Kate and Jessica can definitely make it look even more sexy. LOL!
Hacks! Ted, you crack me up, man. I gotta revisit your awesome posts about the hollywood hacks!
Ha ha yeah, there are too many hacks in Hollywood because they’ll do whatever the studio bosses tells them. Even Brad Bird agree with me, I think Ruth will post that article later today.
This actually made me laugh. “Here’s an ad for an upcoming advertisement!” It’s like the hype surrounding what commercials are going to be shown during the Super Bowl. While the trailers can be fun to watch and often seem like mini-movies in themselves, they are still advertising for the movie. Why get excited to see a trailer during a TV show when it will be online almost immediately afterward? Of course, millions of people swarmed to see “Meet Joe Black” just because word got out that the first trailer for “The Phantom Menace” would be played during it–and they stayed for the entire three-hour death scene to watch that 2-minute tease a second time after the movie ended. I’m surprised it’s taken the movie industry 14 years to follow up on that phenomenon.
Hi Jamie, welcome to FC! Ha..ha.. yeah I hope it won’t come to that, an ad for an upcoming commercial, oh dear! Seriously though, I’d never see ‘Meet Joe Black’ on the big screen even just to see The Dark Knight Rises trailer! That movie is so darn boring! In any case, this is a phenomenon that should never catch on.
You nailed it, Ruth – “trailer for a trailer”. It looked pretty dumb but because the Beckinsale is in it and I love PKD, I’ll be suckered in. That teaser is a big negative for me though.
Yes well miss Beckinsale will surely draw a lot of the guys to see this movie even they’re not into sci-fis, ahah. She is lovely though, like I told you, she looked even better in person!
I think it’s a great idea for a movie that has a lot of legitimate buzz around it. For instance, the Dark Knight did a teaser that made a lot of sense. People have been dying for the new movie since the last one ended.
But Total Recall? And most movies that get the teasers? It’s a stretch to think anyone should care. But that’s just my opinion.
Oh I don’t have issues with a legitimate teaser trailer (as in a shorter version of a trailer) but I’m talking about a teaser for the TRAILER itself here which I think is ridiculous!
A trailer for a trailer for a remake? Are you kidding me? Hollywood continues to devour itself. I’m all for promotion but when you start promoting your promotion there’s something seriously wrong.
Hi Rich! Yep, you said it, it’s a disturbing trend I hope won’t continue!
I saw this trailer , too and didn’t give it much thought…other than to stop watching part way in.
How about movies (like The Muppets) that release numerous trailers. (I think there were seven.)
Seven trailers?? Wow, that is a lot but I guess that’s ok as they’re actual trailers, not a promo advertising them, ahah.
Made me laugh too! I couldn’t believe after those opening titles of ‘Get ready’ or whatever that they’d actually put up another one that said ‘for a trailer’. Hilarious! I actually don’t mind, I mean we don’t have to watch it. For me it just draws out the anticipation which is fine as often the anticipation is much more fun than the actual movie!
The thing is I had been anticipating a Total Recall trailer so I was vehemently annoyed why they don’t just release the darn thing itself.
I, too, have been frustrated with this recent trend. It really makes no sense and I do grow weary of it. I wish it would just go away.
Glad I wasn’t the only one feeling this way.
No, not at all T. Clearly a lot of people here are also annoyed by them.
I just saw something similar but possibly even more crazy, a teaser for a music video! There’s only ever going to be 5 minutes of it! LOL
That is nuts!! Is it a music video from Justin Bieber?? Seems like only the Beliebers would fall for something like that, ha..ha..
Eh, marketing. I’m not a fan of this trailer for a trailer. To me it smacks of the studios being full of in trepidation on how well the actual trailer and eventual film will be received. It’s an effort to make hype where there’s none.
Teasers are great, trailer for trailer – wtf?!
Yep, WTF is my sentiment exactly!!
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