The New Face of Movie Marketing

It's no big shocker to anyone that I love movies. I love that they can make you laugh, cry, dance around or even teach you something. I love the amount of thought and artwork that goes into each one. I especially love the millions of different combinations that, since the 1920s, have been used to tell great stories ... on camera. Most of all, I love the way(s) they're marketed — exciting trailers, gorgeous posters, press tours, premieres, etc.

Movie marketing is brilliant, glamorous and, at face level, seems so simple. Social media (another "love" of mine) is beginning to change the way this marketing is done. Films like Chronicle, The Muppets, The Vow, Paperboy (above right) and Five-Year Engagement are just a few examples of movie studios jumping on the bandwagon and getting social right. For those that have hit theaters, this has meant major Box Office pay-off.

I present to you a pre-release case study on Five-Year Engagement's social strategy, which I very much believe will result in significant success for the film (something I suppose we'll find the answer to come April 27):

Though not as intense as was the online promotion for actor Jason Segel's last film — The Muppets — the strategy behind Five-Year is impressive. While the movie does have the standard Facebook page and Twitter handle, it has still found a way to take social a major step further. Instead of adding to these "standards" by merely creating a site for the film, Five-Year has created a wedding blog for its engaged characters, Tom and Violet. Further, the film has opted to use its YouTube channel as a vlog for those same characters. Only time will tell what other shenanigans Segel and his crew will come up with so stay tuned (and check out the trailer for Five-Year Engagement below!) ...

I Just Watched: The Muppets

...and I loved it!! "It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights," it's time to meet the Muppets! This movie has it all, perhaps the best of which includes obvious references to the fact that it is, in fact, a movie. The goal of the film from the get-go is very clear and very heartwarming: The Muppets is meant to give the muppets themselves the comeback they deserve — both on- and off-screen — and introduce the world to Walter, the newest muppet. In my opinion, it succeeds wholeheartedly in that goal and gives us a million more things to smile about. I promise you will not be disappointed to have spent money on this Disney tale. To writer and star Jason Segel: Well done!
Best on-screen moment: It's a tie between the musical number "Man or Muppet" and when TV executive Veronica Martin (Rashida Jones) tells the muppets that they're not famous anymore, subsequently pointing out that Punch Teacher — interpretation literal — is the most popular show on her network.

I Just Watched: Bad Teacher

I definitely lost my surprise at the rating of this movie (R) soon after it began. Despite being absolutely hilarious, the flick was a tad dirty at points. Unlike just about every other movie in existence, the protagonist, Elizabeth Halsey, does not quite learn her lesson in life (though she does in love); however, she does cease teaching ... only to become the middle school guidance counselor. As in almost everything he does, Jason Segel (TV's How I Met Your Mother) is the real charmer in this flick, while Bad Teacher's breakout star is Phyllis Smith (TV's The Office) as the indecisive Lynn Davies. To address the hot topic surrounding the movie, former real-life flames Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake manage easy on-screen chemistry while making post-breakup friendship look like a cinch. Bad Teacher may not be the greatest movie of the season, but it was an enjoyable one (and I'm loving the female badasses in this summer's comedy romps).
Best on-screen moment: It's a tie between whenever Miss Halsey (Diaz) gives advice and whenever Miss Davies (Smith) tries to make a decision.