Has the Maturing of Generation-X prompted the rise of 'New Dude Cinema'?
In his latest column on Black Table, Tim Grierson has coined a new phrase to describe the emerging crop of frat-buddy comedies of the past year - "New Dude Cinema": The New Dude company of actors, dubbed the "frat pack," includes Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Ben Stiller, and the stars of Wedding Crashers. Unlike the dude comedies of a generation ago, these new films' heroes aren't fighting the system -- they're fighting maturity. You see this phenomenon everywhere. Whether it's Esquire or Adult Swim or Xbox, the modern man is battling to stay in a perpetual adolescence where you never have to grow up, but you get to have tons of cool gadgets and expensive material possessions anyway. Remember how you always told yourself that those fraternity blockheads would be in big trouble once they entered the real world? Well, guess what happened? There's a whole industry devoted to them now.
So what's fueling this emerging trend? Perhaps it's the salt-n-peppering of the Gen Xers, as reported last month in the Dallas Morning News: As they embark upon middle age, the oldest Xers are coming into their own for the first time, generational experts say. They're getting married, starting families and embracing traditional values that set them apart from the "Me Generation' of baby boomers.
"At 40, you are beginning to see a blossoming of a generation,' says Ann Fishman, president of Generational-Targeted Marketing Corp. in New Orleans. "Many of them are just beginning to find their place.'
There are roughly 50 million Xers in the United States all born between 1965 and 1976. So has Hollywood stumbled onto a goldmine of an audience -- one that seeks to perpetuate their carefree youth through the antics of their on-screen peers? Looks like a sizable market with a tremendous amount of spending power. [Via Black Table - Believe the Hype]
A Look at the Marketing Behind 'Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price'
The LA Times' Calendar section had an interesting feature on documentarian Robert Greenwald, the filmmaker behind last year's smash indie DVD releases Outfoxed and Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War. So how did Greenwald find an audience for his docs? According to Ralph Tribbey of the DVD Release Report, DVDs have created a market where niche films, especially those covering hot-button topics, can readily find an audience:
"DVDs are where the money is," he said. "If just 3% or 4% of 75 million DVD households are into a social message, selling a couple of hundred thousand units isn't unreasonable. It's always hard for independent filmmakers. But home video, the Internet and [news-hungry] 24/7 cable news channels help. Another point to take away from the article is just how early you can begin marketing issue-based, participatory films: The Web, Greenwald found, is a powerful tool for fundraising and information gathering. So far, he's raised $750,000 -- of which $50,000 came from donors. (Anyone giving $30 or more gets a free DVD.) The director also used the Internet to sign up 600 field producers, novices as well as professionals, and elicit footage, photos and tips about Wal-Mart. The title of the movie was the winner of an online popularity contest.
"This is my universal studio," said the 61-year-old filmmaker, pointing to a computer in his Culver City office... "Through our website we've reached hundreds of thousands of people without a multimillion-dollar marketing push." The combination of issue-fueled publicity and savvy online marketing is the one-two punch in overcoming a lack a traditional advertising-based release push. Fostering a passionate community is also important -- One look at the film's website illustrates just how integral this notion has become in all stages of an indie film's production, distribution and marketing:
- The main feature on the homepage is a call to action to get involved in the filmmaking process:
 - Individuals have the opportunity to post opinions, stories and photos relating to their personal experiences with Wal-Mart.
- The site offers a timely blog with an RSS feed.
- They provide numerous opportunities to join in and participate with partnering activist groups.
- They have a funny, participatory sub-site featuring the film's mascot, the "Evil Smiley." Incidentally, co-opting and modifying this universally recognized image has provided this film with arguably one of the best logos since Ghostbusters.
Based on an early look at blog trend tracking sites like Blogpulse, Icerocket and Technorati, the chatter in the blogosphere is just starting to pick up. But once the amplifying effect of thousands of linking blogs takes hold, expect this film to generate massive grassroots level buzz as the November 13th release date approaches. [Via calendarlive.com]
Killer Biopic Stirs Controversy in Canada
According to the Montreal Gazette, 'Karla', a film about notorious Canadian killers Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo was pulled from the screening schedule of the Montreal Film Festival due to a political and sponsor backlash:
In recent months, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty had been urging people not to go see the movie, which documents the story of Canada's most notorious couple and the brutal killings of schoolgirls Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy.
McGuinty congratulated the Montreal film festival organizers Thursday for cancelling the screening, which had been scheduled for later this month.
"These crimes were searing events in the life of this province," McGuinty said. "I have not understood how people would want to profit from that."
Sellers said he knew Air Canada, a sponsor of the Montreal festival, did not want its logo to be posted during the screening of Karla, and he believes the airline was among those sponsors pressuring the festival to drop the movie. So has all of the negative publicity hurt the producer's chances for finding an audience? According to Quantum Entertainment producer Michael Sellers, Apparently not: Sellers also said all the publicity generated by politicians like McGuinty speaking against the movie, and the cancellation by the Montreal festival, have actually helped his cause.
"I've had two other film festivals and two or three other distributors call already this morning, so the news value of this and the controversy may in the end be positive," he said. Will politicians ever learn? If you don't want people to go see a movie, leave it alone. Instead, there are now over 300 articles on Google News, providing hundreds of free column inches -- the dream of every indie movie marketer. Right now, it looks like the producers are working the "freedom of artistic expression" and "no one's dragging you to see this" PR angles, which are straight out of the ol' Miramax playbook. Changing the films name from the generic "Deadly" to "Karla" was a pretty brash move, however, and looks like a blatant move to capitalize on the publicity surrounding Karla Homolka's recent release from prison. We don't care about all that though -- we're still shell-shocked from reading that the flick stars Laura Prepon from "The 70's Show" -- count us in! [Via the Montreal Gazette] [ 'Karla' Official Site]
Bizarre Product Placement: James Bond to Drive a Fiat Econobox
According to an article on Bloomberg, James Bond will slip behind the wheel of, ahem, a Fiat Panda:
The Fiat Panda, one of Fiat SpA's cheapest models, will make its screen debut in the next James Bond film due in 2006, replacing the luxury cars typically used by the secret agent such as Aston Martin's V12 Vanquish.
The Panda, which is priced from 12,490 euros ($15,379), 21 times less than the Vanquish, will have cinema's most famous secret agent behind the wheel in ``Casino Royale,'' the latest installment of the James Bond saga.
According to the article, Fiat didn't have to pay any placement fees, and just has to provide multiple cars for the production. If this is indeed true, it looks like a major marketing coup for Fiat and a mjor miscue for whoever's marketing the Bond franchise. Any way you look at it, Q is going to have to work some major miracles to make this econobox look even half-way cool. [Via Bloomberg.com: Europe]
Report: Teens and Tweens are abandoning TV
According to Packaged Facts, a new division of Marketresearch.com, teens and Tweens are not all zoned out in front of the tube, making them increasingly difficult to reach via TV advertising: Almost 80% of the 8- to 14-year-olds, or so-called tweens, "love" television. But that number drops to 60% in 12- to 14-year-olds.
The research points out that the 8-14 audience gets "distracted" by other activities when watching the television. As they get older, other activities take up their interest--such as reading, listening to music, or mostly, surfing the Internet--while watching television. This research has found out what other studies have shown--the young people are masters at multi-tasking. The movie marketing implications are quite clear: if you're trying to reach this demographic, you need to shift your efforts to other outlets like online and outdoor. Additionally, partnerships with purveyors of products that teens love (cell phones, fast food, video games) will be increasingly important.
[Via Mediapost]
Sony Releases Extended 'Stealth' Preview for TiVo Users
According to Jaffe Juice, Joseph Jaffe recently discovered the first four minutes of 'Stealth' waiting for him in his "My TiVo" showcase:
My TiVo showcase offered me the opportunity to watch the first 4 minutes of the just released action movie, Stealth. Obviously the idea here is to show a bit of skin to the audience (and what better way than an action-packed opening sequence...remember Saving Private Ryan?) and have them salivating at the mouth wanting more....
Some of the comments following the entry note that if these recommended clips were tied in to the shows they actually watch, this might be a highly useful (and valuable) promotional tool for Movie Marketers (though we doubt anything short of cash incentives could have got audiences in to see this turkey). We hope, for Jaffe's sake, that 'Stealth' isn't a reflection of his TiVo habits! [Via Jaffe Juice]
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