SPECULATION Lets talk about the worst...

So you post in the trailer thread about how the marketing sucks and then make a new thread to say the marketing sucks and those who disagree with me shouldn't bother reading my posts and then you act shocked that negative ratings appear on your posts. And you had to create a new thread to illustrate your negativity when there are countless others one could add their opinion to. I don't get it.

 

I think it'll be something like this:

Low Numbers, Positive People: "It's just opening weekend. Let's see how it does internationally and domestically."
Low Numbers, Negative People: "See I told you! Bad marketing, wrong season, no young viewers, etc."

High Numbers, Positive People: "I knew it'd do well! Everyone loves Star Wars!"
High Numbers, Negative People: "It's just opening weekend. Let's see how it does internationally and domestically."

 

Meh, It's Disney.

My call is for the Trailer to hit around October 14th to coincide with the premier of Rebels season two. Heck I wouldn't even be surprised to see them drop it there a few minutes before posting it to the net, which would be the day before it hits in the new cinema trailer spots on Thursday the 15th.

Bang

Kids go crazy just in time to buy their Halloween costumes and the streets in America are full of little Kylos and Phasmas.

The movie will do just fine at the box office. A piece of cinematic history? Let's discuss in 2022 or so.

 

I'm not sure about the movie yet and I wont be optimistic till after I see it.
But maybe they know their trailer is epic on an extraterrestrial scale and will shock the world so hard they don't need much more marketing.

 

Predictable, isn't it? But what about after it is clear whether it is a true blockbuster or flop?

Low Numbers, Positive People: "Well, I don't care. All that matters is whether or not it is a good movie. I thought it was __________." [Those that like it will be happy hipsters... "I liked Episode VII before it was cool to like Episode VII!"]
Low Numbers, Negative People: "Way to go Disney, thanks for ruining my childhood!"

High Numbers, Positive People: "Well, it was a marriage of Star Wars and Disney, two of the most successful franchises and marketing companies in history. I can't believe people expected anything different."
High Numbers, Negative People: "[crickets...]"

 

It's not like our childhoods can get any more ruined.

 

Cereal question: is this a stealth joke thread?

 

I remember being fascinated with Titanic when it came out because the media kept reporting on all the problems with production (way over budget, problems with Jim Cameron's temper, etc. ) and were predicting it would be this Waterworld-level disaster and then it came out and everyone loved it. Word of mouth made a very big difference with that movie and it still stands today as the longest line I've ever waited in to see a movie (I ended up with some really bad seats ~lol). Sometimes word-of-mouth can add a certain mystique to a film in a way a trailer cannot. When I saw Titanic, I didn't know anything about the characters or story (other than the obvious...SPOILER ALERT...boat sinks) but everyone was saying "You HAVE to see this!!!" and it made it all the more interesting.

 

I'm one who thinks that the film is going to be amazing, but I feel like all the pessimists and "realists" are going to be the luckiest of us all. All of you are going in with tempered expectations and you are going to be treated to a fantastic film...made even better by your pessimism.

It reminds me of stories of the release of Star Wars in '77. Nobody expected anything from the film and then: Boom--cultural phenomenon. I'm not suggesting that this will have the same impact on casual fans but I do believe those pessimists here will be banging the loudest drum for TFA if it indeed turns out to be amazing.

 

I'm just gonna say it... I expect an almost similar degree of disappointment as there was with The Phantom Menace among the long-time fans. I don't believe the sentiment will hinge on bad dialogue or wooden performances, but more likely on the notion that "it doesn't feel like Star Wars."

That said, I bet kids who didn't grow up with the OT or even the PT will be as enamored of it as they are of the Marvel or Hunger Games films. Maybe even Harry Potter. But then again, I don't expect The Force Awakens to set the world on fire like the original film didn. That's impossible.

So I'm not saying it'll be an objectively bad film or even that I (we) won't enjoy it. I just bet that after the first couple of weeks, after the fervor dies down a bit, many of us will relegate it to the "it was fine" category, but realize nostalgia for the things we loved when we were kids can't replace the quality that's inherent in something that's totally new, original, and never before seen. That next big thing WILL come some day, and it WILL be totally new and fun and recapture what made Star Wars so special in 1977.

Don't take this as cynicism, the self-loathing of an OG Star Wars fan, or JJ haterade, but as pragmatic acceptance of reality.

 

I look at the marketing this way:

-The early marketing of Teaser 1 & 2 were for the diehard fans like us, who they KNOW will be there opening weekend.

-The final push marketing of October/November/December will be for that casual fan who is on the fence. That is why I believe you will see alot more of Ford, Fisher, and Hamill out there in the final month doing interviews.

I say this because I have friends/family who fall in both categories of diehard fandom/casual fandom. My older brother is a casual fan who honestly doesn't even have SW on his radar right now, and that is why its a waste to market to him right now. But come December and he starts seeing alot of promotional stuff including Han, Luke and Leia for the first time since 1983, it will get him juiced for the movie.

Another thing that brings the casual fan in the theater will be what I call 'buzz' and that will make the difference in breaking box office records. My nephews liked the SW movies, but honestly didn't grow up with them (they were born during the PT so they never saw any of them in the theater). But if friends at school start talking about TFA, then all of the sudden it becomes a 'must see' movie regardless of how big a fan they were of the previous 6 movies. Titanic, Avatar, The Dark Knight come to mind as 'must see' movies (regardless of what you think of the movies) just because the buzz about them, and the casual fan is curious to see what the big deal is.

That is why people shouldn't go crazy right now that they are holding back all of the big time marketing, as that will come in November and December, because its to early to get the casual fan to care.

 

I've said this elsewhere, but is bears repeating.

If you can actually remove nostalgia from the equation and watch ANH as if it were created in a vacuum and released today, it is a good film but not a great one.

Star Wars is an emergent property, meaning that the sum is greater than the parts. ANH was great because of the vision, not the execution.

Before then ,we hadn't seen a sci-fi universe that was lived in and gritty, and so VAST. Walking into the Cantina at Mos Eisley and seeing all of the various species hanging out in a sleazy watering hole was expansive. The universe suddenly became much larger. Throw in the themes of good versus evil and mystical warriors, and it was something wholly new.

 

I actually look at ANH the opposite way in that it has been somewhat ruined by the Sequels, Prequels, SE changes, etc. The only people who really see the movie for what it was were the fans who saw it in 1977. After that, you had the whole context of the movie changed with Vader being Luke's dad, Luke/Leia being siblings, as Obiwan being just a big liar. Then it has to compete with the other 5 movies when fans have seen them and compare the special effects and lightsaber fights which were much different.

If you watched the movie today in the 1977 context without sequels and prequels, and SE changes, its really a gritty scifi movie that I think holds up really well. But now its viewed as #4 of a Franchise and people aren't watching it in its real context, it pales in comparison.

 

I don't disagree completely, but I WILL content ANH is a great film, full stop.

 

When Star Wars first hit the screens in 1977 the general public weren't hyped to fever pitch by a big marketing campaign. Back then people hadn't seen anything like star wars before, not even George Lucas could have predicted how huge a success it was going to become.

The basic reason it became so successful is because it was a fantastic movie. The news of that spread.

If the film is great people will come...

I don't even care about box office records. All I care for is a great movie that is worthy of bearing the name star wars.

If Disney wants to help change the way the industry markets it's movies by creating an atmosphere of mystery and intrigue then I'm all for that.

 

I'm honestly hoping it doesn't do well opening, so I don't have to sit in a cramped theatre when I take my shy son to see it. It's just the addict in us all that wants to say Disney is doing a poor marketing job, because we don't want to accept not having anything new to talk about. This property sells itself. It spans generations of fans.