Spooky. The minute I post my delayed Page to Screen discussion of the “The Road,” the film’s trailer finally pops up online. I’m going to try this tactic again in the future. Anyway, here it is.
As that first Esquire review warned us the other day, the marketers appear to have made the curious decision to sell this as a propulsive action piece. I’m not sure who they imagine will fall for that angle, but don’t panic just yet.
Comments
29 responses to “‘The Road’ gets a trailer”
This doesn’t at all match the tone of the book.
I’m disappointed.
They’re definitely stressing action over emotion.
Guess Michael Bay had a hand in crafting the film.
Lame, obviously, but the trailer really should of showcased more of an Oscar-worthy film as opposed to “Produced by Michael Bay!”
They should’ve gotten whoever did the trailer for Children of Men to do this trailer.
Yeah, horrible trailer, but doesn’t change my outlook on the film at all. Should be great.
Looks like an “Also on DVD from Anchor Bay” trailer. Quite a misstep.
Has dimension ever had a real contender before? Also, Charlize Theron’s part seems bigger than i remember hearing about
There trying to get a bigger audience, from what Ive read its nothing like that, well see, kinda disapointed
Fill me in on why expectations were so high for this. The book? John Hillcoat? I’m not being sarcastic.
we’ve heard early word on the tone of the film…so no one should be fooled by this trailer which is very obviously trying to reach a bigger audience by marketing it as more of an I Am Legend-esque action thriller.
Yeah, the trailer doesn’t hit the right note for me either, but I suspect they’re trying out an odd marketing angle. That Esquire review the other day addressed the issue of the trailers in relation the film, and said there was a disconnect:
“There is a speed to them that the actual movie — which I saw before seeing the trailers — does not possess or seek to possess, an urgency that feels manufactured. The music is pulse-pounding and urgent, driven to create absurd expectations of action in a movie that quietly elicits worry about the relative friability of the invisible paths that exist between people and what they need.”
The book, Hillcoat, Nick Cave, and the actors involved.
The first thing I thought of when I saw the trailer is they are trying to “Watchmen” it. Based on the early thoughts about the film I’ve read, the film captures the tone of the book more favorably.
action sells. this will appeal to the younger demo who buy movie tickets. I think it was pretty smart. don’t y’all know that aint no one readin’ books these days? If it aint 140 characters, it’s just too dang long.
Personally, I don’t think mismarketing it is that smart. Assuming the trailer is misleading, when the word of mouth spreads that it’s (gasp) not an action picture, the youth market will stay away, while a signficant chunk of the more literary target audience will have been turned off.
I totally agree with you Guy, you would think that these companies would learn from their previous mistakes and market the film more truthfully.
This argument really is null and void without someone seeing the final film. Maybe it is an action film and marketed perfectly as is.
I remember a lot of the action parts from the book, just they seem to be in a completly different context in the trailer. I think the film may still be really good.
Yay! Michael K. Williams can be seen at the very end (around 2:19, not that I checked). For all fans of The Wire this should be a huge deal for the actor. I agree that mis-marketing can backfire (I heard audible gasps when the first song started during Sweeney Todd), but I can understand the temptation to maximize the audience for what is going to be a hugely challenging film. I would not want to be the person wandering into this that expects a big-budget action movie. The cannibals might mess with that perception.
I loved the book, so I really want to see this. They may just be showing more action than there actually is to attract a wider audience.
Im totally disappointed. Im not going to see this movie. Loved the book though.
Marketing this one accordingly, to be honest. Genre first. Esteemed source material second.
Wanna see some mismarketing? See the Angels and Demons trailer and then the film. There’s things being connected and put together there that aren’t even in the final film.
Oh jesus christ, hasn’t anyone heard of false advertising? Just because the Weinsteins are trying to market it as “28 Days Later” (in the forest, perhaps) doesn’t mean that’s actually what it is. Considering you have a director like John Hillcoat I don’t think anybody should be expecting a big giant action movie like Michael Bay.
Heaven forbid that the distributor might want to actually make money out of this movie instead of advertising to the arthouse crowd.
Terrible trailer… the beginning makes it look like a huge disaster movie, the end like a horror movie of some sorts… really terrible.
I am still pumped as all hell for this movie and the score.
I went to an early screening of “The Road” a couple of months ago. It had the potential to be a very good film, but needed some work.
I am both surprised and not surprised by this trailer, because it is a very difficult film to market. It’s not an action thriller by any stretch, but I have difficulty picturing what a “proper” trailer would look like.
Its a rather short film as well, so saying that it is slower than this trailer depicts, wouldn’t do it justice.
This trailer is a total train wreck. Completely wrong tone than from the book. All the stock disaster footage at the beginning is stupid, not in the book. Theron appears to be in every other scene, barely mentioned in the book. Tone is all wrong, making it look like an action movie. I loved the book, but this trailer is very disappointing.
I think the trailer is not at all representative of the actual film.
The trailer was tryign to market it as an action horror movie, whereas the the real film that I saw at one of the early screenings is the most powerful survival drama I have ever seen on film. I knew the trailer was going to suck, sinc eit’s a damned hard film to market. After all, its not like there’s a happy ending or anything, it’s all sad all the time.
Bottom line, do not be mislead by the trailer. Go see the film in October and keep it on the oscar radar. Having seen the film, I can tell you you will not regret it and you will be deeply moved by it. You owe it to yourself to see this incredible film.
“All the stock disaster footage at the beginning is stupid, not in the book.”
That’s not actually in the movie, just used in the trailer.
They made it look like Theron is in every other scene, but she really is in two scenes in the movie, just like in the book her character appears in two flashbacks.
And by the way, the more Theron the better bitches