Annnnddd…another trailer. This one for the hotly anticipated “Hugo,” from Martin Scorsese. And a film that really should have had some sort of presence at Comic-Con, I think, especially with folks like Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg making the trip. It just would’ve been a treat. In any case, some have awards doubts on this one due to the children’s movie aspect, but I’m not sure that’s real cause to doubt just yet. One thing we can certainly tell by the trailer, which just hit Apple, is that the design elements are off the chain. I can’t wait to see this one in 3D, and I don’t say that often (if ever). Check out the trailer by clicking the image below or watch an embed after the jump.
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91 responses to “‘Hugo’ trailer”
Ummmmm…. it doesn’t look all that great to me.
Then again, I read the graphic novel for a young adult literature class my senior year of college and it wasn’t all that long after that that I heard Scorsese was making an adaptation, and I think I had unrealistically high expectations of where he might go with it.
I’m putting all of my hopes in the fact that the trailer is almost reminding me of Cuaron’s “The Little Princess”, which was another schmaltzy, mainstream, middle-brow family flick that actually had some really fine qualities.
Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with schmaltzy, mainstream, middle-brow family flicks by the way…. it just always seems like a desperate cash-grab when great filmmakers stoop to make them.
Certainly love the look of it. Spot on production qualities. I’m interested.
Scorsese is coming off his biggest money-maker to date, so I don’t think he’s stooping.
Wow, this looks bad. Incredible that Jude Law manages to out-creepy Baron Cohen. And the tentpole action sequence … he flies into a cake, man!
I just hope it’s not just a film for kids…but a Scorsese picture that happens to be acceptable for children.
I dig this. Feels like a future childhood classic along the lines of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “The Land Before Time” and all that.
Also, for the curious, the song used in the trailer is “Kings and Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars.
Well, that was different.
The tone seems somehow off. And the music sucks out a lot of the energy. I can only guess that they are going for something very low key on purpose (and that, more than anything else, intrigues me). I couldn’t figure out what SBC was doing at all (is he a robot in the movie?)
The weirdest thing is that it does have a strong Chris Columbus/Zemeckis vibe out, which I don’t think was a bad thing. I liked the poster because of it.
I always associate that font with Zemeckis.
Man does that song kill this trailer.
Saying that, the designs look great, and I’m optimistic for were this could go.
To quote what you said in your podcast Kris, it’s a wait and see if there ever was one.
I honestly get a “Finding Neverland” feel from it.
And I agree with Maxim, that song does not help.
Man, that 30 Seconds to Mars song really kills the trailer. It’s just like that Eminem song that killed the MI4 trailer. Watch the Japanese MI4 trailer where they replaced the Eminem song with the MI theme and it improves the trailer considerably.
Japanese MI4 trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erfXmAFjOes
I have to say i hate the music they chose for the trailer. Seems… missplaced.
And the kid is kinda creepy but I suppose his looks bring something to the plot.
I dont really know if this has a lot of chances as awards are concerned. Seems to family, PG, nice,… Dunno…
Keys…
I guess I can expect an MTV Movie Awards-style parody mash-up of Hugo and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close for next year’s Oscar show. A similarity too easy to notice to not mention.
Aside from this bit of asdsfasfd, the trailer gives me a vibe similar to A Series of Unfortunate Events – looks like a fun and visually cool treat, but it could be a bit too lightweight for any Oscar discussion. Time will tell, I guess. Can’t wait to check it out.
I wonder if the kids could pull off an acting nod, too.
BTW, about the 30 Seconds to Mars song… I don’t mind that much. For its target audience, it’s appropiate. My only complain is that it’s too recognizable, thus becoming a bit distracting from the trailer itself.
Eh, I’m not too sure this is what I was expecting. Then again, it is quite a departure from Scorsese’s usual dark, seedy films. I think this film will be good, wholesome family fun. Hopefully it makes the awards circuit though, I feel like Shutter Island was unfairly shut out.
Anyway, I think this trailer (and hopefully the film) reaffirms Chloe Moretz’s extraordinary screen presence- can this girl do anything wrong? She makes one hell of a bloodsucker (“Let Me In”), super-hero (“Kick Ass”), and her British accent in this film is impressive (Anne Hathaway please take note). Hell, she was the only impressive part of The Amityville Horror remake.
Is this the same kid from The Boy With the Striped Pajama’s?
I have virtually no interest in this movie after seeing the trailer. Why do Spielberg and Scorsese have to resort to this kiddy material?
Yes, David a movie about World War I, a play version of which has won a Tony for best Drama is kiddy material.
Is it weird that after something like Shutter Island Scorsese honestly want to try something tonally different?
And isn’t it bed time for you, David?
It’s going up against Arthur Christmas and The Muppets, so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the tone of the movie was much different than the trailer suggested.
The design is flat out fucking fantastic though.
I’m afraid it seems a kids-only-movie.
Calling it: Oscar winner for Best Art Direction.
I wish they’d kept one of the longer titles. “Hugo” just sounds so non-descript and bland, especially compared to the original title of the book. “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” sounds interesting and inviting, a bit mysterious. Can’t say that about “Hugo”.
I actually couldn’t make it to the end of the trailer….yikes.
It may be the way the trailer is cut and the music choice, but it looks way too dumbed down from the book.
Dan: WOW, that’s SO much better, re: the M:I4 trailer. Nice find.
Andrej: Indeed, already noted:
http://twitter.com/#!/kristapley/status/91640200056422400
Brock: Bingo. I get the vibe the tone isn’t well-represented here at all.
Graysmith: Already called it:
http://incontention.com/2011/07/04/off-the-carpet-the-year-of-the-beard/
;)
But indeed, the design is just something to behold here. After Ferretti got the shaft last year, it could be some nice comeuppance.
Maxim, I was referring to Tintin not War Horse. Good comeback though, because me being 23 years old is reeeeeally young
Any movie trailer that has an animal looking embarrassed is in trouble. Not doomed, exactly, but in trouble. Sort of like when something “zany” happens and a crowd of people makes that “Oaaahh” sound often heard during wacky movie weddings.
Marty’s in a Catch-22 situation. He does something dark and violent with Leo and he’s lazily covering the same ground. He does a children’s movie and people wonder why he isn’t doing something within his comfort zone…
The trailer isn’t exactly great (I hate anachronistic music use in trailers with a passion!), but I do see a good film (or, at least, potential for a good film) in there.
I had an impulse feeling that Chloe Moretz might have a shot at a supporting nomination for this, and I think the trailer confirmed that feeling. If you look at Scorsese’s history with getting younger actresses nominated (Jodie Foster, Juliette Lewis, Wynona Ryder, ect.), it seems more than plausible. And, putting on an accent hasn’t ever hurt at the Oscars.
Has the trailer for Extremely Loud… come out? Or are we just comparing how similar the plots are?
Plots.
Movies like this tend to bring out a really interesting side of people. “How dare a filmmaker I like make a movie that isn’t necessarily targeted at me and, thus, doesn’t interest me. It’s just not right!” etc etc. Maybe he just wanted to make a kids movie. Ya know… for kids? Maybe he wanted his family to be able to sit down and watch it?
Were all of you people crying about it looking like a mere “kiddie” movie ever *actually* children? Remember when you were young and didn’t actually go and see movies like “The Departed”? You must have no spirit to you whatsoever.
As beautiful as the film looks, and as good as the cast may be, I just have a hard time envisioning anything beyond pleasing entertainment. I guess it could catch on in many of the technical categories, but I doubt there will be enough voters that put it at the top of their lists.
This is coming from someone who has read the book, mind you. Other than providing an opportunity for some miraculous 3-D, the storyline isn’t anything to write home about.
I’m i huge fan of Marty’s work, I actually like this.
To me, it looks like a mash-up of The Golden Compass & Big Fish.
I really can’t tell if the film will be good, at all. But it’s Scorsese, and the visuals look lush. I’m in.
Why the hell did they change the title? Unimaginably stupid.
“I doubt there will be enough voters that put it at the top of their lists.”
Why, exactly? People are acting like they’ve seen it and it sucks. It could be one of the year’s best.
Defeatist and ridiculous.
English: The reason, as I hear it, is the French-ness of the original title. As in it could be difficult for us Amuricuns to pronounce. Sad but true.
Kris, people easily forget that movies like “Babe” managed a Best Picture nomination (and in a field of five) and act as if adults are incapable of acknowledging a well made “kiddie movie”.
Just Tweeted this, but I, for one, am completely thrilled at the prospect of a filmmaker like Scorsese stretching into territory we’d never have imagined for him.
I think I can take Scorsese off of my list of directors whose new films I have to see. I was never looking forward to this, but it looks dreadful. Sacha Baron Cohen running into a cake? Goofy dog? Maybe he will come back one day, but at least he gave us one of the best films ever made in Raging Bull.
“Sacha Baron Cohen running into a cake?”
Why not? Honestly? Context is everything. My main problem with this was that SBC didn’t even look like he was running. That part was edited weird.
“Goofy dog?” Again, so? It’s a family film. Who doesn’t like goofy dogs?
It’s amazing to me how fans of someone can be so judmental of them doing something other then what they approve of. That truly means to me that you are not fans at all, otherwise you’d be rooting for them to succeed.
It’s equally sad to me that some of the same people who so defend animated films start foaming at their mouth as the very idea of a movie designed for kids. It’s a perfectly legitimate medium. Is Miyazaki any less of a genius just because he made a lot of works of this type? Of course not.
“Maybe he will come back one day, but at least he gave us one of the best films ever made in Raging Bull.”
Again, completely inappropriate. It’s a different type of a film. Doesn’t mean it’s something to come back from.
“but I, for one, am completely thrilled at the prospect of a filmmaker like Scorsese stretching into territory we’d never have imagined for him”
Make that two! I’m ecstatic that Scorsese is expanding into the “family-friendly” zone… he is one of the few filmmakers that I genuinely believe can succeed in making ANY kind of film (although I will admit, I have mentally blocked “New York, New York” from my Scorsese Shrine).
Miyazaki is great at his work. Assuming this film is anything like the trailer, this will not be a Ponyo or Spirited Away.
Of course I want Scorsese to succeed. I want every film made to be great. However, Goodfellas is now over twenty years old. How many times do I have to be let down before I can put the man with the other directors whose work is not must-see?
@James D, was Goodfellas the last Scorsese film you liked?
You try to paint my argument as being against kids’ films, which is not the truth at all. They are not as good as great adult works, to be sure, but they can have their charms. The Fantastic Mr. Fox was Wes Anderson’s best in years. The problem with the trailer is that it does not look like a good movie. It looks like something I have seen and disliked and fallen asleep during many times before.
No one is saying Scorsese shouldn’t leave his comfort zone. While Scorsese’s great films have some common themes, they have some vast differences. I think the descent into madness during Taxi Driver is different than the biographical nature of Raging Bull or the situation presented in Mean Streets.
If the reviews are behind Hugo, I might go see it, and if Reverse Shot likes it, I will run to go see it, but I can’t consider Scorsese as a must-see the way I do Paul Thomas Anderson or Terrence Malick.
Dana: I liked The Departed, thought The Aviator was admirable, and enjoyed parts of Bringing Out the Dead and Age of Innocence. I consider Goodfellas to be his last “great” film though.
I was sad they changed the title as well. I was pretty excited by what I saw. Not sure how it figures into the Oscar 10 (critics and box office come into play)…Suprised how much Cohen was in the preview, and how little Kingsley was.
I LOVED the trailer. I was dazzled to say the least. I am a sucker for elaborate production values and this has it in spades. It actually seems to have directorial flair. Nothing to show off direction that a well staged set piece.
I specially love the shot 30 seconds into the trailer where people run off to the sides to avoid the oncoming camera. Kinda reminded me of the famous office shot from Brazil. Looking forward to this now.
Jesus christ, James! Why do even watch movies. Heaven forbid you ever run a movie studio and demand directors like Martin Scorsese only make the same kind of movies over and over again.
The book is lovely so I’m interested to see what Scorsese does with it. I can’t imagine the film is as sweet as the trailer appears. Does Hugo use his last name in the film? Or were they afraid some Americans would be afraid of a foreign sounding name?
@James D- No Shutter Island love? I still don’t understand why so many people were turned off by this film. I consider myself a hardcore Scorsese fan, so maybe it’s a bias, but I loved it. I thought it was some of DiCaprio’s best work and consistent with Scorsese’s previous efforts (albeit not his greatest, that’s for sure). The ending wasn’t all that great- but I went into having read the novel so I guess I didn’t except any surprises.
I would have to say, “The Departed” was Scorsese’s last “greatest” film IMO. “Goodfellas” is one of the greatest films, period.