Sandra Bullock and George Clooney take 'Gravity' to New York

Posted by · 11:21 pm · October 1st, 2013

Hey, boys and girls, it’s time for another movie marketing lesson from your friends at HitFix.

What do you do when you have a film that mostly appeals to men, but you want to make sure you get the attention of younger women? It’s really important those women go with their boyfriends on Friday and Saturday night, because that means their boyfriends will definitely go. Well, when your cast is limited to just two, cough, older, cough, actors, there isn’t much you can do. Sure, rave reviews (97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8 100 grades so far on Metacritic) and amazing footage are selling it pretty damn well, but it’s opening week. The pressure is on! Someone in the studio is no doubt saying, “How can we liven things up a bit down the homestretch? I mean, yeah, the movie stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, but how do we make some noise on, y’know, those gossip sites (Sandra can’t do this on her own!)?”*

*(How can we get my daughter’s 15-year-old friends interested?)

Why, you pull out one of the oldest tricks in the book. You get some paparazzi-friendly beautiful actresses to walk down your opening week premiere red carpet.

No disrespect to the always debonair Clooney and the still stunning (and possibly now Best Actress frontrunner) Bullock, but all eyes were on Ms. Emma Watson at the New York premiere of “Gravity” Tuesday night. And, on cue, Ms. Watson playfully posed on the red carpet. Who else showed up?  None other than Katie Holmes (who Clooney greeted with a hug, no less). Yep, flip on any Entertainment Tonight, Access, E! or OMGwhatever tomorrow and you’ll see Watson and Holmes along with George and Sandy.

Does this move the needle for “Gravity’s” opening on Friday? Probably not. But it certainly doesn’t hurt. Plus, pre-release tracking is looking pretty good for Warner Bros. as it is. But, hey, let’s not jinx them, OK?

For some pretty photos from the New York “Gravity” premiere, check out the gallery embedded below.

Are you seeing “Gravity” this weekend? (I can tell you Tapley and I are catching it again.)




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