I really enjoy movie trailers.
I like real trailers and I like fake trailers. I actually get a little bummed when I don't make it to the theatre in time to catch the trailers before the movie I'm about to watch. Hell, sometimes, I'll pop in an older movie on DVD just to check out the trailer.
I like the challenge of trying to condense a movie into less than three minutes with the goal being getting people to watch it. Do you just cobble together a bunch of random scenes or do you build your trailer around one scene from your movie? Do you give away the best jokes or your movie's money shot? I'm totally aware that trailers often give WAY too much away, but let's be honest — sometimes, the trailer is the best part of the movie.
Since I enjoy trailers so much, I've decided to debut the Trailees, honoring the year's best in movie trailers. Also, since I just decided to make up the award, there are only three prizes, but I'm more than happy to take your suggestions for additional categories for future Trailees.
(In case you're interested, my 2008 Top 10 in TV and movies are forthcoming. My TV list is close to being done, but my movie list won't be out until I see as many of the Oscar contenders as I can that haven't come to Tampa yet.)
Let's hand out some awards!
BEST ACTRESS: Angelina Jolie, Changeling
I'm of the mind that one of the things that make for a great and memorable movie trailer is a random, out-of-context quote you can yell out among friends and family for laughs. Although I'm guessing the subject matter in "Changeling" is serious (I haven't actually seen it), the movie's trailer deliver just that quote with Jolie howling "I want MY son back" toward the end. Congratulations on joining such classics as "Gimme back my son!" (what's the deal with sons?) and "Yes they deserve to die and I hope they burn in hell!" Most importantly, my girlfriend Erica does a rock solid impression of this. I'll go see if I can convince her to let me film her doing the impression.
BEST ACTOR: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
When Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker people let out a collective WTF. When reports came from the set that he was doing brilliant work we were all intrigued. When he died in January, that intrigue multiplied by about a billion percent. When we finally saw footage of his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime, we were astonished. Ledger looked and sounded remarkable and he had people saying "Let's put a smile on that face" and asking "Why so SERIOUS?!" months before "The Dark Knight" even came out. Speaking of which -
BEST TRAILER: The Dark Knight
I mean, this isn't even a contest. The movie already had high expectations given the cast and the creative resurgence of the Bat franchise, but the trailer took things to another level. Thanks in no small part to Trailee winner Heath Ledger, I think the collective response to the trailer for "The Dark Knight" was "wow." Hopefully, this won't be the only major award Ledger and the movie win in the coming months.
So what'd you think? Who gave your favorite performance in a movie trailer? Any ideas for categories I can add? Also, which awesome trailer made you feel the most let down when you saw the movie?
I like real trailers and I like fake trailers. I actually get a little bummed when I don't make it to the theatre in time to catch the trailers before the movie I'm about to watch. Hell, sometimes, I'll pop in an older movie on DVD just to check out the trailer.
I like the challenge of trying to condense a movie into less than three minutes with the goal being getting people to watch it. Do you just cobble together a bunch of random scenes or do you build your trailer around one scene from your movie? Do you give away the best jokes or your movie's money shot? I'm totally aware that trailers often give WAY too much away, but let's be honest — sometimes, the trailer is the best part of the movie.
Since I enjoy trailers so much, I've decided to debut the Trailees, honoring the year's best in movie trailers. Also, since I just decided to make up the award, there are only three prizes, but I'm more than happy to take your suggestions for additional categories for future Trailees.
(In case you're interested, my 2008 Top 10 in TV and movies are forthcoming. My TV list is close to being done, but my movie list won't be out until I see as many of the Oscar contenders as I can that haven't come to Tampa yet.)
Let's hand out some awards!
BEST ACTRESS: Angelina Jolie, Changeling
I'm of the mind that one of the things that make for a great and memorable movie trailer is a random, out-of-context quote you can yell out among friends and family for laughs. Although I'm guessing the subject matter in "Changeling" is serious (I haven't actually seen it), the movie's trailer deliver just that quote with Jolie howling "I want MY son back" toward the end. Congratulations on joining such classics as "Gimme back my son!" (what's the deal with sons?) and "Yes they deserve to die and I hope they burn in hell!" Most importantly, my girlfriend Erica does a rock solid impression of this. I'll go see if I can convince her to let me film her doing the impression.
BEST ACTOR: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
When Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker people let out a collective WTF. When reports came from the set that he was doing brilliant work we were all intrigued. When he died in January, that intrigue multiplied by about a billion percent. When we finally saw footage of his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime, we were astonished. Ledger looked and sounded remarkable and he had people saying "Let's put a smile on that face" and asking "Why so SERIOUS?!" months before "The Dark Knight" even came out. Speaking of which -
BEST TRAILER: The Dark Knight
I mean, this isn't even a contest. The movie already had high expectations given the cast and the creative resurgence of the Bat franchise, but the trailer took things to another level. Thanks in no small part to Trailee winner Heath Ledger, I think the collective response to the trailer for "The Dark Knight" was "wow." Hopefully, this won't be the only major award Ledger and the movie win in the coming months.
So what'd you think? Who gave your favorite performance in a movie trailer? Any ideas for categories I can add? Also, which awesome trailer made you feel the most let down when you saw the movie?
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