Want the inside scoop on all things awards? Welcome to Letter From the Awards Editor, our weekly series where Backstage’s Jack Smart takes a look at the latest film and television news, industry trends, and awards projections that matter to today’s working actor.
Dear Backstage reader,
Today’s letter has afforded me the opportunity to highlight an overlooked yet crucial step on the road to film awards glory. In life and in Hollywood, first impressions are everything. And that’s especially true in an industry churning out products that, certainly at this exact moment in the season, must jockey for the attention of moviegoers, journalists, and most of all, nominators and voters.
I’m talking about movie trailers! If you’re a studio and you’re hoping to win your project trophies, that first glimpse of footage must not only emerge from a sea of content, it must distinguish itself with a clear and cohesive marketing strategy that a casual observer can later recognize. What is your film about—without giving too much away? Who’s in it, and who made it? And why should anybody go see it? All are questions that distributors ask themselves before prepping a one- to three-minute clip that is essentially a miniature version of the movie. Let’s be honest: Seeing every title in competition is difficult. Chances are, many SAG and Academy voters must sometimes form impressions of a film based on just its trailer instead.
And many regard trailers as their own art form. That mini-movie is a short film in and of itself. The frantic preview of David Fincher’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” is discussed among movie buffs more than the final product it’s advertising. Quentin Tarantino’s singular filmmaking vision was confirmed and expanded upon with each successive glimpse of his flicks. The simple yet unforgettable teaser for “The Shining”—this elevator is bleeding!—is another of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpieces. And full disclosure: my rewatches of the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” teaser have surely reached triple digits.
Great marketing strategies give a movie a head start on the long and arduous road to Oscar. Let’s dissect the efforts of some recent contenders, shall we?
If I had to pick an example of a trailer that had a big impact on an awards race, it would be the teaser for last year’s “A Star Is Born” remake.
It does everything an unforgettable trailer should, confirming what you likely know about a project while tantalizing you with just the right amount more. It’s the kind of preview that teases so effectively, it knows the exact questions someone watching it for the first time would ask: Bradley Cooper sings?? Dave Chapelle is in this?? Oh my Gaga, what is that song?? The first we all heard of “Shallow,” the Lady Gaga tune that went on to steamroll all competition in the Oscar for best original song race, was in this endlessly rewatchable trailer that truly put “A Star Is Born” on the map.
What about the current slate of award-seeking films? You may not be surprised, given last week’s letter, that I consider “Hustlers” one of our strongest contenders; it’s not only a wonderful example of utilizing an appropriately suggestive song as its soundtrack (from Cardi B, herself making her feature film debut here), it accurately explains the film’s premise without giving away the plot, and it puts a smile on your face. If you’re me, it gives you straight-up chills.
The trailer for “The Report,” on the other hand, is a great example of a cohesive branding strategy. Notice how one minute in, the footage introduces a visual motif: words typed out onto paper, then blacked out with dark lines. Pull quotes from reviews and the cast’s names are then intercut, the blacking out effect mimicked, evoking the CIA’s censoring of the titular torture report. This design brands the movie, especially on a subliminal level, so that next time you see a poster featuring lines of type crossed out and Adam Driver’s face, you don’t mistake it for his literally dozens upon hundreds of other movies coming out this year (not literally).
Another notable entry this year went so far as to tweak the typical trailer format. The novelty of featuring one extended scene before diving into the usual montage of images makes this “It Chapter 2” teaser stand out—in addition to efficiently setting up glimpses of a sequel’s new cast and scaring the living daylights out of you.
Other great 2019 trailers? “Parasite,” “Jungle Cruise,” “Knives Out,” the not one but two “Marriage Story” teasers, “Birds of Prey,” this brilliantly cheeky bit of advertising for “Jojo Rabbit,” and the new “Mulan,” released just yesterday. Few trailers got us talking like “Cats.” And this preview of “Bombshell” fits the proper definition of a teaser: one scene, featuring three very famous, very blonde actors, getting into an elevator. Only a single line of dialogue is spoken, allowing us to revel in what is unsaid or secret—precisely what the movie promises to explore.
The Golden Trailer Awards, the biggest accolade dedicated exclusively to honoring “excellence in feature film trailers and movie marketing,” provides more clues about which films deploy effective promotion strategies. In May of this year, the 20th annual ceremony rewarded that teaser for eventual Oscar winner “A Star Is Born,” as well as “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” “Long Shot,” “Toy Story 4,” and “Us,” all awards eligible in the current season.
And speaking of “Us,” there’s another important aspect of a studio’s initial phase of advertising: the poster. Achieving the same marketing goals as a trailer, but with one still image instead of many, makes for an extremely tricky blend of commercialism and artistry. But when you’re evil mastermind Jordan Peele and you have the likes of (recent New York Film Critics Circle Award winner) Lupita Nyong’o able to tell an entire story with just her face, you come up with a poster that captures a film’s tone and narrative—and the viewer’s imagination. Give the people who crafted this poster their own award:
What about you, reader? Which are your favorite film trailers, posters, and pieces of advertising—of this season, but also of all time?
Sincerely,
Jack
Some More Smart Stuff
- If you’re on the Screen Actors Guild Award nominating committee, and need a refresher on the year’s many individual acting contenders before nominating ends Dec. 8, we’ve got you covered: here are our guides for leading and supporting film, and TV comedy and drama.
- This week on the airwaves, we had awards contenders Tim Blake Nelson, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Tony Shalhoub joining our “In the Envelope” podcast. Tune in!
- Oscar, Emmy, and SAG Award winner Patricia Arquette graced our Dec. 3 cover this week, and spoke passionately about her craft: “I’m so limited as a person—why would I want to limit my art. Part of why I feel so grateful for acting is because of how it’s allowed me to expand as a human being and as an artist. I’ll always be limited by my own capacity, but acting is not limited.”
- And in awards news, the British Independent Film Awards crowned Renée Zellweger and Josh O’Connor, the Gotham Awards went all in on “Marriage Story,” and the National Board of Review unveiled their picks, with top honors going to “The Irishman.” And next week is a big one: the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announces their Golden Globe nominees Dec. 9, and the SAG Awards announce theirs Dec. 11. Here’s our calendar of important dates so you can stay in the loop!
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