Tag: amy adams

Woman in the Window – Marketing Recap

How Netflix is selling a claustrophobic, paranoid drama.

The Woman In The Window poster

After a number of delays, reschedulings and other issues The Woman In The Window, directed by Joe Wright and starring Amy Adams, Gary Oldman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anthony Mackie and others, finally comes to audiences on Netflix this week. Based on the book of the same name (but not related to the 1944 Fritz Lang movie), the story focuses on Dr. Anna Fox (Adams), a psychologist whose agoraphobia keeps her largely confined to her New York City condo. Fox befriends the woman who lives next door, but when that woman disappears Fox finds herself increasingly disoriented as the reality of what she did or didn’t see is called into question.

The movie was originally scheduled for release in late 2019. First delayed when Disney acquired Fox, which originally produced it, and requested reshoots, it then was bounced around during the Covid-19 pandemic. As it finally sees the light of day this week it’s been preceded by a campaign that has played up the psychological thriller elements of the story. Let’s take a look.

The Posters

Original poster for The Woman In The Window

Fox is looking out the window of her condo on the first poster (by marketing agency BLT Communications), released all the way back in December 2019. A bloody hand reaching up across the street can be seen in the reflection, giving audiences the message that there will be some sort of Rear Window-esque story.

Netflix released its own poster this past April. We still get the basic idea of Fox looking out a window, but this time the photo of her is less obscured and the presence of a window is hinted at through some artfully-arranged black and white shapes. It’s not bad, but feels less like the poster for a high-profile release than the low-rent DVD cover a high-profile release would receive after a successful theatrical run.

The Trailers

The first trailer (4.1 million views on YouTube), finally released in December of 2019, starts out by showing Emma is an agoraphobe, scared of leaving her apartment to the point of not being able to do so. That perimeter starts to crack when she befriends Jane, the woman who lives across the hall. When it looks like Jane has mysteriously disappeared, Emma has her sanity questioned as reality becomes a bit blurry, with Jane’s husband seeming to lie about what happened and who Emma actually met. Things get stranger and stranger and the danger greater as Emma insists on her version of events despite the prostrations of seemingly powerful people with no qualms about using her condition against her.

Netflix released another trailer (1 million views on YouTube) in April that sells the same basic story but positions it more strongly as a psychological thriller filled with twists and turns. It’s focused less on Emma’s insistence that she’s right in what she saw and more on how she navigates the situations that develop because of those events.

Online and Social

Not surprising to find there’s no official website for this Netflix exclusive, but the company did give the movie some support on its brand social channels.

Advertising, Press and Publicity

Unfortunately some of the first news about the movie came in mid-July of last year when it was announced it was being pulled from the release schedule. Reports were Disney – which acquired it in the Fox deal – was unhappy with the results of initial test screenings and had ordered extensive reshoots and other changes.

Disney pulled the movie from its release schedule again in mid-March in response to the Covid-19 outbreak that was closing theaters and more. News came in early August that Netflix was considering buying the movie. Those reports were eventually confirmed, with a release date finally announced in March.

While she was promoting other things last year Adams spoke briefly about the movie.

Wright was interviewed as part of EW’s 2021 Movie Preview, speaking about the unusual production, the reshoots that were done and the fact that the film has shifted from a theatrical to streaming release.

Netflix announced a Q&A with the cast for early April that would include exclusive footage.

In the last week or so Adams has made a handful of press appearances, including on “Late Night.”

A short video with Adams explaining the plot came out just before the movie’s release.

There was also a featurette with Adams and Wright talking about the long process the movie has taken from when it was developed and originally shot to when it’s finally being sent out into the world.

Overall

It has to be hard for Adams, Wright and others to go out there and make the pitch for the movie at this moment given they’re two years removed from it in most senses. That has an impact in creating – or not creating – a sense of urgency that’s conveyed to the audience as they’re out there making the pitch.

While Netflix’s campaign for the movie has been alright, making the movie seem a bit broader than it originally did, it also hasn’t done much to capitalize on the anticipation that seemed to be felt back in late-2019 and early-2020. As the marketing wraps up, then, it looks like a decent movie to watch on a Saturday afternoon when it’s recommended on the Netflix landing page.

Hillbilly Elegy – Marketing Recap

How Netflix has sold the adaptation of a best-selling memoir.

For the last several years, those living in major metropolitan areas have been asked to reach out and better understand people in more rural locations. The presumption has been that major media outlets, usually based on the coasts or in other big cities, don’t represent or adequately communicate the feelings of those in the rest of the country. It’s a trend found in the countless “Here’s Why [fill in group] Voted For Trump” articles and in the more recent “Sure, but 70 million people voted for Trump so Democrats need to keep that in mind” narratives.

This dictate was given human form in the 2016 memoir by J.D. Vance that has now been adapted into the feature film of the same name, Hillbilly Elegy.

Directed by Ron Howard, the movie – currently on Netflix after a brief theatrical engagement – stars Glenn Close as family matriarch Mamaw Vance, Amy Adams as her daughter Bev and Gabriel Basso as Bev’s son J.D. The story, as the source book does, focuses on the intergenerational dynamics through the lens of an adult J.D.’s return to the Appalachian setting his family hails from. Within that there are considerations of social responsibility, governmental support and other issues, all from the more conservative viewpoint you’d expect.

Reviews for the movie have mostly been negative, resulting in a paltry 25% Rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, with many critics praising the performances of both Close and Adams but saying the direction and story as a whole leave much to be desired.

The Posters

Adams and Close aren’t as prominent on the teaser poster (by marketing agency The Refinery), released in mid-October, as are the list of Howard’s previous filmmaking credits. The goal is obviously to create appeal for the film based on his credentials and reputation over anything also about the movie or its source material, mentioned here as “the inspiring true story.” All that is presented against the backdrop of a car winding through a rural road that cuts through thick trees.

The opposite approach is taking on the second poster (by marketing agency Concept Arts) that came out later that month. Many of the same appeals are used but here we see Mamaw and Bev leaning against an old truck like they’re just outside talking on a Tuesday afternoon. This poster’s release roughly coincided with the first reviews of the film being shared, many of which called out the performances of Close and Adams among the few bright spots.

The Trailers

It wasn’t until just in October that the first trailer (1.5 millions views on YouTube) came out. It shows the story bounces between a few different periods of the lives of the characters, with the focus remaining on Bev and her relationship with her mother and oldest son. That story is just a means to an end, though, with the real message here being the dramatic performances from Close and Adams.

Online and Social

No website or anything of its own, which is standard, and the movie received surprisingly sparse support on Netflix’s brand social channels, which seemed more focused on promoting its recent holiday film lineup or the recent Shawn Mendes “documentary.”

Advertising and Promotions

Netflix acquired the project in January, 2019, about two years after Imagine Entertainment began developing it.

A featurette released at the same time as the first trailer had Howard talking about why he decided to direct the film. Another had him sharing more on the actual process of making the movie.

Online ads like the one here used the second poster’s key art to drive clicks to Netflix’s page for the movie.

Mamaw berates J.D. for his lack of ambition in a clip released earlier this week.

Media and Press

Both Close and Adams joined in an interview to talk about filming the project, including discussing their costumes and wigs and such. Howard spoke in late October about how, given the continued closure of so many theaters nationwide, he wasn’t sure what Netflix’s theatrical release plans were exactly.

There were additional interviews with the movie’s makeup team and writer, each discussing their particular aspect of making the film.

Adams appeared on both “Late Night” and “Kimmel” to promote the film while Close appeared on “The Late Show.”

Overall

The disconnect between the time the book was written in and when the movie is being released along with many of the other issues surrounding the film were covered in this feature by Rebecca Keegan at THR. That includes how the socio-political nature of the memoir was discarded by Howard in favor of a family drama, but doing so leaves the narrative incomplete. It also recounts the unusual process by which Howard’s Imagine Entertainment acquired the rights to the book.

Vance’s absence from the movie’s promotional campaign can likely be explained by that disconnect. Authors with as much media recognition as him who have adaptations coming out are often brought into the publicity cycle to talk about seeing their work adapted by others and so on. But between a string of recent controversial statements as well as a national mood that has much less patience for “maybe we should try and understand Trump voters” narratives than it did four years ago may have made his involvement a non-starter. Of course he may not have been interested in participating to begin with.

Aside from that, Netflix’s marketing campaign does the best it can to sell the film as a prestige picture, but the soundly negative reviews have likely scuttled the awards chances of those involved. Not only that but it’s…kind of boring. The posters feature little to no visual flair or creativity and the trailer is almost instantly forgettable. So the campaign suffers from a lack of any memorable spark, which doesn’t bode well for the film itself.

Vice – Marketing Recap

vice posterOne of the most divisive and controversial personalities in modern American politics gets the satirical treatment in Vice, the new movie from writer/director Adam McKay. The film reunites McKay with star Christian Bale, who this time disappears beneath the weight he put on to play former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The story follows Cheney as he’s tapped by Presidential candidate George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell) to bring the years of experience he’s accumulated as Secretary of Defense as well as a major business owner to help the relatively green Bush govern. But Cheney has other ideas, seeing the weak President as a chance to fully get his hands on the levers of power without having a fraction of scrutiny the higher office would bring.

The Posters

A silhouette of Bale as Cheney is featured on the poster making this seem like an artistic magazine cover. The cast names are featured above the title while McKay’s credits are shared at the very top. It’s a nice bit of pop art helping sell the attitude and approach of the movie.

The Trailers

Bush is recruiting Cheney to be his VP as the trailer opens, though Cheney is somewhat reluctant to take on what’s mostly a “symbolic” position. So he proposes an alternative arrangement where he takes on the management of most everything that’s vital to the presidency, with Bush being left as mostly a figurehead. The montage that follows shows just how extensive Cheney’s role became and how that impacted the country and the world.

The performances by Bale, Rockwell, Carell and others are a highlight here, but what’s also on display is the visual style of the movie, which seems just as fast and tight as what McKay brought to The Big Short. That’s the real sales pitch here, a fast-paced trip behind the curtains of power.

Online and Social

There’s only the usual batch of information and content on the movie’s official website, not much else.

Advertising and Cross-Promotions

TV advertising began in mid-October with a spot showing the same kind of manic energy as the trailer, including Cheney bargaining for the kind of power a VP doesn’t usually enjoy. The movie’s SAG Awards were touted in a promoted Tweet.

Media and Publicity

Some of the first publicity for the movie came during the 2017 Toronto Film Festival. While there promoting Hostiles, Bale was obviously much doughier than he usually is, a change that was often commented on and which he said was part of his preparing for the role.

About a year later not much had happened on the publicity or marketing front, but McKay finally confirmed the movie’s title on Twitter.

A while after the trailer was released McKay started doing interviews, including one where he said Cheney is more dangerous than Trump because he’s smarter and more calculating.

He reiterated those comments in a substantial THR cover story on the movie that had the director talking about the process behind making the movie, Bale gaining the weight for the role and lots more.

An interview with McKay featured him revealing he had a heart attack on set that Bale helped him, thanks in part to the research the actor had done on symptoms and treatment. McKay was also the subject of a feature profile that allowed him to talk about his recent shift into more dramatic – albeit stylized – films, what kind of research he did while preparing for the film and more.

In early December it was announced the movie would open the Capri, Hollywood Film Festival. Shortly after that a first look at Tyler Perry as Colin Powell was released, garnering the same kind of bewildered reactions that greeted pics of Bale as Cheney much earlier.

Adams appeared on “Kimmel” and then on “Late Night” to talk about this and other recent projects of hers. Bale and Rockwell appeared together on a Variety podcast to talk about weight gains, how to not do bad impressions and more.

The movie’s red carpet premiere allowed the cast and McKay to talk about various things, including how a musical number was cut.

Bale’s transformation into Cheney was the subject of man stories, including a feature profile on the actor’s process. How he and McKay went about working to craft the story and how that story fits into the context of today’s political environment was covered in a number of joint interviews with the pair.

Overall

The campaign works hard to capture the same tone as The Big Short to try and get the same sort of critical and commercial success that movie saw. So it keeps going for clever and hip in the tone and presentation of the movie to help establish it as the emotional sequel to that earlier effort from McKay.

It never quite reaches that level, mostly because it’s working so hard to do so. That doesn’t mean the campaign doesn’t make the movie look interesting and intriguing. There’s been a lot of talk about how it might be an attempt to “humanize” Cheney, someone who not only engaged in bad behavior of his own but also poisoned the well of American society. That’s not the reading I get from the marketing, though, as it seems to be selling someone it knows is a terrible person and wants to make that point to the audience.

Picking Up the Spare

Carell was interviewed about how he approached the role of one of the most reviled political figures in modern American history.

Bale, Adams and others spoke about creating the movie’s unique visual style and format. McKay also revealed how a surprise cameo came about and why he decided to tell Cheney’s story.