george clooney – Cinematic Slant

ticket to paradise – marketing recap

How Universal has sold a romantic comedy with two mega-stars

Ticket To Paradise movie poster from Universal Pictures

Julia Roberts and George Clooney have been Hollywood royalty for a few decades now and have worked together before, notably on Ocean’s 11 and its sequel Ocean’s 12. Now they’re back together in this week’s Ticket To Paradise, opening in theaters from Universal Pictures.

The two play Georgia and David Cotton, a divorced couple who are brought back together when they find out their daughter Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) is about to marry Gede (Maxime Bouttier), a man she just met in Bali. Determined she’s making a mistake that will haunt her for the rest of her life, David and Georgia put their differences aside and work together to sabotage the upcoming nuptials. Of course it’s not quite that simple for anyone.

Written and directed by Ol Parker and costarring Billie Lourd and Lucas Bravo, the movie’s expected to enjoy an opening weekend of about $15m after already bringing in $75m overseas so let’s take a look at the campaign Universal put together.

announcement and casting

Universal Pictures announced the film at the end of February, 2021. Parker was attached to direct and both Clooney and Roberts were already set to star at that time.

Lourd, Dever and Bravo were added a couple months later as production ramped up.

Dever spoke briefly about the movie toward the end of 2021 while promoting other projects.

The movie’s original September 2022 release date was pushed back a month in October of last year.

Universal showed off the trailer to attendees of CinemaCon in April 2022.

the marketing recap

As the trailer (34.1m YouTube views), released at the end of June, begins, Georgia and David find themselves on the same flight and make the life of the person stuck between them miserable. We then see a brief shot of Lily falling in love in Bali. When they arrive they call a truce in their sparring in order to undermine their daughter’s plans, but those plans are soon discovered. As things progress the couple find themselves actually having a good time despite themselves, which is probably going to lead exactly where you think it’s going to.

The poster that came out at the beginning of August knows exactly what it’s selling and what the audience is looking for: Two big stars all dressed up and set against a tropical backdrop. It’s not exactly the world’s most innovative graphic design, in fact it’s quite boring visually, but the appeal here is clear and can’t really be argued with.

The first of many profiles of Clooney and Roberts that focused on how they are such great friends in real life and how much they enjoyed working together on a breezy romantic comedy like this came in The New York Times in early September.

Everyone was in attendance at the London premiere of the movie around that time as well.

Clooney and Roberts explain the premise of the film and show off their chemistry in a short video that kind of seems like it might have been used as a commercial or pre-roll, but the exact purpose isn’t clear. Another similar video featured Dever and Lourd also declaring what great friends they are and how that made working together even more fun.

When he appeared on “The Late Show” Clooney kept hitting the same topics, selling the film based largely on the chemistry between all the stars.

A promo for the film aired during an episode of “Bachelor in Paradise” in late September.

The first clip shows the moment Lily introduces Gede to her parents, who can’t stop their sniping for even a minute.

Roberts and Clooney praise their younger costars in a short featurette that keeps the fun, light vibes going.

Ticket to Paradise online ad featuring the same poster art of Roberts and Clooney. — Ticket to Paradise online ad

Promotional stops on “Today,” “CBS Sunday Morning”, “Kimmel” and other shows had both of the older stars appearing together so their charm and banter could be fully displayed to the potential audience. Dever stopped by “Today” and “Late Night” to talk about what a fun set it was during filming on her own while Bravo appeared on “Kimmel” to share what it’s like to kiss Roberts on camera.

Online ads used the poster key art to drive traffic to the official website, where people could find out more and buy tickets to a showing near them.

The L.A. premiere happened just earlier this week, with the cast and crew once more turning out. On the red carpet the mutual admiration society kept going as everyone talked about how wonderful everyone else was and what a great time it was filming the movie. Clooney also commented on how “brave” Universal has been by insisting the movie open theatrically when there was pressure from a lot of angles to sell it off to one of the streaming services.

overall

Centering the entire campaign around the chemistry and friendship of two of the most likable and bankable movie stars of the last 40 years can’t be a bad bet, right? That $15m opening weekend estimate may be the clearest message yet of how the theatrical landscape has changed in recent years than anything that’s come before.

Everyone’s mileage will vary, of course, but I’m pulled all the way in on this because, as has been made clear before, I’m a sucker for movies that actually feature two seasoned professionals playing off each other like this. And to make that the entire focus of the marketing just increases its appeal that much more.

the tender bar – marketing recap

How Amazon Studios has sold a character drama about family.

Ben Affleck stars in The Tender Bar, available now on Amazon Prime Video after a brief theatrical run at the end of last year. Affleck plays Charlie Maguire, the owner of a Long Island bar who becomes a father figure to his nephew J.R. (Tye Sheridan) after J.R.’s mother Dorothy (Lily Rabe) and father get divorced.

The movie, directed by George Clooney, is based on the J. R. Moehringer memoir of the same name, focusing on J.R. ‘s attempts to become a writer and his family’s determination to get him an Ivy League education.

With all that in mind, let’s take a look at how it’s been sold to the public.

announcement and casting

The project, with Clooney attached to direct and star in, was announced in July, 2020 when Amazon Studios acquired rights to it after Sony let them lapse. Affleck was attached to star a few months later.

Sheridan and Rabe were added to the cast in early 2021 just before filming got underway.

the marketing campaign

Amazon released a first look still from the film back in September showing Charlie and J.R. spending time together at the former’s bar.

The movie’s formal coming out party was held in October at the Director’s Guild of America in L.A.. There Clooney, Affleck and others all commented on how excited they were to be back doing press events but also how they worked together on-set and what attracted them to the project.

As the trailer, also released in October, begins, Dorothy and a young J.R. are moving back with her father (Christopher Lloyd) after her marriage has ended. Charlie and the rest of the family quickly embrace J.R., who begins spending time with his uncle. As he gets older J.R. goes to school and meets a girl, all while trying to figure out how to make his dreams come true and carve out a life of his own.

The first poster came out at the same time. There isn’t any explanatory copy adding context to what we see, but the image of Charlie and J.R. driving together in the former’s convertible communicates the tone pretty well while the vintage car and outfits convey the setting.

Clooney talked about why he made a smaller, character-driven moving during the pandemic and what kind of work influenced his approach to this film in an interview.

How the production team recreated a real life bar and other locations was covered here while Sheridan talked about how working with Clooney differed from some of the other directors on earlier films.

The theatrical poster was released in November still doesn’t have any copy but uses another photo of the two main characters to similar effect. This time there are a number of positive quotes from early reviews to make the movie attractive to anyone who sees the one-sheet.

Clooney appeared virtually on “Kimmel” along with Daniel Ranieri, who plays the young version of J.R. Ranieri got a profile of his own shortly after that. Affleck also stopped by “Kimmel” to promote the movie.

The first clip was released in mid-December and shows Charlie encouraging young J.R. to keep working on his writing.

A profile of Affleck focused on the his evolution over the years from frat boy star to serious actor who’s unconcerned about his public image and other matters.

Two more character posters, one of Charlie and one of Dorothy, were released in early January.

overall

The positive reviews featured on the theatrical one-sheet might be hard to find given the movie’s paltry 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But that’s not the point, really.

As for the campaign itself, it’s not bad but never really makes a strong case for the audience’s time. There are some very strong Hillbilly Elegy vibes coming off it, and given the shelf life on that film was about two minutes, that doesn’t help. So the allure is dependent almost solely on the charm of Affleck and Clooney as the biggest names involved.

Midnight Sky – Marketing Recap

How Netflix has sold a story of isolation and desperation.

The new movie The Midnight Sky probably wasn’t intended to be as timely as it has wound up becoming. Based on the book “Good Morning, Midnight” by Lily Brooks-Dalton, the film stars George Clooney, who also directed, as Augustine, a scientist in the Arctic who has survived a global pandemic that wiped out much of the world’s population. He’s engaged in a desperate attempt to communicate with the crew of Æther, a ship returning from a mission to a potentially habitable moon of Jupiter who are unaware of the danger that awaits them back on Earth. Sending that message is difficult, though, forming much of the movie’s drama.

Also starring in the film are Caoilinn Springall as Iris, a young girl who encounters Augustine in his Arctic isolation, and Felicity Jones, Kyle Chandler, David Oyelowo, Tiffany Boone and Demián Bichir as the members of Æther.

Initial reviews were middling, calling it a bit muddled, a reception reflected in its 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, there was at least some feeling it could result in a bit of awards speculation, especially for Clooney. And Netflix has given it a campaign that not only seems Oscar-ready but is also far too relevant to today’s world.

The Posters

Augustine stares into the sky, which is also shown inside the frame of his head, on the first poster (by marketing agency P+A), released at the end of October. It’s a simple but suitably atmospheric image, especially with the copy reading “There’s a universe between all of us.”

On the final poster (by marketing agency Concept Arts), which came out earlier in December, that copy is removed and replaced with the more vague “Hope finds a way,” which isn’t quite as effective. This time, though, the main image shows both Augustine and Iris in the arctic environment they attempt to traverse. A massive planet hangs in the sky above them, hinting at the story’s connection to space travel.

The Trailers

The first trailer (2.2 million views on YouTube) – teased ahead of release and promoted during a late-October edition of “Monday Night Football” – opens by showing that communication is not happening in either direction. Augustine can’t reach the crew of the Ether and they haven’t heard from Mission Control in weeks. He’s trying to warn of a cataclysmic event that’s happened on Earth while they were in deep space. From there we see he and the young girl with him try to reach a more powerful antenna while those aboard the Ether recount what’s happened on their long journey. Time is running short for both parties, though, making the stakes higher with each passing moment.

The final trailer (1.2 million views on YouTube) came out in early December, starting off by showing Augustine explaining to Iris what all is in his lab and what he’s trying to do. Their journey on Earth is shown alongside the crew of the Æther and their attempts to reach someone – anyone – on Earth as they get closer and closer to returning. It’s all very dramatic, with snowstorms and meteor showers and more, making the film look like an enjoyable piece of drama.

Online and Social

No website about the actual movie, but Netflix, in addition to supporting the film on brand social channels, created the-midnightsky.com. On that site you can record and send a message to someone, which is then played as an AR hologram placed in the room they’re standing in.

Advertising and Promotions

Netflix celebrated the end of principle photography in February, announcing the movie was coming later in the year. In September news came that Clooney would speak about this film and more during October’s 64th BFI London Film Festival.

A recent installment of Netflix’s “Bucket of Movies” had Clooney sharing his thoughts on various classic film titles. He also reminisced about his career path and the roles that contributed to that career.

Media and Press

Clooney was interviewed about the movie and how he approached directing it in an article that also included some first look stills. Another brief interview with Clooney had a few more story details and more.

A feature profile of Jones had her talking about filming the movie, including how Clooney made adjustments to the production to accommodate her pregnancy mid-filming.

Another interview with Clooney had him talking about the story of the film and finishing the project during quarantine. He and Springall both spoke on the experience of filming in Iceland, dealing with the subsequent isolation and lots more. In additional interviews Clooney also covered the challenges of directing, especially the space sequences, working with Springall and more. With composer Alexandre Desplat he talked about creating the score, especially during the recent shutdowns, and how it adds to the emotional messages of the film.

Late night talk show appearances included Clooney and Chandler on “Kimmel,” Clooney on “The Late Show” and elsewhere.

How Clooney and the rest of his team handled both the extreme conditions during production and the challenges of the post-production situation was covered in a lengthy feature just recently.

Overall

While, as stated, the reviews haven’t been wholly positive there’s a good story being sold here, albeit one that seems to mash up a handful of movies we’ve seen before. Even more than that, what the audience is being presented here is a strong solo outing from Clooney, who have a solid track record both in front of and behind the camera.

With the focus, particularly in the press interviews, on how post-production was handled in isolation a nice hook that’s relevant to the film was offered, one that everyone seized. That helps make the story, despite those reviews, something that may benefit from the fact we’ve all felt like we’re stuck on our own in a desolate arctic outpost for months, even if we don’t live in Green Bay.

Picking Up The Spare

Why Clooney had a specific vision for the film’s ending was covered in another interview with the actor/director. There was also an additional profile of Clooney that touched on this movie and lots more.

Jones later looked back on filming the movie while pregnant and how she felt the final scene resonated.

The movie’s cinematographer spoke about working with Clooney and shooting in some remote and harsh location, with the production designer talking about similar topics.

Suburbicon – Marketing Recap

George Clooney returns to the director’s chair with this week’s Suburbicon. He’s brought along his partner in crime Matt Damon, who stars as Gardner Lodge, a man trying to live a peaceful 1960s suburban life with his family. But the small town they inhabit has dark secrets that are about to turn this tranquil landscape upside down.

Through a series of events, Lodge’s wheelchair-bound wife Rose (Julianne Moore) is killed in a home invasion. That leads to her twin sister Margaret (also Moore, natch) moving in and taking on many of the household duties in order to maintain the “normal” position in the neighborhood. While everything else is happening, Lodge is determined to protect his family, including taking on the local mob, headed by Roger (Oscar Isaac). Notably, the script was originally written by Clooney’s frequent collaborators Joel and Ethan Coen.

The Posters

“A little slice of Heaven” is what we’re introduced to on the first poster, though that seems to be referring more to the idyllic row of houses at the bottom and not the blood-stained shirt that’s seen. The starkness of the image, the white of the shirt against the dark red background in particular, works to get the audience’s attention. Below the title it’s sure to mention that the Coen Brothers were involved in writing the story as that’s going to be a big draw for a lot of moviegoers.

The second poster takes the approach of showing how all the different characters and situations are part of Gardner. So all sorts of different headshots and action photos are put in the frame of his body. “Welcome to the neighborhood” is the ominous copy at the top, particularly considering some of the gruesome scenes on display below.

The Trailers

The first trailer is [fire emoji] as it starts out by introducing us to a quiet, peaceful suburban street in the 1950s. But that peace is in contrast to the fact that a young boy is informed men who broke into the family house has killed his mother. Gardner will do whatever it takes to protect himself and his son, including beating gangsters to death and inviting the boy’s aunt to come stay with them. He’s not intimidated when Roger starts threatening him but continues doing what he needs to do.

You can see the Coen’s fingerprints all over the story, from the brutal violence to the dry, darkly funny moments. Clooney’s directorial style, which has always veered closer to Steven Soderbergh’s influence, also seems to work well with this material, which is far funnier than what he usually tackles. It’s an insane story and the trailer doesn’t shy away from that.

Another trailer takes a slightly different tack. The same basic premise and points are shown here, but in a more stylized way, with a tick-tock soundtrack and a different pace and approach. It’s no less effective than the first and it makes the movie look even more twisted and dark.

Online and Social

There’s not much happening on the movie’s official website. The trailer plays when you load the site, and once it’s over there main call-to-action is to again “Watch the Trailer.” There are links in the upper right to the Twitter, Instagram and Facebook profiles that have been established, but that’s about it, not even a synopsis.

Advertising and Cross-Promotions

The first TV spot out of the gate does nothing to hide the dark and disturbing nature of the story. While there’s not much emphasis put on the characters themselves or their motivations, it does show the brutal and twisted violence that those characters engage in, all while working to maintain the veneer of pleasant politeness we associate with the time period.

There’s been some online advertising done as well, mostly using clips and key art. On social media the trailer was used to drive interest and awareness around the time it was released.

Media and Publicity

The first shot out of the publicity gate was a brief interview with Clooney that also included some first-look photos. He talked about how the story evolved over the 20 years the Coens have been working on it as well as a few vague details about the movie. The movie was announced as one of those that would screen at the Toronto International Film Festival. It also was slated for the Venice Film Festival.

A brief interview with Clooney in Entertainment Weekly’s fall movie preview had him talking about how he’s been involved with the movie in some way for decades and how he was happy to not act for a change. He also reassured people that yes, it’s a comedy, albeit a dark one and revealed that Coen Bros. regular Josh Brolin shot scenes for the movie that were later cut, but not without a good reason.

How Clooney approached Damon with the story, Damon’s take on the character and how the story is still relevant in today’s world were all covered by the actor here. The long history of the project as well as the ties to and relevance in today’s political world, along with the changes that were made in the wake of the most recent presidential election, continued to be themes in interviews with Clooney.

Clooney showed up on “Kimmel,” which of course included a surprise appearance by Kimmel nemesis Damon. The two also made other press rounds on TV.

Overall

I’ve stated often how I’m predisposed to like new Coen Bros. material. I’ve been less of a fan of their work when it’s interpreted by other directors (I’m looking at you, Bad Santa), but overall I dig their worldview and approach.

That’s the vibe being sold here. As stated above, there are elements of their involvement that are clearly evident in some of the marketing material, even when it’s not explicitly stated. That forms a pretty important hook for the campaign, which wants to reach people like me that are fans of the brothers as well as the critics who often champion their films.

Aside from that, this looks dark as heck. There’s a comic touch to some of the material on display but it’s all tinged with a cynical perspective that may turn off some audiences. What’s being sold here looks rough and not exactly uplifting. Plus, I’m sure there are at least a couple subplots that are completely unseen in the campaign, which may lead to some upturned expectations when people finally start seeing the movie.

All that together means the movie could have a tough time connecting with audiences this weekend.

Chris Thilk is a freelance writer and content strategist who lives in the Chicago suburbs.