Niki Caro directs this week’s new Netflix release The Mother, written by Misha Green, Peter Craig and Andrea Berloff. The movie stars Jennifer Lopez as a character known simply as The Mother, an assassin who has been hiding out but who is forced to reemerge when the daughter she gave up years ago (played by Lucy Paez) is threatened.
Joseph Fiennes, Gael García Bernal, Omari Hardwick and others also appear in the film, which is part of the post-Wick slate of cinematic stories with big stars playing very dangerous people, usually loners, in action movies.
So with all that in mind let’s look at how Netflix has sold it to the general audience.
announcement and casting
The movie was announced in early 2021 with Lopez attached to star, Caro to direct and Netflix already agreeing to distribute. Most of the rest of the cast was added toward the end of that year as production was getting underway.
Netflix released a behind-the-scenes still of Lopez filming in October 20021.
A small bit of footage was included in Netflix’s 2022 preview of its upcoming feature films.
the marketing campaign
In September 2022 a teaser trailer (2.3m YouTube plays) came out that begins by showing The Mother surviving on her own in a remote wilderness cabin by using the skills she has. It then cuts to her talking with her daughter, who is being hunted by equally dangerous people.
That teaser includes the May 2023 release date in the description but also ends with a more vague “Coming soon” title card.
Fast forward to January 2023 when the movie was once more included in the streamer’s sizzle reel of upcoming original movies.
For as early as that teaser trailer was, the official trailer (8m YouTube plays) wasn’t released until just this past April, only a month before the scheduled release date. This time we start in the past and see how The Mother’s baby was taken from her at birth, told the best way to protect it was to stay away. Years later the girl is targeted by the same bad people The Mother honked off long ago and she has to jump back into action to save the daughter who doesn’t know her at all and teach her to survive.
A poster was released at the same time that shares the title and release date with a photo of The Mother in a hooded parka, a rifle draped on her back and ready for action.
In a short post on Netflix’s Tudum site, Caro shared how Lopez’s dance training helped her dive right into the stunt work needed for the film. That coincided with a behind-the-scenes featurette on the story and how Lopez worked hard to embody the character she plays.
Lopez appeared in a silly video filled with messages from fans via social media about how they want her to be their mom. She also did one of those challenges to see if she could identify which of her earlier movies a quote came from.
She and Paez appeared on “Today” to talk about the movie and the bond they formed while filming and by herself on “The View” to talk about the stunt training and action sequences as well as the story of the film.
While everyone involved turned out for the L.A. red carpet premiere earlier this week the focus of course was on Lopez and husband Ben Affleck.
The campaign is fine, with the scale similar to other marketing pushes from Netflix for their feature films. And the story is communicated effectively if not in an overly-compelling manner. But it also relies *heavily* on simply selling Lopez as the main attraction, sometimes at the expense of that story or other elements more specific to the movie.
The first Knives Out movie from writer/director Rian Johnson was such a breath of fresh air back in 2019 it became an immediate sensation for a variety of reasons, including its incredibly meme-able dialogue and settings and the A+ sweater game from costume designer Jenny Eagan.
It was so good it was hard to imagine what a sequel might look or feel like. Thankfully Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, released late last year on Netflix, lived up to the reputation of the first movie and, now that I’ve watched it a couple times to fully appreciate how good it is, I have a handful of random thoughts.
Here we go…
Eagan’s commitment to putting Daniel Craig in an ascot should be awarded in and of itself and I’m only surprised it hasn’t led to a clear and unmistakable uptick in their adoption as a men’s fashion item.
It makes so much sense that Kate Hudson’s performance caught everyone’s attention as she’s terrific as a societally-oblivious pseudo-celebrity, but what really makes it incredible is that all of her reactions to what’s happening around her are so stagey. It’s as if her character has absolutely zero experience in anything not involving mugging for the camera.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Kathryn Hahn’s gubernatorial candidate, who has such genuine reactions to everything, from Duke shooting his gun by the pool to her husband trying to be his own man to the revelation at the end that those reactions nearly become a character of their own.
I know the movie – and The Menu – caught some flack for not going far enough in exploring its “the rich are terrible people” theme but come on. If Edward Norton’s Miles Bron had actually faced some kind of on-screen legal repercussions for his irresponsible actions it would have been written off as frothy wish-fulfillment. As it is he’s set up to be exposed as a massive fraud, which is much more realistic without dipping into fantasy.
Besides, Benoit Blanc spends the last 20 minutes of the movie just repeatedly calling him dumb, which is cathartic enough for the audience.
And Blanc immediately dismisses Birdy when she tries to spin Bron’s actions as “so dumb it’s just brilliant” by clarifying “No, it’s just dumb!” Now if only our technology and political press would be similarly truthful instead of continually succumbing to the myth of the genius.
At least Derol made it out of all that with his chill intact.
If there is an element of the story that isn’t explored enough for my personal liking it’s that Bron’s success is nearly entirely dependent on being a white dude who takes all the credit for a Black woman’s ideas and work and that feels like the most relevant theme especially given [gestures broadly at so many many things].
And, on that note, I very much dug Janelle Monáe’s performance as twin sisters, beginning when she’s introduced smashing the puzzle box and right through to her vengefully breaking all of Bron’s glass sculptures.
Someone give me a Leslie Odom Jr. / Kathryn Hahn buddy comedy STAT or I *will* riot.
Back to a point above, we all believed Norton’s performance as the not-at-all brilliant “genius” because we kind of suspect Norton’s not quite as bright as we’ve been led to believe over the years, right? Not that he’s not a smart guy, but…you get it.
A brief ranking of current big name wrestlers-turned actors:
1. John Cena
2. Dave Bautista
….
…
25. Dwayne Johnson
This whole brief sequence with characters looking in the middle distance as shadows pass over them hit me right where I live, evoking all those classic murder mystery noir films I was first exposed to watching “Family Classics” on WGN-TV on Sunday afternoons in the 80s.
Let’s take a moment and recognize how his brief appearance as Efficient Man ranks in the top five of Ethan Hawke’s performances.
It’s been such a long time since I watched a movie where the whole cast looked like they were having a good time. Too often the casts of the big super hero and similar movies look visibly miserable going through the paces and acting against tennis balls held on sticks in place of characters to be added later, it was genuinely relaxing to see an ensemble that appeared to be enjoying themselves and the project they were working on.
Sorry, I’m laughing again at Johnson blowing up his own movie by having Blanc solve the contrived murder mystery five minutes in to Bron explaining how the weekend is supposed to work.
Everyone else yelled “A SCHOONER IS A SAILBOAT” (even if it was just in their heads) when Lionel was working the stereogram on the puzzle box, right? Right?
In a movie filled with committed performances from talented actors Madelyn Cline’s performance as Dallas is near the top of the rankings and I will absolutely die on this hill. It’s so good and shows not only her talent as an actor but Johnson’s ability to make the audience invest in and care about characters that are clearly secondary but still important.
Same goes for Jessica Henwick’s put-upon assistant Peg. If you don’t feel her disappointment and frustration when Birdy reveals she has a secret phone and her resignation when she says “…Did you think a sweatshop is where they make sweatpants?” I’m not sure movies are really your thing.
Oh, along with the Odom Jr. / Hahn buddy comedy I want a direct spinoff where Dallas and Peg team up and create the next big socially-conscious lifestyle goods brand and have all kinds of wacky adventures while doing so.
How Netflix has sold the return of everyone’s favorite dashing gentleman detective
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery movie poster from Netflix
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery arrives on Netflix this week, a sequel to 2019’s Knives Out. Once again written and directed by Rian Johnson, the only connection to the first movie is the return of private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). Blanc is crashing an invitation-only gathering of friends organized by billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) at his private island estate. Those friends have been assembled for an extended murder mystery party, the twist being they need to solve Bron’s own murder, though he’s not actually dead.
Playing the various friends, whom Bron terms his “fellow disruptors”, are such talented individuals as Kathryn Hahn, Janelle Monáe, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson and Jessica Henwick.
So with such a high powered cast and a writer/director known for creating intricate yet easily-followed storylines that actually earn emotional moments and payoff their setups, let’s take a look at how it’s been sold.
announcements and casting
As the original neared the threshold of bringing in over $300 million worldwide, speculation Johnson was working on a sequel became more frequent. That speculation was confirmed by the writer/director when he was interviewed on the red carpet of the 2020 Academy Awards, where he was nominated for, but didn’t eventually win, Best Original Screenplay.
In March 2021, news came that Netflix had outbid Lionsgate and others for not just this film but an additional sequel as well. Or, as Johnson put it,
what
— Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (@KnivesOut) March 31, 2021
Additional details came out later saying Johnson, Craig and producer Ram Bergman would make $100 million each from the deal.
In mid-May of 2021 a slew of casting announcements came, each more exciting than the last. Bautista, Norton, Monae, Hahn and others coming aboard all got people eager for the movie to finally arrive. Bautista was interviewed about being cast and his anticipation over working with Johnson. Odom Jr. and Hudson joined the cast a bit later.
Production began in late June, marked with a photo from Johnson.
Henwick talked briefly about the project while promoting other things in 2021.
Footage from the film was included in Netflix’s 2022 feature film preview.
In June 2022 Johnson and Netflix released a video announcing the movie’s official title as well as showing off the impressive cast list.
Later that month news came the movie’s world premiere was scheduled for the Toronto International Film Festival in September. It was then slated to close the BFI Film Festival in London.
Netflix *finally* set a release date in late August while also announcing the movie would receive a limited theatrical release in advance of streaming at the end of December.
Empire Magazine talked with Johnson and the cast about what the audience could expect in this new installment in an issue that featured a couple exclusive images as cover photos. There were also more new stills in the story.
the marketing campaign
The first teaser trailer (13.1m YouTube views) was released in early September. Understandably it doesn’t offer much of the story but does promise some kind of murder mystery Benoit Blanc has to solve with an impressive cast all of whom seem to be having a lot of fun wearing outrageous outfits and lounging around magnificent pools.
A poster showing Blanc standing authoritatively above one of those pools came out at the same time.
You're invited to put the pieces together.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, coming soon to select theaters and on Netflix December 23. pic.twitter.com/w23ebzg4KC
Also released in early September was a puzzle website where, by solving the puzzles, you could unlock clues and other material about the movie.
The cast and Johnson assembled for the TIFF premiere, which included a Q&A and interviews where Johnson warned against sharing spoilers and teased his enthusiasm for making more Knives Out mysteries with Craig.
Later in September Johnson introduced the first clip while also offering a bit more of an explanation as to what the movie’s story is.
In early October the details of the theatrical release were revealed. Specifically, that the movie would play in theaters for ONE WEEK ONLY, VASILY around Thanksgiving. To the surprise of many industry watchers, all the major exhibitor chains – including those that had steadfastly refused to play any of Netflix’s major titles – agreed to the limited engagement, obviously smelling money.
Tickets for that engagement went on sale accompanied by a TV spot.
Later in October it was named the opening selection of the Miami Film Festival.
At BFI the cast and crew were back together for another screening that only added more positive reviews and buzz to the movie’s publicity
At the end of the month another poster came out that has the entire cast arranged along the side of the pool we saw in the first one-sheet.
The full official trailer (12.2m YouTube views) was released at the beginning of November. After showing all the characters arriving on his island, Miles explains they’ve been invited there to participate in a game where they have to solve his murder. Blanc is the wildcard in the group and when things turn from playful to actually dangerous he gets very serious about finding out who’s responsible. There’s lots of great footage of the various characters acting in outrageous ways both toward each other and the situation in general and, once again, this just looks like a lot of fun.
Netflix then put out a video of the cast reacting to the trailer.
An EW feature story had Johnson sharing how he developed the story and what he wanted to accomplish with a sequel along with comments from Craig about his character and accent and from others in the cast about the experience of shooting the movie, how quickly they signed on to the project and more.
Composer Nathan Johnson (Rian’s cousin) debuted parts of his score for the movie at a Netflix event focused on music. A week or so later snippets of that score were released for public consumption.
The L.A. premiere red carpet was held in mid-November, timed to be just before the movie hit theaters. At the premiere everyone talked more about how much fun they had while filming, the outfits they all sport and lots more.
That was followed by the announcement of the Glass Onion Experience. Set up in L.A. and running through December, people could attend and as a group try and solve a series of mysteries, like an escape room.
A set of character posters once more used the pool setting to show off the beautiful location and cast.
Trust none. Suspect all. 🔪
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is in theaters for one week only starting November 23 and on Netflix December 23. pic.twitter.com/DZ5Idsmd7v
Just before the movie came to theaters another clip of Miles explaining the weekend to his guests – and Blanc being slightly confused as to the point of this all – came out.
a brief digression about the theatrical release…
The success of the theatrical engagement resulted in no small amount of hand-wringing among entertainment insiders and commentators. Had Netflix left tens of millions of dollars on the table by limiting release to just one week? Was it a mistake to have it play in theaters so far in advance of it debuting on streaming?
Those questions are interesting in an academic sense but also tended to overlook the fact that many of the answers went counter to Netflix’s business model.
Asking if Netflix should have kept Glass Onion in theaters longer, or if it should put more of its movies in theaters to begin with, is akin to asking if McDonald’s should sell more frozen hamburgers in grocery stores. Sure, the numbers will likely go up, but the goal of most all advertising by McDonald’s is to get people to visit its restaurants. So the end result is a weakened business.
There’s also the fact that all the prognostications about how this movie could have cleared $100mm at the box office is supported by almost nothing. None of the movies on the list of 2022’s top 10 opening weekends are this weird. They’re all very safe franchise entries, not the next chapter in a loosely-connected anthology series of high-concept murder mysteries.
back to the campaign…
The cast appeared in a video where they guessed what some Southern phrases actually meant in a nod to Craig’s accent. Later on Hudson and Hahn had some fun guessing which of three “facts” about their costars was the lie.
Online ads that began running in early December directed visitors to a site with information about screenings and events along with other press and promotional material.
At Brazil Comic-Con a behind the scenes featurette debuted showing some of the movie being filmed along with comments from the cast and director.
Another set of character posters put each one behind one of the letters in the movie’s title.
At a moment when there were lots of profiles of Monae and attention paid to her performance Netflix released a featurette focusing on her role in the film and how much her collaborators enjoyed working with her. Another featurette focused on the production design of the film.
What started out seeming to be a gag turned out to be real when Outback Steakhouse debuted the Bloomin’ Glass Onion, a special version of their signature dish, and supported it with an extended TV spot that kind of has to be seen to be believed.
The movie also got some promotional support from the video game Among Us, which introduced a Benoit Blanc character skin. And ice cream brand Van Leeuwen created a movie-inspired flavor. White Claw did likewise but for their style of drink while Zillow created a listing for Miles’ island house.
overall
Regardless of my feelings about the campaign (I love it, btw) it should be pointed out that the official Knives Out Twitter account remains undefeated.
I never actually saw Knives Out I’ve just been winging it for like 4 years
There also seemed to be some A+ trolling of Twitter Owner, who the character of Miles Bron is based in part on, with photos from the film that seemed to be expert subtweets of current news.
Marlow Barkley stars as Nemo in Slumberland, new this week on Netflix. Nemo is a young girl mourning the loss of her father Peter (Kyle Chandler) by escaping in her dreams to the fantasy world of Slumberland, where she hopes she’ll find him. Helping her navigate Slumberland is the outlaw Flip (Jason Momoa) and the two opposites bond as they continue on their journey, each with their own agenda.
Directed by Francis Lawrence and based on the “Little Nemo in Slumberland” comic strip, the movie also stars Chris O’Dowd, Weruche Opia and others. Let’s look at how it’s been sold to the public.
announcement and casting
Netflix announced the film in mid-2020, with members of the cast added to the roster over the next few months. A first look still was revealed in April of 2021, with Netflix saying the film would be out the next year.
Footage from the film was included in Netflix’s 2022 feature film preview.
the marketing campaign
Netflix kicked off the marketing of the movie in August with the release of a teaser trailer (3.5m YouTube views). It starts off with Peter telling Nemo a story about Slumberland. Most of the spot shows Nemo having adventures in that fantasy world with Flip to show off the visuals while not going into the actual story very deeply.
“Every adventure begins with a dream” we’re told on the poster that came out at the same time. It shows Nemo sitting on her bed, with the dream world represented as an upside down reflection of the real world. It’s very beautiful, with an artistic approach taken that is increasingly uncommon on Netflix’s one-sheets lately.
A month later during its TUDUM virtual event an extended clip came out of Flip explaining the rules of surviving in Slumberland to Nemo and therefore the audience.
The official trailer (8.4m YouTube views) was released in early October. As it begins we see Nemo is adjusting to her new life, including going to an actual school, following the passing of her father. Nemo finds herself in Slumberland alongside Flip, who it turns out used to work with Peter. But while Slumberland is a magical place with incredible places and creatures it’s also dangerous, something Nemo finds out as she searches for her father.
Flip and Nemo, along with the stuffed pig that accompanies them, are seen on what looks like a thrill ride on the next poster. The lighthouse where Nemo grew up with her dad is seen in the background
Each of the main characters gets their turn in the spotlight on a series of posters released in early November that look very much like comic book variant covers.
Momoa promoted the movie when he appeared on “Kimmel” last week, though of course he also discussed some of his other projects.
Mattress company Casper partnered with Netflix for a special “in-bed screening” at Casper’s Dreamery in New York City this coming weekend. Everyone could register to join the event virtually, with a sweepstakes also run for those who wanted to share their home setups on Instagram.
overall
It’s a fine campaign and there’s nothing here to argue with or call out specifically, but that’s true in both directions, meaning there’s also nothing particularly special or hugely engaging about what’s being presented. We’ve seen movies about visiting dream worlds and movies about searching the afterlife for lost loved ones before and the marketing from Netflix doesn’t offer much that’s unique about either idea to latch onto.
That’s not to say it’s a bad campaign, just that it presents a movie that seems entirely adequate and probably enjoyable but isn’t going to knock anyone’s socks off, even with Momoa’s larger than life presence.
How Netflix has sold its young adult mystery sequel
Enola Holmes 2 movie poster from Netflix
Millie Bobby Brown returns in the title role in Enola Holmes 2, out this week on Netflix. In the sequel to the surprise 2020 hit and still based on Nancy Springer’s series of books, Enola has decided to hang out her own shingle as a detective for hire. She’s enlisted by a young girl who works in a matchstick factory to find her missing sister. Soon Enola discovers she’s working on a different part of the same case being investigated by her older brother Sherlock (Henry Cavill).
Louis Partridge returns as Viscount Tewkesbury, a young man Enola frequently encounters and sometimes needs help from in her adventures around London. Helena Bonham Carter is also back as Eudora Holmes, who disappeared years ago but who trained Enola for the day she’d be on her own. Others from the first movie are back as well, as is director Harry Bradbeer.
Let’s recap the campaign Netflix has run.
announcement and casting
Netflix announced the sequel to much acclaim, especially because both Brown and Cavill were slated to return, in May 2021. In September during that year;s TUDUM virtual event it revealed Louis Partridge would be back as Tewkesbury.
The end of filming was marked in January, 2022 when Netflix shared a short video.
Footage from the film was included in Netflix’s 2022 feature film preview back in February.
the marketing campaign
Things kicked off in August when a batch of stills was released.
Brown took part in this year’s TUDUM event to hype the film and introduce the first trailer (5.4m YouTube views). It starts with Enola being chased by the police before stopping to explain what’s happening. We see how she’s started her own agency and gets involved in the case of the missing girl and from there things get crazy as she once more defies everyone’s expectations for how she should act in order to make her own life as well as solve the mystery.
We see Enola standing and looking quite pleased with herself behind the door of her agency on the poster that came out at the same time.
The second trailer (2.1m YouTube views) came out in early October. It uses different footage but sells the same basic idea, that Enola is once again in over her head but refuses to give in or give up despite everyone telling her to do just that. We see a bit more of her working with Sherlock and enlisting the help of Tewkesbury as it again sells a high-energy, fast-moving and funny good time.
The poster that accompanied that trailer uses the same collage style as the one-sheet for the first movie, placing cutouts of the main characters against a pasted-together backdrop of the London skyline with a few codes and maps thrown in to add to the sense of mystery.
A clip showing Enola reluctantly convincing Tewksbury to teach her to dance came out a couple weeks later.
Shortly after that came a series of posters showing all the main characters, all of which also feature some form of pun or other play on words as part of describing that character.
Meet the Holmeses—again! Enola, Sherlock, and Eudoria return for another captivating mystery with bigger, bolder stakes in Enola Holmes 2. pic.twitter.com/P3IcGLro4O
Brown appeared on “Kimmel” to promote the film and engage in some hijinks with her “Stranger Things” costar Noah Schnapp.
Netflix brought the cast and crew out for the premiere at the end of October. At that premiere the stars commented on the story of the movie, how they worked out having Enola break the fourth wall, the unique place these stories hold in the overall Holmes landscape and more.
overall
Like the campaign for the first movie, this marketing push is just a lot of fun. There’s a light entertaining attitude and vibe throughout the campaign that makes it look like it will be just as enjoyable as the first one was. And it maintains much of the branding established in the first campaign, creating a nice sense of continuity for the audience.
Much of that attitude comes from the stars. Brown is *so* much more fun and charming when she’s not weighed down by the pressures of “Stranger Things” where she can’t discuss plot details or get too casual lest something be spoiled. And as much as Cavill was sidetracked by discussion of his returning as Superman in Black Adam recently, he’s infinitely more engaging here (and elsewhere) when not constrained by the demands of the DC Universe.
How Netflix has sold another adaptation of a stirring war story
All Quiet on the Western Front, out this week from Netflix, is at least the third adaptation of the original 1929 novel. As the campaign will note, though, despite the novel coming from a German author as the story focusing on a young German soldier during World War I, this is the first adaptation to actually be filmed in German.
This version stars Felix Kammerer as Paul, the aforementioned young soldier who, like his other new recruits, is filled with the belief war is a romantic, idealistic pursuit. It isn’t long before that belief is shattered as the realities of battle become clear and Paul and the others find it’s nearly impossible simply to stay alive. Daniel Brühl also stars as German finance minister Matthias Erzberger, a leading figure in the country’s war trajectory.
Let’s recap the marketing campaign Netflix has run for what it’s hoping could be an awards contender when that season comes around.
announcements and casting
The movie was announced with director Edward Berger and most of the primary cast already on board. Netflix was reported to be on the verge of acquiring the film in December, 2020, ultimately successful in that purchase.
the marketing campaign
Netflix offered a first look at the movie in July along with comments from director Berger about offering a German perspective to the story and more.
The horrors of warfare – particularly the trench warfare of WWI – are fully on display in the teaser trailer (5.2m YouTube views) released in September. We watch as Paul goes from a green soldier full of enthusiasm to go be a hero for his country to a terrified veteran frequently caked in mud, dirt, blood and other materials as he tries to stay alive amidst the constant cannon fire, doomed infantry advances and other obstacles.
Paul is turning to look toward the camera on the poster that came out at the same time. He’s in the middle of a throng of other soldiers, all marching toward some kind of inferno as ash falls down on them to make sure the audience understands just how hellish their situation really is.
Director Edward Berger was interviewed as the film was screening at the Toronto Film Festival about why a new adaptation was needed and how important it was to finally have a filmed version in German.
Germany announced in mid-October this movie would be its official selection for Best International Picture at the upcoming Academy Awards.
Another trailer (7m YouTube views) was released just a week or so ago. The same basic message is conveyed, but this time the scenes more regularly cut between Paul’s traumatic experiences on the front lines of battle and Erzberger’s efforts to broker a ceasefire between the warring nations.
overall
And…that appears to be the entirety of the marketing, which is a little surprising given the source material’s prestige and the fact this is clearly a major release for Netflix, especially when it comes time for awards consideration.
The latter point may actually explain why this seems a bit lackluster. While the marketing itself is very effective, the paucity of publicity and other efforts may be strategic as Netflix keeps that in its pocket until the months and weeks before Oscar etc nominations are announced. In short, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more press activity after the beginning of the new year.
How Netflix has sold a true life serial killer drama
True crime stories are all the rage at the moment. Not that they haven’t been for a long while now, but the current resurgence seems driven by the popularity of podcasts like “Serial” and the endless subsequent knockoffs that dive deep into certain stories. Of late Netflix, Hulu and others have worked hard to keep up a steady stream of documentaries, feature films, series and other content based on famous cases.
Joining that sub-genre is this week’s new Netflix release The Good Nurse. Based on author Charles Graeber’s 2013 book, the story revolves around Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain), an ICU nurse with a life-threatening heart condition, and Charles Cullen (Eddie Redmayne), another nurse who also happens to be a serial killer. When the hospital the two work at experiences a string of unexplained patient deaths, Amy begins to suspect her coworker may have something to do with them.
Tobias Lindholm directs the film, with a screenplay by Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Let’s dive into the marketing campaign Netflix has mounted.
announcements and casting
Lionsgate was originally developing the movie, including in mid-2018 when Chastain and Redmayne were cast.
Then in early 2020 Netflix acquired the project and officially moved it into production. Noah Emmerich, Nnamdi Asomugha and others were added to the supporting cast in early 2021 in advance of filming.
Footage from the film was included in Netflix’s 2022 feature film preview.
Redmayne, Lindholm and Chastain were interviewed in July about how they approached the project and how they all worked together. First look stills accompanied that interview.
A set of first look stills came out around the same time.
FIRST LOOK: Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne star in The Good Nurse, out this Fall.
In this thriller, a nurse begins to suspect that her colleague is secretly to blame for a recent string of patient deaths and puts her own life at risk to uncover the truth pic.twitter.com/HOVKRqk04H
As the trailer (2.4m YouTube views), released in September, opens, Amy and Charles are catching up after he’s been away from work for a while, an absence he’s not keen to discuss. We then flashback to see the two of them working together as well as establishing Amy is a single mom. When police begin questioning a handful of patient deaths that seem to form a pattern she starts to investigate his background herself. Only then do we go back to the opening scene, which is now presented as Amy trying to get Charles to confess on tape.
The only poster for the film came out at the same time. It simply shows the faces of Amy and Charles blending into one another, which doesn’t necessarily offer anything creepy or explain much about the story. The only hints are in the copy reading “Based on the unthinkable true story,” but what makes the story unthinkable is unclear here.
Later in September the movie screened at the Zurich Film Festival where Redmayne talked about how he was intrigued by the script and excited at working with both Chastain and Lindholm. It also went on to screen at the BFI London Film Festival.
Chastain promoted the film when she appeared on “Kimmel.” Redmayne did likewise a couple weeks later when he appeared on “The Late Show.”
An extended spot released in the middle of October takes a slightly different approach from the trailer. It features a lot of footage already seen, but arranges it in a way to heighten the tension of Amy’s staged diner conversation with Charles.
Both stars took part in a featurette conversation about working together, the process they go through while acting and more.
At the film’s New York City premiere Chastain talked about the nerve-wracking experience of performing as the real life Amy Loughren looked on from behind the cameras. An interview with Redmayne had him pointing out Lindholm cast him against type for this role and what an exciting challenge that turned out to be.
The two stars also were on the red carpet at the recent Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles.
Netflix put out a clip just as the movie was available showing more of a look at the confrontation between Amy and Charles.
overall
As stated above, this campaign isn’t all that creepy save for a few key moments of Redmayne looking menacing.
Instead the focus is more on the performances of the two leads and the fact that this is based on a true story. On that front it hits pretty well but also doesn’t contain much that sets it apart.
That’s particularly so when you consider Netflix has had a lot of publicity recently for their series about Jeffrey Dahmer. So the company has a true-crime dramatization that’s made headlines and maybe didn’t have the bandwidth for another big promotional push on a similar topic.
How Netflix has sold a magical YA story of friendship and destiny
The School For Good and Evil movie poster from Netflix
The School for Good and Evil comes out this week on Netflix. Based on the 2013 novel of the same name, the movie is directed by Paul Feig, who cowrote the screenplay with David Magee.
Sofia Wylie and Anne Caruso play, respectively, Agatha and Sophie, two friends who one day are suddenly whisked away to The School for Good and Evil, a mysterious place where one half teaches students how to be heroic and good while the other half teaches its students to be villainous and evil. While there, Sophie and Agatha find their friendship tested as they are thrust into a world of fairy tales and powers prompting them to question who they were meant to be.
An impressive roster of actors has been assembled to play the instructors and others at the school, including Michelle Yeoh, Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Rob Delaney and others.
announcements and casting
The movie was announced with Feig attached as director in late May 2020. Several months later Feig revealed much of the main cast, with Washington and Theron joining in February of the next year.
Chiani met some of the cast for the first time and interviewed them about their impressions of the book and story in a first look featurette released in early June as part of Netflix’s “Geeked Week” campaign.
A brief video was shared at the end of July to announce the end of production.
Bloom, Kingsley and a host of others were added to the cast in November, 2021.
Footage from the film was included in Netflix’s 2022 feature film preview.
Fieg then revealed Blanchett had been cast as the story’s narrator in June.
the marketing campaign
“There are two sides to every story” the first poster, released in June, declares. Two figures are seen in the distance on the bridge connecting the two schools, showing that the conflict between those schools will be embodied by a couple specific characters.
The first teaser (1.9m YouTube views) came out at that time as well. It’s a very good teaser, primarily focusing on vague imagery of the school as Theron’s Lady Lesso introduces the concept of the school to students as well as the audience. Toward the end we see Sophie and Agatha as they’re plucked from the woods by a giant bird and transported toward their destiny.
Those both appeared during Netflix’s “Geeked Week” campaign, which included a featurette interview with Wylie and Caruso as well as Soman Chainani, the author of the original book. Those two stars also appeared in a trailer reaction video.
July brought a second poster. This time the schools are used as background to the four main characters, now front and center.
The first trailer (3.1m views on YouTube) came out in mid-September. As it begins Agatha and Sophie have been selected to join the school and learn it plays a role in teaching those who go on to live the lives others only read about. The two friends have very different experiences at the school, though, as Sophie sees it as a path to power and respect while Agatha isn’t convinced this is what she wants. So a confrontation is set between them.
A clip showing new students being tested for their magic potential before Sophie interrupts and begins to embrace her new status and powers was released later in September as part of Netflix’s Tudum promotional event. A couple characterposters came out at about the same time.
The dynamics of the school and how Agatha and Sophie adjust to being on opposite sides of the spectrum are on display in an extended spot/trailer released a week before the movie came out. Sophie is convinced she was sent to the wrong school before embracing the darkness despite Agatha’s attempts to “save” her, making it clear what conflict will be driving the story.
overall
It doesn’t break any new ground or give the impression of being wholly unique, but there’s a fun vibe to the campaign that makes it seem like it will be a fun time to watch. And we certainly need a new “kids learning to harness their powers at a mysterious magical school” franchise these days.
What stands out to me as the biggest question here is whether the campaign has been strong enough or achieved a wide enough reach to challenge the two big releases hitting theaters this week: Black Adam and Ticket to Paradise.
A few brief thoughts on stories that have caught my eye while considering when the G.I. Joe team will be assembled to stop Elon Musk from completing whatever world-dominating project he’s working at the moment.
The theater industry keeps having very bad months, up to and including this past September, despite a number of films performing better than expected or beating their projected opening weekends. There seem to be a lot of people out there who are blaming streaming (as if it isn’t four of the same five companies supplying both distribution points) but it’s not as if there weren’t options at the box office. It’s simply that there’s a lack of audience desire to go see anything that isn’t a known quantity, at least not en masse.
To illustrate how it’s an audience interest issue, Blondedidn’t last very long at the top of Netflix’s “most popular” list before being supplanted by Gerard Butler’s latest generic action flick.
Also, the price of a movie ticket keeps going up, though the National Association of Theater Owners hasn’t updated its figures since 2019. NATO claims the more current figures wouldn’t be comparable to pre-2020 years because fewer kids and seniors are going to the theater and the discounts they enjoy have always heavily influenced the average it tracked. That may be but if fewer kids and seniors are going to the movies then that in and of itself is significant news, as is the fact that a major trade organization doesn’t want to publicize prices if it can’t put its thumb on the scale.
Oh, and all this isn’t going to get better anytime soon given housing, food and energy costs keep going up so people have less disposable income for entertainment. And while streaming services are also raising prices, the per-unit cost is still drastically lower than it is for theaters and so is a better bargain.
I had a similar thought as Alissa Wilkinson at Vox, that so many recent movies feature a half-dozen or more stars that just a few years ago would have been carrying their own film. My theory on this has two parts:
That fewer non-IP movies are being made and so if they want to keep working they’ll jump into an ensemble project even if the role they’re offered isn’t at the level they would prefer
That movies have entered the same era the live music industry did in the mid-90s, where if you were either The Eagles commanding hundreds of dollars a ticket from well-off Boomers or a younger band still making their bones at smaller ballrooms. Anyone inbetween signed up for a “festival” tour with three to six other mid-range bands all hoping the combined appeal would keep them going for another couple years.
Adam B. Vary is a good writer but I have to take issue with the part of his recap of the “She-Hulk: Attorney At Law” finale where he says “part of the MCU’s gargantuanly successful appeal is that it’s never been a self-serious endeavor.” If anything the MCU has always been remarkably self-serious, treating every moment like it matters *so much* and everyone involved is not having any fun at all. Even the supposed comedic entries are tremendously self-important.
Oh are we supposed to be surprised that the same terrible people who harassed Amber Heard a few months ago are now going after Angelina Jolie as the latter goes public with the abusive behavior of her ex? I’m not, largely because this is all an extension of Gamergate-era behavior that platforms haven’t adequately dealt with.
The release of Halloween Ends has provided an opportunity for two of my least favorite modern media story types, specifically:
“Is [insert name of movie” streaming?” This isn’t really a question given the campaign for every movie will make it clear the film is “Only in theaters” or prominently display the name of the streaming service it’s debuting on.
“Is this movie really the end of the franchise it’s part of?” Come on, we know that even if a release is the end of one particular cycle it’s not the last time we’ll see that franchise in theaters. Sure, when Tom Holland moves on from playing Spider-Man his particular story arc will conclude, but it won’t be more than a couple years (if that long) before another Spider-Man movie comes out.
How Netflix has sold a controversial take on a Hollywood icon
Blonde movie poster from Netflix
Based on Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same name, Blonde arrives on Netflix this week after a brief limited theatrical run to qualify for various awards. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, the movie stars Ana de Armas as legendary actress Marilyn Monroe in a biopic story that follows her from her early days as Norma Jeane Mortenson through her tragic death in 1962 at the age of just 36.
Given the celebrities Monroe encountered in some manner over her short career it’s no wonder the film is stocked with just as much talent. Adrien Brody, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale and others star as the people in Monroe’s life, from those she married to those she befriended to those who helped her at various times over the years.
Monroe continues to fascinate even 60 years after her passing, and this movie arrives with as much controversy as she herself could sometimes generate.
announcement and casting
The project has been kicking around Hollywood for a decade or so, with Naomi Watts and Jessica Chastain previously attached to star. It wasn’t until early 2019 that de Armas was cast in the lead role, with most of the supporting players joining in August of that year just before filming was scheduled to start.
De Armas was interviewed about the prep work she did, especially when it came to getting Monroe’s voice right, in early 2021.
In June of that year news came that Netflix declined an invitation for the movie to play the Cannes Film Festival, albeit out of competition. As usual, the two parties couldn’t agree on the festival’s requirement that movies appearing there be released theatrically in France.
Dominik talked about how he was hoping for a Cannes debut in 2022, having missed the previous year’s festival.
While that was still up in the air, in March Netflix confirmed the film’s NC-17 rating, making it the most explicit original feature produced by the company and the first film of that rating to be released in several years.
After that news broke Dominik shared how the freedom Netflix gave him to explore that rating allowed him to tell the story he wanted to and do so in a way that will likely offend everyone.
the marketing campaign
The campaign seemed to kick into gear in early June with the announcement the film’s premiere was scheduled for the Venice Film Festival in early September.
Both de Armas and Dominik were interviewed in Netflix’s in-house publication about the process of making the film and the amount of research they each put into the project to get things right while still taking a fair amount of artistic license with the story.
That was followed by a teaser trailer (6.3m YouTube views) that doesn’t show much – it’s mostly Marilyn having her makeup done while praying that “she” arrives. Amidst that we see a few additional shots but not much as it’s mostly designed to whet the audience’s appetite while giving us a first look at de Armas in character.
There was some backlash after that trailer, particularly focused on de Armas’ accent. But her using her natural voice was defended by both the estate of Monroe and producer Brad Pitt. Oates also gave the film her stamp of approval.
Vanity Fair debuted a new set of stills in late July, including several behind-the-scenes shots of de Armas practicing her movies and more.
The full official trailer (9.3m YouTube views) came out at the same time. It uses a conversation between Monroe and DiMaggio (Cannavale) as its framing device, with scenes showing her on- and off-screen life and all the problems each one contains. That includes recreations of some of Monroe’s most iconic moments. Over all of that, she is explaining to DiMaggio how Marilyn Monroe is just a character that appears on film, that she’s Norma Jean in real life and that she’s tired of playing the part of her more famous persona.
Also arriving at that point was the first poster, which shows an extreme close up of de Armas as Monroe, the former seemingly disappearing entirely within the latter. It also uses the same “Watched by all, seen by none” tagline used in the trailer.
De Armas expressed her confusion over the movie’s NC-17 rating, pointing out in an interview there are plenty of other films that are even more explicit in their depiction of sexuality and related topics. In another interview she talked about how playing Monroe never seemed like much of a possibility given they don’t share much in common aside from, de Armas points out, being a woman. Dominik as well as past director Rian Johnson praised the actress’s skills and commitment to her work in that profile.
The cast and crew all talked about the story, the film’s rating, its runtime and lots more at the Venice press conference accompanying the premiere there.
De Armas was set to receive the Hollywood Rising Star Award at September’s Deauville American Film Festival where the movie was scheduled to screen following its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
How de Armas was transformed into Monroe each day for filming was covered in a profile of the movie’s makeup team that ran at the same time a red carpet premiere was held in Los Angeles.
✨ We are all of us stars, and we deserve to twinkle ✨
After that de Armas appeared on “The Late Show” and “Late Night” to talk about the movie. She was also interviewed about the movie’s nude scenes and how she felt they were necessary to the story and handled by Dominik and others with the utmost sensitivity but that she was a little bummed they were likely to appear out of context on the web eventually.
Things wound down with the release of a clip showing Monroe breaking down while filming Some Like It Hot.
Ana de Armas on Blonde: “I want to talk about taboos and uncomfortable things and figure out how we really feel about them. And I think telling stories is a beautiful way to do that.” Now on Netflix pic.twitter.com/sRlU9YJL0g
There has been a lot of controversy around this movie, not least of which the critical response in the last few weeks that has called out how the story seems to victimize Monroe for no real reason, presenting her as perpetually traumatized.
That may or may not be accurate, but it seems like Dominik and de Armas in particular knew the movie they wanted to make and were at least mostly successful in doing so, the fight to realize that vision being part of the reason for the multiple delays.
Netflix’s campaign has leaned into much of that controversy, at least tacitly, to get and keep people talking about the film and hopefully increase its streaming viewership and then its awards chances. Along those lines, the focus on de Armas makes this effort as much about her as it is about Monroe. While she’s been well-received in previous roles, this is positioned as her star-making turn and there’s nothing in the campaign to dissuade me from that belief.
Cinematic Slant 