Tag: peter dinklage

I Care A Lot – Marketing Recap

How Netflix has sold a story that asks audiences to sympathize with a con artist.

The new movie I Care A Lot, out today on Netflix, seems to have as its premise “What if we made a film about John Mahoney’s character from Say Anything…, but with Rosamund Pike instead of Mahoney?” Pike plays Marla Grayson, a woman who has created a nice racket for herself as a court-appointed guardian for elderly individuals. Once she has control of their assets, she funnels them into various shady investments, pocketing the profits and leaving the estates with almost nothing. When Grayson sets her sights on her latest mark, Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest), she inadvertently runs afoul of a local gangster (Peter Dinklage) and is forced to think even faster than usual to get out of a dangerous situation.

Written and directed by J Blakeson, the movie has a solid 81% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has gotten a quick, breezy campaign from Netflix that plays up Pike’s turn as a fast-talking con artist.

The Posters

The first poster, released in January, has Grayson wearing sunglasses as she looks toward the camera, her hair perfect through the title treatment, shown here in big, bold letters. A pull quote calling the film “deliciously nasty” is shown near the Toronto International Film Festival branding.

A series of pop-art-esque character posters came out earlier this week, continuing the trend of visuals using just a few bold colors to really make the photos jump in the eyes of the audience.

The Trailers

Mid-January brought the release of the first trailer (1.6m views on YouTube), which introduces Marla as a professional carer, albeit one who might be a bit of a scammer as well. While much of what she does is barely legal, she’s warned not to further harass one woman in particular, someone who has dangerous and powerful friends. Marla is unperturbed, though and continues on with business as usual, confident she’ll come out on top.

Online and Social

Nothing here, at least nothing unique. Netflix gave the movie a bit of support on brand social channels, though.

Advertising and Promotions

Netflix acquired the film in September, shortly after its well-received debut at the Toronto Film Festival.

A short clip released just as the movie became available shows Grayson getting some new and potentially valuable information from an attorney (played by Chris Messina) for Peterson’s powerful friends.

Media and Press

Blakeson, Pike and others were interviewed about the story and why they got involved in the project during TIFF.

Both Gonzalez and Pike appeared on “Kimmel” within a day or so of each other to talk about the film.

Overall

It’s surprising there hasn’t been more on the promotional and publicity fronts, especially given the positive reviews Pike’s performance has received. But you can’t say the campaign doesn’t make a point to highlight that performance, one that pops off the screen in the trailer just like the image does on the bold-hued posters.

I Think We’re Alone Now – Marketing Recap

Here’s how Momemtum Pictures sold the end of the world drama I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW with Peter Dinklage and Elle Fanning.

i think were alone now posterIt’s the end of the world in I Think We’re Alone Now and Del (Peter Dinklage) is feeling fine. Well…maybe not fine, but he’s certainly made his peace with his status as seemingly the only survivor of a mysterious apocalypse that has wiped out almost all the world’s population. He is living alone and filling his days with cleaning up the town and whatever diversions he can manage.

His solitude is interrupted by the appearance of Grace (Elle Fanning), a fellow survivor who has mysteriously arrived in his town and would like his attention. Del is unwilling to accept this, though, and pushes her away.

The Posters

A lot’s happening on the first poster, which takes an artistic approach showing Del and Grace at the top of the image, him looking slightly annoyed while she’s screaming into the sky. Goldfish float around them while at the bottom we see cars left abandoned on the highway, the road flanked by fields that are covered in fresh graves. “In the end…chaos will find you” the copy reads, filled with meaning about the story.

The Trailers

There’s not much happening in the first trailer, nor is there much of the story that’s explained. We hear some of the dialogue between Del and Grace, but all we see is him walking down an empty street toward a crashed car with its alarm going off. A second teaser hits some of the same beats, but has Del stating more explicitly that he just wants to be left alone amidst all this chaos.

The first full trailer, released in late August, offers a bit more of the story. It starts by presenting a nearly empty town that Del is systematically cleaning of bodies and other refuse. When he meets Grace he’s suspicious of where she came from and how she survived and indeed there does seem to be some kind of mystery to her background, though it’s not explained here. It ends with Del going off by himself, an off-screen voice assuring him it’s alright and that it’s time to come home now.

Online and Social

There doesn’t appear to have been an official website created by Momentum, but there were Instagram, Facebook and Twitter profiles created to give the movie some online presence.

Advertising and Cross-Promotions

I haven’t seen or heard about any paid promotions for the movie.

Media and Publicity

The premise of the story and a popular cast helped the movie make the “most-anticipated” lists of films screening at the Sundance Film Festival. While there Dinklage, Fanning and the rest of the cast and crew talked about what it was that attracted them to the story, it’s themes of solitude and companionship and more. Momentum Pictures picked it up a few weeks after the festival ended.

Fanning made an appearance on “Late Night” to talk about the movie. Morano was profiled in a piece that allowed her to talk about not only the story and characters but her unique position as both director and cinematographer.

Overall

It’s really the festival buzz that makes an impression in the campaign. There’s some good stuff in the trailers and teasers and the poster certainly makes an impression, but it’s such a high concept story that the word of mouth element, where the concept can be explained a bit more thoroughly, that makes the strongest case.

That high concept will likely turn off some people along with the fact that it isn’t scheduled for wide release any time soon. What strikes me most, though, is that this is the kind of movie that Netflix has turned into a cottage industry, so it would seem to make more sense there, where it can be explored at people’s leisure.

PICKING UP THE SPARE

Peter Dinklage shares how he got involved with the movie and what he finds most interesting about how it was produced.
Editor Madeleine Gavin speaks here about how she worked to keep creating tension in the story. And director Reed Moreno offers additional thoughts on the movie, its themes ands what it means for her career so far.