Blog Archives

Happy Monday!

The cinematic engineering of Jurassic World continues to be revealed trailer-by-trailer, most recently last night at the beginning of Super Bowl XLIX.

The DNA of this summer blockbuster looks terrifyingly fun!

Happy Monday!

Before the happy comes the sad.

Yesterday morning, iconic and revolutionary SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott passed away after a long battle with cancer at the age of 49. This was devastating news to start the day. It hit everybody hard, including fans of SportsCenter from back in the day when it was on channel 11. Generations of sports fans grew up with him and his electrically charged commentary, quick wit and unforgettable catchphrases.

“Boo-Yah!” anyone?

He solidified in people like me that there were adults who felt the same unbridled excitement about sports that I did. It was an unthinkable thrill and reality. There was a place in this world for people like me when it came to my perfectly unhealthy obsession with sports. During countless lazy summer mornings, countless people woke up early/woke up to hear Stuart Scott illuminating the nation with a home run, a dunk or a random Tar Heel reference.

Stuart Scott was inspiring to kids like me who dreamed of being paid to talk about sports on television for a living.

And Stuart Scott was inspiring because of his courageous battle against cancer while maintaining a genuinely positive outlook on life.

He truly was, “as cool as the other side of the pillow.”

RIP Stuart Scott.

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

A month and a half ago, the marketing team from Jurassic World released the very first trailer for their 2015 summer blockbuster. Incorporated perfectly into this long-awaited tease was the delicately slow piano rendition of the infamous John Williams Jurassic Park theme song. In a word: sublime. In more words, fans have technological tools at their fingertips that can produce some very memorable results.

So, how did dinosaur fan Jared Pelletier do with his clever video editing?

Bottom line: Jurassic World (no matter how you cut it) looks amazing!

Have a Roaring Good Week!

“Coming Soon” Redefined

2015: Welcome back dinosaurs and the epic battle of good vs. evil.

Reflecting on last week’s treasure trove (however small) of movie trailers slated for mid-late 2015 release dates, it’s clear that audience engagement and connectivity is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Jurassic World and Stars Wars: The Force Awakens are already two of the must-see movies of next year. Not this year, but next year. In fact, the soonest one of the aforementioned films will be released is in seven months.

Why mention this marketing strategy now?

Because movie studios and directors are continuing to forge relationships with their fans during the speculation phase of their projects right through the development of the plot, filming in the various settings/locations and character leaks and special social media reveals several months and even a year before its theatrical premiere (ie – Interstellar’s first teaser was last November). And let’s not forget about the DC Comics Universe announcing that seemingly endless list of future superhero movies that give fans years upon years of movies to look forward to. Marvel also does its part as well in this department. This modern, evolving dynamic in the film industry is fascinating because it connects movie makers with its fans on a surprisingly constant basis. Some in Hollywood, understanding the incredible interest in amazingly sublime and complex stories with popular actors, actresses, writers, producers and directors, have created an investment in cinema.

Are the days of going to see a movie as a spontaneous weekend fling going away?

No. However, for the most ambitious and popular movies/stories (live action and animated), the trend is moving towards more involvement/persistent awareness between movie producer and fan. This can be viewed as good because the interest and connection is voluntary and exciting to its willing participants (sans spoilers). But this can also be viewed as bad because of intrigue fatigue. We live in a minute-to-minute and even second-to-second world. Few secrets are held for very long these days. Eventually, widespread speculation or new information will be released to the public. With that in mind, how many seconds and/or minutes are in seven months? One year?

While the movie going experience is becoming, well, more of an experience, it does work. Interstellar was undeniably worth the wait (I saw it twice in IMAX), as was The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel, serving as just a few examples. It’s likely that Jurassic World and Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be as well. It should be noted that the films that are promoted with such surreal longevity are films that reward its dedicated fans with an unforgettably rich movie experience.

In the age of information, driven through the lightning fast digital medium, the questions are whether this epic marketing strategy of teaser trailers and perfectly placed clues/special reveals can continue to sustain and produce epic results without the eventual exhaustion of an epic journey before making it the theater? Is too much being revealed in the trailers?

For now, I’m entranced by the new lightsaber, in awe and suspense of a genetically modified dinosaur (and story 22 years in the making) and delightfully eager to witness James Bond’s 24th cinematic adventure in a finely tailored suit.

2015 is setting up to be legen-wait for it…

Good Vibrations

Something big is coming…

When it was announced that the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park franchise was written and would be made into a major motion picture, I was excited. But cautiously optimistic because of what transpired in Jurassic Park III (great individual scenes, but some of the casting…). Then, it was revealed that Steven Spielberg co-wrote this new script and would be executive producing once again. This news should have been treated as massively substantial, considering that Jurassic Park III debuted in the summer of 2001. Thirteen years have passed (along with the franchise’s author Michael Crichton in 2008) and it would have been completely understandable if this dinosaur franchise had ended as a trilogy.

It won’t, and it’s likely because the script/story this time is really, really good…like, possibly 1990s good. Ever since learning the title would be Jurassic World a year or so ago, I’ve had a theory about the tightly-guarded plot.

Here it is:

Cognizant that it is not called Jurassic Park 4 or Jurassic Park IV: _____, this hinted at a return to the original 1993 blockbuster masterpiece. This new movie was not going to be just another sequel or be sequential to the third movie. More than a decade had passed and those involved in the franchise are acutely aware of the amazing reaction to the original and the following two movies (a slow tumble from one to the next). If a fourth film would be made, it had to have a spectacularly epic script that reconnected fans with why they loved Jurassic Park from the start (plus, remember the title). Fans have wanted a fourth film, but only if it did justice to the original with its perfect story, cast of characters, larger than life consequences and dinosaur-size surprises. The year it’s been presented for release has been ~ 20 years since the original (21 to be exact). Last year (year 20) was dedicated to its amazing 3-D re-release, which was a magnificent triumph. Then, a picture was posted on Jurassic World director Colin Trevorrow’s twitter account that showed a picture of dirt and leaves covering the “East Dock” arrow sign that Dennis Nedry famously crashed into with his Jurassic Park jeep in the torrential downpour with the caption, “Autumn.” This was back in late September of this year.

All of this, plus the previous and obvious reluctance to quickly make a fourth film after reaction from the third one, has, for a long time led me to believe that Jurassic World would be a direct throwback to the original Jurassic Park that is intended to play on the incredible and loving nostalgia of the 1993 cinematic wonder and the fact that fans like myself went crazy over the movie and the official Jurassic Park merchandise.

So I thought, “How do you play on 1993 nostalgia from the original along with the insane popularity of the toys, t-shirts, backpacks, stuffed animals, etc.?”

It meant that someone/some group had finally built a Jurassic Park for real! And when the poster was released with the tagline that read “The Park is Open” above the date of June 12th (FYI – the original was released June 11, 1993), that seemed like a serious confirmation of my long-hypothesized theory.

Then, today, the first teaser trailer of sorts hit the web. Does anything look familiar?

While the first “official” trailer is expected for Thanksgiving (November 27th), everything seems to be lining up for a genuine Jurassic World theme park based on/closely with the inspiration of genetics dreamer John Hammond!

If the rumored trailer next week solidifies my theory, then it will make millions of cinematic dreams come true and literally give new meaning to the appropriately altered phrase, “Welcome to Jurassic World!”

A trembling cup of water has never looked this epic.