I GIVE IT A YEAR - How to sell a romantic comedy to foreign audiences

Did you know that studio marketing departments often have to make major cosmetic changes to a film's poster in order to promote it effectively in other countries? Take I Give It A Year, for example...

Did you know that Jason Flemyng was removed from the Australian version of the poster due to an incident at a party in Sydney where he went around making everyone tell him that he was their favourite Jason to appear in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels?

Or that Belgian audiences find an abundance of unused white space to be more entertaining than Stephen Merchant's gangly frame and have always had a dislike of Minnie Driver ever since they found out that she actually prefers to drive a Volvo?

How about the fact that audiences in Germany also carry a dislike of Jason Flemyng stemming from a different incident, but are big fans of exclamation points and anachronistic, poorly hidden sofa bombs?

Well now you know. Or maybe some international marketing departments like messing about with posters just for the sake of it.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 - The Motion Poster

It's safe to say that I'm not a fan of the recent trend for motion posters. I mean, what exactly is it meant to be, a trailer or a poster? It's in contention (along with the trailer for the trailer) for being the most useless piece of modern movie marketing. Having said that, what I do like is Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, so anything related to that is okay in my book.

After seeing the original on Blu-ray I instantly regretted not catching it during its theatrical run, as this charming, witty, brightly coloured food extravaganza was meant for the big screen. Yes, it's technically aimed at kids, but it helped make the point that Pixar don't have a monopoly on great animation anymore. Well, I don't plan on making the same mistake twice, so when the sequel (where the food created in the first film has evolved into "foodimals") arrives at the end of the year I'll be first in line. Okay, I might not be first in line, but I'll be pretty close to the front. Definitely not near the back.

Scheduled for release in late October and directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn (after the directors of the original, Phil Lord and Chris Miller moved on to live action with 21 Jump Street), this very welcome sequel sees original cast members Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Andy Samberg, and Neil Patrick Harris as the voice of Steve the Monkey returning, as well as Terry Crews and Kristen Schaal being new additions to the cast.

Obscurity Files #38 - Smiley Face

With Anna Faris about to be seen guarding Picnic baskets in Yogi Bear, lets take a look at her with a major case of the munchies. Today, it's time to check out Smiley Face.

More, next...

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT trailer review

The trailer for this new 80's set film starring Topher Grace and Anna Faris has just been released. Watch it here.

As anyone who was a fan of That 70's Show will attest, the arrival of Topher Grace as a movie star has been a long time coming. He was quite possibly the best thing about that show, and deserves to have a more prominent career on the big screen. He was okay as Venom in the slightly crap Spiderman 3 (I blame the role rather the actor), and was quite watchable earlier this year in Predators. They we're both quite stern faced roles, but it looks like this film might give him a real chance to flex his comedic muscles.


Yeah, it does look like it could be a continuation of That 70's Show, jumped ahead by a decade. We're now in the tail end of the 80's nostalgia films, and it'll not be long before it's all about the 90's. For now though, this appears to be succeeding where Hot Tub Time Machine failed. That film (although with some high points) didn't seem to realise it had and capitalise on the two trump cards it was holding in the casting of John Cusack and Crispin Glover. It was the kind of film that should have had more nods to forgotten classics of the 80's.


Take Me Home Tonight looks to have the right level of nostalgia for the 80's. The clothes look awesome, the hair looks just as good/bad, and the story appears to be a slight retread of one of my favourite lost 80's films, License To Drive. If you're going to set a film over one night, the 80's seems to be the perfect era to do it in. There's Blind Date, Adventures In Babysitting, etc. This film is in good company.


The presence of Dan Fogler gives me mixed feelings. I liked him in Fanboys but hated him in Good Luck Chuck, one of the most disgustingly puerile films I've ever had the misfortune to see. However, he tends to play quite brash characters, and I can see that fitting in with a take on Bret Easton Ellis excess. There's not a lot of Anna Faris in this trailer, but she appears to be just a supporting character. Take Me Home Tonight is quite a terrible title for a film really, although it's the kind of easy title option they would have took in the 80's (I'm looking in your direction Can't Buy Me Love), so maybe it'll grow on me.


It's not going to be the best film of the year by a long shot, but it looks like a fairly good fun comedy with a nostalgia kick. I'll be checking it out.


Due March 2011
Anticipation Level