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David Poland

By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com

Why Studios Don't Matter To Marketing

This one is on me, but it makes a bigger point.
I just found an e-postcard from Warner Bros for what I assumed was a Paramount movie… Fool’s Gold.
Why did I assume? Because this was a kind of film that Paramount was making over and over.
Of course, Warners made New Line franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Fox style I Am Legend and Music & Lyrics, Universal style License To Wed, etc.
Of course, Paramount’s Beowulf was classic WB, Fox’s Epic Movie was pure Dimension, Universal’s I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry was built for Sony, and Will Ferrell can’t seem to work for one studio for more than a few months… but hey, we even have Judd Apatow at Sony doing a Will Ferrell movie with John C Reilly as Will and flopping in December.
Only Disney is DISNEY these days.

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15 Responses to “Why Studios Don't Matter To Marketing”

  1. RocketScientist says:

    I really do enjoy doing marketing/advertising in this industry largely because the general population has no concept of brands by studio – it’s merely a game of properties, familiar or otherwise. We’re all getting to cycle through a multitude of genres, tapping into different markets, learning new ways of grounding a film into our daily lives.
    Unless you’re at Screen Gems.
    P.S. I thought FOOL’S GOLD was Paramount, too.

  2. eoguy says:

    I too was confused on I Am Legend pre-release and thought Fool’s Gold was a Paramount flick until I saw posters on Friday. It didn’t matter that I saw a trailer for Fool’s Gold on the Imax before watching I Am Legend — I still connected it with Paramount.

  3. LexG says:

    You know you see too many movies when you can recognize a studio’s FILM STOCK SHEEN.
    The overwhelming blue-with-orange-flesh-tonesness of FOOL’S GOOD was the key telltale sign of its WBness. It’d have been more powdery and less warm had it been Paramount.
    Universal is usually green-silver.
    Fox is yellow.
    Sony is pink.

  4. David Poland says:

    Interesting, Lex.
    I am not sure about it, but I will say that I can recognize a broadcast network from the tone of the image they are broadcasting.

  5. LexG says:

    How about 1990, when Fox released the VERY WB slate of Marked For Death, Edward Scissorhands, and Exorcist III?

  6. Chucky in Jersey says:

    “Beowulf” had the look of a Universal monster movie.

  7. Wrecktum says:

    I smell bullshit, LexG. How do you attribute different stock “sheen” to different studios? Are you a professional color timer? Since you’re an expert, you can tell me which studios print at which labs using which stock.

  8. mutinyco says:

    In the old studio days they each tended to more or less have their own looks.

  9. IOIOIOI says:

    Lex is right on with the different sheen of the studios. Lionsgate even has it’s own sheen that’s a dull white. Heat you are also right about the TV networks. This is also one of the reason that I have never ever been that much of a fan of CBS. Their tone gives me a headache if I watch too much of it.

  10. bmcintire says:

    A friend of mine had a one-day role on ONE LIFE TO LIVE back in the early 90’s and the head of make-up told him “Aboslutely no orange bronzing. This isn’t goddamned CBS.” Cracked me up.

  11. jeffmcm says:

    Tell us more about these headaches, IOI.
    Beowulf didn’t look like a Universal horror movie, it looked like Stephen Sommers’ Van Helsing.

  12. Cadavra says:

    Which was a Universal horror.

  13. jeffmcm says:

    Not gonna argue that point.

  14. doug r says:

    I dunno. Fool’s Gold looked kinda Disney as in Touchstone or even Hollywood.
    “If it’s the Sphinx, it stinks.”

  15. IOIOIOI says:

    Jeff, it’s just not a nice tint.

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