Celebrity "Once" spots

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Everyone knows Once is (a) one of the most affecting audience "heart" movies of the year and yet (b) it can't push its way past $6.5 million so far, which means it hasn't even been seen by a third of the hip urban indie audience, much less a sizable percentage of the schmoes who only go to broad-ass, heavily marketed, big-name movies from the major distribs. So how can Fox Searchlight cajole the reluctant masses into seeing John Carney's little musical?

(l. to r.) Kidman, Damon, Linney, Clooney, Hanks, et. al.

A good idea hit me over lunch yesterday, and it came from Steven Spielberg's willingness to give a Once-plugging quote to USA Today's Anthony Breznican in a piece than ran three days ago. In a phrase, Once can get moving with mainstream viewers through celebrity endorsements. Print ads and perhaps even internet video spots that would basically say, "Hey, some people you know fairly well are really into this film."

If the great Spielberg is willing to give it up by telling Breznican that "a little movie called Once gave me enough inspiration to last the rest of the year," why can't other big names be approached and asked for a friendly little quote as well? And then Fox Searchlight could make a little ad campaign out of all the celebs who are willing to stand up. Pure alpha, no money involved, and no agents pulling their usual selfish crap. The celebrity roster wouldn't even necessarily be limited to actors and directors who are in business with Fox Searchlight. If you're a recogni- zable name and you love the film, you'd simply say this (over the phone or email, or on camera), and that would be that.

Films like Once are obviously good for everyone's spiritual health, and I'm given to understand that a lot of industry above-the-liners are heavily into it (as indicated by that Spielberg quote). So why not say this out loud? If folks like, say, Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts or Ron Howard or Tom Hanks were to offer testimonials it would be almost analogous to signing their names on a stop-global-warming petition.

What would a typical big name actor say if 20th Century Fox came to them and said, "Hey, how about giving us a personal endorsement of Live Free or Die Hard? We need to boost business." Any self-respecting pro would either laugh in their face or be so disgusted by the low-rent cravenness of such a proposal that he/she probably wouldn't even respond. But Once is different. Once is a vibe, a song...a poor little church. Once is something you see and get or you don't. Once exists in its own realm.

If any agent says to his or her client, "You absolutely can't do this because if you do it'll open a floodgate and the indie marketing crowd will never leave you alone," tell them this is a Once-off, one-time thing and that's all. No debate, no ifs or buts ...just stand up and say it and put a bloom on your day.

And as long as we're kicking this around, the best way to do this would be to shoot a series of video spots in which the celeb would riff about the film for a couple of minutes the way others have done for spots about movies and politics for the great Errol Morris, and then cut together a series and run them on the internet. TV would presumably be too expensive for Searchlight's Once budget but they could always go that way down the road.

Note: Apologies to Breznican for confusing his name with Scott Bowles' when this thing first went up.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 9, 2007 at 1:19 PM

comment #1

ArchiveGuy says ...

For someone who complains about bad titles quite a bit, I'm surprised you're letting this film off the hook. "Once" (a lovely film) is a miserable title--evoking nothing, signifying less, and ready to evaporate from your memory at any moment. I'm sure 3/4 of the people who read the Spielberg quote would have to revisit the article just to remind themselves, "*WHAT* movie was he talking about, again?" As a title that invited retention and remembrance, it's a non-starter, and one shouldn't underestimate the effect this has been having on its BO performance.

Posted by ArchiveGuy at August 9, 2007 2:28 PM

comment #2

Craig Kennedy says ...

Saying a movie like Once is good for you is exactly the wrong way to sell it Jeff. As someone smarter than me said before, it's not the kind of movie that you can ram down someone's throat. They have to discover it for themselves.

Hype is only going to lead to disappointment over what is really a simple film.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at August 9, 2007 2:42 PM

comment #3

Alan Cerny says ...

Want more people to see ONCE?

OPEN WIDE, DAMMIT!

It's playing in one theater here in Houston. And I can't for the life of me seem to make it over to that area of town. Life keeps getting in the way.

Posted by Alan Cerny at August 9, 2007 2:44 PM

comment #4

dickembody says ...

I rather like Jeff's idea. Ultimately everyone is their own favorite critic, but the spot he proposes is novel enough that it would certainly give the movie more attention than it's getting.

Whenever certain right-leaning film critics cry over how "they just don't make quality family films anymore," I always remember how it seemed like nobody would stand behind a nice little film called "A Little Princess." The studio even re-released it with maybe $5 in marketing money but the critics, who should know better, didn't push it. I guess that it's more fun to bitch. Let's not make that mistake again.

Posted by dickembody at August 9, 2007 2:53 PM

comment #5

PerfectTommy says ...

And exactly how effective is it for the average person when Brad Pitt or Julia Roberts signs their name to a Global Warming Warning? I think when many people hear that Sheryl Crow is cutting down to one square of toilet paper or Cate Blancett is no longer washing her hair it makes people take the issue less, rather than more seriously. Could be wrong. Some people's leading news source is Ophrah.
They might be more effective in selling other people's films. Spielberg recommending does get my attention. If I hear the Coen Brothers love a film, I'm there. Tarantino - not so much.
If the star of "The Mexican" and "Mona Lisa Smiles" said you must see this film, I might run in the other direction.

Posted by PerfectTommy at August 9, 2007 2:58 PM

comment #6

Glenn Whipp says ...

Celebrity endorsements, huh? Why not? Worked wonders for John Kerry ...

Posted by Glenn Whipp at August 9, 2007 3:00 PM

comment #7

BurmaShave says ...

Celebrity endorsements are why Nick Clooney is now a member of Congress.

Posted by BurmaShave at August 9, 2007 3:22 PM

comment #8

MASON says ...

I finally saw it last night. Thought it was great.

Posted by MASON at August 9, 2007 3:32 PM

comment #9

malibugigolo says ...

Mary Hart from ET.
That will pull them in.
It says on my cable that ET is called "The Show" by people in showbiz, although I've never heard this in my entire life, I am taking there word for it.

Posted by malibugigolo at August 9, 2007 3:33 PM

comment #10

T. Holly says ...

"Glenn and Marketa lifted, carried and caught my heart like the Tramp and the Flowergirl in 'City Lights.' It was a great work out for my heart and soul."

Why not? I'm famous.

Posted by T. Holly at August 9, 2007 3:42 PM

comment #11

berg says ...

how about a little quid pro quo ... Glen Hansard will rave about The Invaders if Daniel Craig and Nicole push Once ...

Posted by berg at August 9, 2007 3:59 PM

comment #12

kammy says ...

Oprah, for sure!

Posted by kammy at August 9, 2007 4:03 PM

comment #13

AJW says ...

Movie stars endorsing a movie is not analagous to movie stars endorsing climate change initiatives.

Posted by AJW at August 9, 2007 4:12 PM

comment #14

T. Holly says ...

kammy, exercise your Once love and give us a quote.

Posted by T. Holly at August 9, 2007 4:12 PM

comment #15

arch451 says ...

They should get Clint Eastwood to rewrite the songs.

Posted by arch451 at August 9, 2007 4:25 PM

comment #16

Walter Sobchak says ...

Larry King needs to exclaim, "The Best Movie I've Ever Seen!"
(for the 578th time)

Posted by Walter Sobchak at August 9, 2007 4:31 PM

comment #17

malibugigolo says ...

Yaphet Kotto

Posted by malibugigolo at August 9, 2007 4:33 PM

comment #18

Walter Sobchak says ...

Seriously.... I do remember that "Sling Blade" got kind of a boost when Clooney went around telling eveyone it was the best movie he'd seen in a while.

Posted by Walter Sobchak at August 9, 2007 4:34 PM

comment #19

BNick says ...

Interesting thought, Jeff, by no way is this happening.

Hanks and Clooney will each have films being pushed for Oscar nods this fall, and they're not going to give any positive vibes to any other film.

Sasha Stone is predicting Once for a Best Picture nod. May be wishful thinking but recent history has shown that small indie films released earlier in the year have been able to break through the process when a lot of the presumptive nominees fall by the wayside.

Posted by BNick at August 9, 2007 4:39 PM

comment #20

MathewM says ...

I say keep it low until about November and then do a marketing blitz including appearances on Oprah and the late shows. Still I think "Once" is one of those films you have to discover and at the right time. I kind of like that it's only made $6.5 million as it's such a precious film that it feels like a private little beach you discover where there aren't a bunch of tourists.

Posted by MathewM at August 9, 2007 5:03 PM

comment #21

T. Holly says ...

There's discover and then there's discover. My friends in Glendale, well they're not really friends, because they live in Glendale, but anyway, they want to see Once and it's only playing at the Playhouse, Sunset 5 and Los Feliz. They keep asking me where they can see it. What am I suppose to tell them?

Posted by T. Holly at August 9, 2007 5:08 PM

comment #22

The Winchester says ...

T. Holly, you tell them to see it at the Playhouse, the Sunset 5, or the Los Feliz.

And whenever Quentin Tarantino lends his name to promoting a movie (Wolf Creek, et al) it does more harm than good.

Of course the quality of film and the quality of names makes all the difference. But to be honest, if Nicole Kidman said to go see Once, I would avoid it just to spite her.

Posted by The Winchester at August 9, 2007 5:25 PM

comment #23

T. Holly says ...

That's what I'll tell them if it doesn't go wider tomorrow. Can you give us a Once quote?

Posted by T. Holly at August 9, 2007 6:03 PM

comment #24

malibugigolo says ...

T. Holly:

Tell them to get the fuck out of Glendale.

Posted by malibugigolo at August 9, 2007 6:39 PM

comment #25

T. Holly says ...

Gig, you're one to talk, being in the Bu, that incestuous dating cesspool. I don't recall reading that you've seen it. Perhaps you need to get out of the Bu?

Posted by T. Holly at August 9, 2007 6:53 PM

comment #26

dawgzilla67 says ...

The celebrity quote thing has burned me too many times for me to really endorse this idea. Anyone remember when Cabin Fever came out? There were cream their jeans quotes from a number of horror film heavyweights and I can safely say I'm not the only person who saw that film and thought they were sold a bill of goods.

Yeah, in a perfect world Once would crack the top ten and stay there a couple of weeks. But, to quote the trailer cliche: "In a world ... where Wild Hogs is the number one movie in the country several weeks running ... where Brett Ratner enjoys membership in the billion-dollar directors club ... one film dares to exist for those of us who can actually read books without pictures ... Once!"

This film is a hard sell. I tried (successfully) to get a number of musicians I know to check out the film, thinking they could identify with the strummer with a day job protagonist, and all they did was complain that he never f---ed the girl. I got musical theatre whores to check out the movie and they complained it "wasn't a real musical".

So while I got folks to check it out, I didn't seem to create a lot of fans for the film. (I may be doing the film more harm than good by creating damaging word of mouth.)

Posted by dawgzilla67 at August 9, 2007 7:29 PM

comment #27

malibugigolo says ...

T Holly:

I do. You're right. You said: "well they're not really friends, because they live in Glendale", I assumed in jest, I was just continuing that line.

Also: Scorsese "presenting" YOU CAN COUNT ON ME did nothing.

Posted by malibugigolo at August 9, 2007 7:56 PM

comment #28

The Winchester says ...

T Holly, I have a few quotes ("Once is a beautiful motion picture" and many of that ilk), but nobody takes a guy who reviews under the name "The Dude" seriously. Wonder why?

(The formatting on the review is all sorts of effed up, too, because the site doesn't like my Mac).

Posted by The Winchester at August 9, 2007 8:14 PM

comment #29

T. Holly says ...

Relax mon, I was mostly trying to get you to comment on life in the Bu. Hey, Once is playing in Westlake, at the Regency Village Twin. We'll see what changes tomorrow.

Winchester, quit hiding "The Dude."

Dawg, you need jesse's help to explain the muscical part -- it'll do ya good to know.

Posted by T. Holly at August 9, 2007 8:44 PM

comment #30

Chicago48 says ...

I had a pass to a free screening and passed on it...why? The TITLE - ONCE ... huh? Doesn't tell me anything. Then I went to Rottentomatoe to find out what it was about and honestly, it seemed to be a big snore...no names...and a musical from Ireland? Oh no, not me.

This is going to be a hard sell. I suggest they release the songs from the soundtrack first before they release the movie, and then -- change the title please!

Posted by Chicago48 at August 10, 2007 7:52 AM

comment #31