Big Teen Push

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"I do think high school kids will relate to this movie and find this movie, but it's very challenging, if not, dare I say it, impossible, to a sell a movie as an art house release to a high school student. We're releasing it as an independent movie. It has a rollout and a relatively small media budget. So we're directing our attention to our sweet spot of those 18-to-24 recent graduates who go to independent cinema." -- Paramount Vantage marketing-publicity vp Megan Colligan, speaking to L.A. Times guy Mark Olsen on how American Teen is being marketed as essentially a teen film and not a doc.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 16, 2008 at 11:53 PM

comment #1

Daniel Tayag says ...

For a title like "American Teen" you'd think that it would be a look at teens of different cultures and races and how their personal, family, and school lives react with each other. The thing is, though, that all the students focused within the film are all white.

Posted by Daniel Tayag at July 17, 2008 1:15 AM

comment #2

otakuhouse says ...

This film is DOA. They need to convince those early 20s arthouse cinemagoers that this is something more than the kind of crap that now clogs MTV, which their demographic hates because it ruined MTV and subsequently all of television. Tayag is dead on, too.

Posted by otakuhouse at July 17, 2008 1:57 AM

comment #3

Armin Tamzarian says ...

Haven't seen the film, but seems to me like something that should be sold to an older crowd. As a teenager, I don't think I'd have been interested in dropping $8-10 on a doc about my peers, especially if I could be seeing DARK KNIGHT.

Posted by Armin Tamzarian at July 17, 2008 10:17 AM

comment #4

Armin Tamzarian says ...

ach, should have written "As a teenager, or someone who had just lived those years..."

That "sweet spot" they're after is a small target, even when you're not peddling something that feels like a cross between medicine and television (see RJ Cutler's fantastic "American High" series)

Posted by Armin Tamzarian at July 17, 2008 10:23 AM

comment #5

Jack Price says ...

I understand that over 1200 hours of footage were filmed over the course of one year, and originally 16 different students were followed which then became edited down to 4/5 main stories. So on that level, I really respect the amount of dedication that the filmmakers put into this. And in other ways, I was blown away that the filmmakers actually had the level of access they did, even into some pretty fiery parent/kid arguments. It's got merit on those grounds alone.

However, the actual film itself really turned me off in a big way. I don't think the comparisons to Laguna Beach or MTV's "Made" are that far off. It was definitely one of the more manipulative documentaries I've seen; a documentary that truly wants to perform the same way a narrative fiction would. Just being able to talk with the "American Teens" afterward, I got the sense that a lot was left in the editing bay that could have really enlightened their situations, but instead they were painted in a more "black/white" light just to boost up the drama.

Anyone else seen this and feel similarly (or differently for that matter)?

Posted by Jack Price at July 17, 2008 12:12 PM

comment #6

D.Z. says ...

I think the real problem is the kids look and act average, and don't seem like good focal points for a movie.

Posted by D.Z. at July 17, 2008 3:58 PM

comment #7

janee says ...

Si vous etes interesses par le dossier, ou desirez en savoir plus, contactez-moi par mail, et je vous mettrai en contact.
Best regards,Jane, CEO of high availability cluster

Posted by janee at May 17, 2011 6:48 AM

comment #8