QotD movie FAQ part 11
Feb. 4th, 2012 07:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forgottenbennetON PROMOTION AND MARKETING FOR QUEEN OF THE DAMNED
I look forward to further correspondence, Vampvan. You and Debra should know that the "secrecy" or lack of interest that you seemingly encountered with Warner Bros. regarding QUEEN was neither, but rather the absolutely typical studio attitude to early promotion, or most promotion for that matter that is not being steered by them. This is usually not a problem, because there is rarely that much early interest in film projects. QUEEN is obviously an exception; I'm sure the same is true of LORD OF THE RINGS. All studios have something to learn from sites like yours, which is that they are already of great help in promoting interest in a film, and could do so much more with some official cooperation. They are learning, but it's a slow education.
QUEEN is being promoted at roughly the same rate and pace as most movies. However, I can definitely see why it would seem late to CHRONICLES fans! I hope we make up for it.
I had a conversation with Don Buckley, the WB executive in charge of all their sites, and he agreed that the effect of fans who post is exponential — in effect, they represent more than one movie ticket each (and not just because they're more likely to be repeat customers). It stands to reason that — as you suggest — the sooner and more often you reach them, the greater that exponential number will be.
Aaliyah's death obviously affects our marketing, but we are confident that we will make its existence clear to her present and future fans. The other actors, for example, will still be able to promote the movie. Is it the same? No, it's not. On a lot of levels.
We don't want to give away everything that is planned in terms of promotion, between now, the movie's opening, or (hint) afterward. I hope you understand. We'll look into the possibility of getting some of the actors to join in (on the official website), but it's unlikely, given their schedules and/or lack of net-connectedness!
Rated "R" for Vampire Violence
You are right in saying that WB would make a lot more money if this movie were rated PG-13. That in itself is the best answer to those who think the movie is a sell-out. We left it as an R because that was the only way for us to capture what we felt was critical: the extreme passions and atmosphere of the novels.
Is QUEEN OF THE DAMNED a Teen Movie?
Have we made a "teeny-oriented" movie with QUEEN, as opposed to INTERVIEW? While there have been many opinions posted about this, no one has ever asked me that question, until now. According to WB Marketing, the core audience for INTERVIEW was young women, and they were largely drawn to the movie by the hunks it featured. Does that make INTERVIEW a teen movie? Your call. QUEEN is rated R, which makes it hard to gain a teen audience, especially now that advertising for R-rated movies is restricted on MTV. Our story is sexy, but not in a graphic way. Like INTERVIEW, it is not campy. It is much more dense and complicated than INTERVIEW. It features precisely one person who was an existing teen draw: Aaliyah. So while it contains the rock music and vampire violence of the novel, there is not a lot here that could be seen as aimed at a younger audience than INTERVIEW. The exception might be the star-crossed romance between Lestat and Jesse, which is not in the novel. Jesse and Lestat are both in their twenties in our story. Does this romance make QUEEN a teen movie? I would ask, is ROMEO & JULIET a teen story? So, in conclusion, I would say that QUEEN is a demanding movie with a large amount of elements that appeal to women, a reasonable amount of action that appeals to men, and enough Anne Rice detail to (I pray) not drive her loyal fans bonkers.
As I have written elsewhere, this movie is rated R, which bans anyone under the age of 17 without a parent. That doesn't sound like very good marketing for a teen movie to me. You also say that the movie is going to be "very sexually driven" — which it's not — but then complain that it doesn't have more of a homosexual element. That seems inconsistent to me. You presume that we have shortshrifted the homosexuality in this movie because of ratings, ignoring the fact that our R rating could handle all the homosexuality someone who doesn't want a very sexually driven movie would want. The reason why there's not much homosexual feelings is because there's precious little homosexual activity in the novel. If there's one being who Lestat lusts for in the novel, it's Akasha. Again, what you seem to want is a movie that will give you everything you like about the CHRONICLES. I don't think that's ever going to happen.
I look forward to further correspondence, Vampvan. You and Debra should know that the "secrecy" or lack of interest that you seemingly encountered with Warner Bros. regarding QUEEN was neither, but rather the absolutely typical studio attitude to early promotion, or most promotion for that matter that is not being steered by them. This is usually not a problem, because there is rarely that much early interest in film projects. QUEEN is obviously an exception; I'm sure the same is true of LORD OF THE RINGS. All studios have something to learn from sites like yours, which is that they are already of great help in promoting interest in a film, and could do so much more with some official cooperation. They are learning, but it's a slow education.
QUEEN is being promoted at roughly the same rate and pace as most movies. However, I can definitely see why it would seem late to CHRONICLES fans! I hope we make up for it.
I had a conversation with Don Buckley, the WB executive in charge of all their sites, and he agreed that the effect of fans who post is exponential — in effect, they represent more than one movie ticket each (and not just because they're more likely to be repeat customers). It stands to reason that — as you suggest — the sooner and more often you reach them, the greater that exponential number will be.
Aaliyah's death obviously affects our marketing, but we are confident that we will make its existence clear to her present and future fans. The other actors, for example, will still be able to promote the movie. Is it the same? No, it's not. On a lot of levels.
We don't want to give away everything that is planned in terms of promotion, between now, the movie's opening, or (hint) afterward. I hope you understand. We'll look into the possibility of getting some of the actors to join in (on the official website), but it's unlikely, given their schedules and/or lack of net-connectedness!
Rated "R" for Vampire Violence
You are right in saying that WB would make a lot more money if this movie were rated PG-13. That in itself is the best answer to those who think the movie is a sell-out. We left it as an R because that was the only way for us to capture what we felt was critical: the extreme passions and atmosphere of the novels.
Is QUEEN OF THE DAMNED a Teen Movie?
Have we made a "teeny-oriented" movie with QUEEN, as opposed to INTERVIEW? While there have been many opinions posted about this, no one has ever asked me that question, until now. According to WB Marketing, the core audience for INTERVIEW was young women, and they were largely drawn to the movie by the hunks it featured. Does that make INTERVIEW a teen movie? Your call. QUEEN is rated R, which makes it hard to gain a teen audience, especially now that advertising for R-rated movies is restricted on MTV. Our story is sexy, but not in a graphic way. Like INTERVIEW, it is not campy. It is much more dense and complicated than INTERVIEW. It features precisely one person who was an existing teen draw: Aaliyah. So while it contains the rock music and vampire violence of the novel, there is not a lot here that could be seen as aimed at a younger audience than INTERVIEW. The exception might be the star-crossed romance between Lestat and Jesse, which is not in the novel. Jesse and Lestat are both in their twenties in our story. Does this romance make QUEEN a teen movie? I would ask, is ROMEO & JULIET a teen story? So, in conclusion, I would say that QUEEN is a demanding movie with a large amount of elements that appeal to women, a reasonable amount of action that appeals to men, and enough Anne Rice detail to (I pray) not drive her loyal fans bonkers.
As I have written elsewhere, this movie is rated R, which bans anyone under the age of 17 without a parent. That doesn't sound like very good marketing for a teen movie to me. You also say that the movie is going to be "very sexually driven" — which it's not — but then complain that it doesn't have more of a homosexual element. That seems inconsistent to me. You presume that we have shortshrifted the homosexuality in this movie because of ratings, ignoring the fact that our R rating could handle all the homosexuality someone who doesn't want a very sexually driven movie would want. The reason why there's not much homosexual feelings is because there's precious little homosexual activity in the novel. If there's one being who Lestat lusts for in the novel, it's Akasha. Again, what you seem to want is a movie that will give you everything you like about the CHRONICLES. I don't think that's ever going to happen.
