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San Francisco, 10:55 AM
Thu Dec 17
25 posts in the last 24 hours

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    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of FunkyJ FunkyJ
    11/08/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    It's about how Megan Fox is a monster, not eye candy

    So, a documentary, then? #jennifersbody
     Reply
    FunkyJ was starred FunkyJ was unstarred
    Image of lukeoneil47 lukeoneil47
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    Just got finished reading the post where everyone complains about the marketing for The Fourth Kind, now we're all mad at the marketing for this film too? These are commercials we're talking about here still, right? I know they do play a role in the way people consume media to an extent, but it really has nothing to do with the thing itself. The people who make the two -- the film etc and the marketing -- often have competing goals, don't interact, don't share the same artistic mindset etc. Since when did this become sci fi Adbusters over here? #jennifersbody
     Reply
    lukeoneil47 was starred lukeoneil47 was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    In any case, it's more than a little disgenuous to talk about how this movie was sold, considering that Io9 cheerfully played up the sexy aspects of the movie.

    The movies that have been surprise successes this year - District 9, Zombieland, Paranormal Activity, even Where The Wild Things Are - have one thing in common: pitch-perfect trailers. I agree that the material for jennifer's Body did not make me want to see it. But I don't know if selling it as Heathers with gore would have been any better. You can't make a cult movie on purpose, #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of tammygarrison tammygarrison
    11/04/09

    @Wookie1972: You know, this movie SHOULD have appealed to women. It is, in part, a revenge fantasy. But I wasn't getting that from the advertising. It should have appealed the way Heathers appealed. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    tammygarrison was starred tammygarrison was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/05/09

    @tammygarrison: I guess my point about Heathers was that it's very, very difficult to promote a movie as a cult movie, if not impossible. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    Gwendoline and the Yik Yak -- haven't seen that in years! Ah, memories.

    Pretty sure I enjoyed it more than I'd like this movie, though. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was starred Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
    Image of Makidian Makidian
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    If Megan Fox wasn't such a bad actress the movie would have been much better, but I would hardly call it smart. It was barely a horror movie, every time she killed a boy it would move away, the movie should have been PG-13 for not having nearly enough blood and guts. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Makidian was starred Makidian was unstarred
    Image of DRaGZ DRaGZ
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    Annalee.

    "Jennifer's Body" is not smart. Not at all. It's plot is contrived and boring, the character interactions are bland, and many scenes are random and uninteresting. It's not weird either, in fact it's all pretty much stuff we've seen in one way or another combined with "Diablo Cody's" annoying way of writing banter.

    Jennifer's Body is a failure because it is a bad movie, no amount of proper marketing would have changed that. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment DRaGZ was starred DRaGZ was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/04/09

    @DRaGZ: I love how you put "Diablo Cody" is quotes, because to me she is very much a product of marketing. Can I borrow that? #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz
    11/04/09

    @DRaGZ: It was a smart B-movie. Had a subtext and used it well. I'm not saying it's a masterpiece of cinema, but it was better than most horror junk like Fourth Kind. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz was starred Annalee Newitz was unstarred
    Image of Pants McCracky Pants McCracky
    11/05/09

    @Annalee Newitz: Maybe the key word here is "B-movie." B-movies by definition are not designed to be blockbuster hits. I wonder if the fact that a few recent B-movies have broken through and become mainstream hits has obscured the fact that most movies of this type aren't huge moneymakers and unfairly raised our expectations.

    Reading this post made me think of the 2003 movie May, one of my favorite examples of what one might call "alt-horror." (JB seems to fit in that category as well.) A well-made, well-acted, smart little horror flick (with subtext!) that grossed...$150,000. By that measure, a $16m take doesn't seem so awful.

    I just don't know that JB necessarily should have done better than it did. I mean, any more so than any number of awesome movies that don't become sleeper hits. From what I'm seeing, more than a few people who like the kind of movie JB is, didn't like JB, so maybe it was a perfectly OK movie that just didn't achieve the critical mass of word of mouth or reviews to become a mainstream hit or cult darling. As another commenter pointed out, you can't manufacture a cult movie. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Pants McCracky was starred Pants McCracky was unstarred
    Image of DRaGZ DRaGZ
    11/05/09

    @Annalee Newitz: At least Fourth Kind was a much better concept (albeit still not that original and falling more than flat on its face due to terrible execution).

    B-Movies don't become cult hits because they have good concepts or good plots. It's all about the moments and the execution, which Jennifer's Body just couldn't deliver.

    @Wookie1972: Go for it, although I only did it because I don't like pen names that were made for catching attention, which is contrary to the actual purpose of pen names which were to hide or obscure identities.

    I think "Diablo Cody" CAN write good films, if a bit annoying due to dialogue, but, like any starting writer, it needs to have at least some personal investment, whether it's based on things you've done or you truly believe in the concept because you love it. This is why "Juno" worked, because it was probably at least partially drawn from the writer's own experiences. "Jennifer's Body"'s writing just reeked of "okay, I just crapped this out, who cares how it flows or if a scene is necessary or not, here ya go" attitude.
     Reply
    Edited by DRaGZ at 11/05/09 11:56 AM DRaGZ was starred DRaGZ was unstarred
    Image of tbrunner tbrunner
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    Can't imagine a cover design that would actually get me to see this movie. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment tbrunner was starred tbrunner was unstarred
    Image of Jes St.Lawrence Jes St.Lawrence
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    "Seems like FOX is still riding the clueless train ..."

    Does the name of the day end in "y"? #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Jes St.Lawrence was starred Jes St.Lawrence was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    I'm sorry, but I call into question the entire concept of this and the previous article. It claimed that more women than men watch horror movies. Now, I have asked several women who are hardcore moviegoers in general and genre film fans in particular if they were going to see Paranormal Activity, a relatively mild (in terms of gore, anyway) horror movie. To a person they said they "don't like that kind of movie." I realize that this is an unscientific survey that I'm doing, but it seems to me that the female audience for horror movies is being greatly exagerrated here. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of burlybax burlybax
    11/04/09

    @Wookie1972: I think the point was that the movie itself was more of a woman's tale.. Not necessarily that more women watch horror movies... #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 promoted this comment burlybax was starred burlybax was unstarred
    Image of Shaftoe Shaftoe
    11/04/09

    @Wookie1972: I disagree my own anecdotal experience says otherwise #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 promoted this comment Shaftoe was starred Shaftoe was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/04/09

    @burlybax: I was referring to the previous article ("did stupid marketing kill Jennifer's Body?"), and, actually, it said that very thing, It based it on statistics about five movies and some anecdotal evidence, and was not very convincing, IMHO. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of burlybax burlybax
    11/04/09

    @Wookie1972: I read the same article, and I think the facts about women and scary movies was being used to back up her point that the movie was aimed at women, and therefore poorly marketed. No offense, but I would take her statistics over the asked some friends method.. May be exaggerated, but still, I think her intentions were to point out that the movie is more relatable for women.. That was just my take.. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    burlybax was starred burlybax was unstarred
    Image of Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz
    11/04/09

    @Wookie1972: The statistics I referenced were from an analysis of gender and actual box office receipts, which was reported in Entertainment Weekly (I provided a link to that article in my post). #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz was starred Annalee Newitz was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/04/09

    @Annalee Newitz: Again, however, the article only cites three movies (The Grudge, The Ring 2, and Exorcism of Emily Rose) with female leads, and provides only anecdotal evidence about the others. It hardly warrants the idea that horror is a genre where the audeince is predominately female. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/04/09

    @burlybax: Quoth Annalee:

    "If the marketing droids at Fox had just been smart enough to realize that the movie was aimed at women - not unlike most horror movies"

    I still say that's questionable. And I freely admit that my own survey was unscientific. But the fact is that I've known more women to reject horror movies out of hand, and more men to be the first in line when the latest Saw comes out. (Heck, one girl who has a serious love of zombies said that she didn't like horror movies). I think the idea that somehow it's a no-brainer that horror is a genre with a mostly female audience is, well, pushing it. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Mann42 Mann42
    11/04/09

    @Wookie1972: I just want to say that when I ask my own female friends about horror movies, all but one love the genre, and two of them actually prefer the horror genre over any other.

    Does that mean my anecdotal, non-evidence based experiences nullify your own anecdotal, non-evidence based experiences?

    Horray for mindlessly "proving" your point by asking your friends as opposed to using statistical samples and surveys. I think I'll trust actual data over your anecdotal rantings. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 promoted this comment Mann42 was starred Mann42 was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/04/09

    @Mann42: And again, I point out, the original article referred to a sample of exactly FOUR FILMS. Three of which had female leads (I dunno, does Jessica Biel count for Texas Chainsaw Massacre). The original article could not exactly be called statistically valid. In any case, the article was about how it was a surprise that women watch horror movies. It seems churlish to say "stupid marketers, everybody knows more women watch horror movies." #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of Wookie1972 Wookie1972
    11/04/09

    @Shaftoe: As it seems for a lot of people, which is why I admitted it was unscientific. My point was that the somehow common knowledge that more women watch horror movies seems to be... less than common.

    I'm not completely surprised if it's true. I work at a bookstore and the readership of true crime books is definitely more female. My point was that 1) the statistics quoted in the article seemed a little inconclusive and 2) in any case, it's hardly common knowledge. Maybe marketing people sh0uld know better, but i don't know for sure. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Wookie1972 was starred Wookie1972 was unstarred
    Image of reaper2k reaper2k
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    "what happens when BFF goes WTF"

    This may be my new favorite phrase.
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz promoted this comment Edited by reaper2k at 11/04/09 1:38 PM reaper2k was starred reaper2k was unstarred
    Image of gorehound gorehound
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    you forgot to mention the old staple of wacky scifi nakedness..............
    Flesh gordon #jennifersbody
     Reply
    gorehound was starred gorehound was unstarred
    Image of u_nick u_nick
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    I dont get the complaint here. Fox is in the movie correct? And she's one of the main characters? And a monster? And at some point in a cheerleading uniform? And I'm guessing at some point in the movie, noted as the 'sexy' chick?

    There's that old poster of Star Wars, with Luke standing on a little hill, muscular chest exposed, holding his light saber He-Man-style over his head, while Leia poses near his leg incredibly sexy looking with a slit in her dress all the way up to her waistline. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this never happened in Star Wars. Yet it's considered one of the most iconic images of all time in the franchise.

    So Fox here, being a monster in a cheerleader outfit is technically MORE representative of this movie than one of the most iconic Star Wars images is to that movie.

    I guess it would be better if the DVD cover was just a black and white text dissertation on the awkwardness of friendship between high school girls? #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Dirk Anger promoted this comment u_nick was starred u_nick was unstarred
    Image of Dirk Anger Dirk Anger
    11/04/09

    @u_nick: You haven't said one thing that isn't true, yet you miss the point: It's not the 70s anymore #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Dirk Anger was starred Dirk Anger was unstarred
    Image of cylon_conspiracy cylon_conspiracy
    11/04/09

    @Dirk Anger: People like boobs today just as much as they did in the 70s. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Dirk Anger promoted this comment cylon_conspiracy was starred cylon_conspiracy was unstarred
    Image of inabook inabook
    11/04/09

    @u_nick: The problem isn't the sexual content in and of itself, its that the sexy pic is misrepresenting what the movie is about. Which is girls bitching at each other and fighting about who needs who, essentially. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    inabook was starred inabook was unstarred
    Image of Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz
    11/04/09

    @u_nick: Actually it would be better for the Star Wars poster to depict Luke in a skin-tight outfit slit down to his crotch. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz was starred Annalee Newitz was unstarred
    Image of Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz
    11/04/09

    @inabook: Exactly. I like sexy pinups as much as the next person. But the movie isn't about Megan Fox being a pinup. It's about her being raped and murdered, and then returning from the dead to eat people. Not very sexy. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Annalee Newitz was starred Annalee Newitz was unstarred
    Image of Dirk Anger Dirk Anger
    11/04/09

    @cylon_conspiracy: Indeed, but nowadays you have to be somewhat (not very) subtle in order to use them to sell anything that's not boob related, because a) feminists would be all over you and b) information is more readily available and people know it when that happens. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Dirk Anger was starred Dirk Anger was unstarred
    Image of cylon_conspiracy cylon_conspiracy
    11/04/09

    @Annalee Newitz: You'd be surprised at what some people deem "sexy".
     Reply
    Edited by cylon_conspiracy at 11/04/09 3:29 PM cylon_conspiracy was starred cylon_conspiracy was unstarred
    Image of cylon_conspiracy cylon_conspiracy
    11/04/09

    @cylon_conspiracy: Holy crap I got starred! #jennifersbody
     Reply
    cylon_conspiracy was starred cylon_conspiracy was unstarred
    Image of bakana bakana
    11/04/09

    @inabook: Which doesn't disagree at all with what the OP said. Unless you think the sexy StarWars poster is really really accurately representing A New Hope... #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H. promoted this comment bakana was starred bakana was unstarred
    Image of MsFeasance MsFeasance
    11/05/09

    @Annalee Newitz: If they either featured Amanda Seyfried on the cover (arguably the real main character, although I can't really think of a shot in the film where she looks heroic after slaying the monster), or showed Megan Fox in full long-toothed monster mode, I think the cover would've been better, but it may also have to do with Megan Fox not wanting to be depicted in that pose on hundreds of DVD covers everywhere. I really wish they'd gone with more subtle object-based marketing, like Teeth did with the every rose has its thorn marketing ads, rather than continuing the nationwide trend of objectifying Megan Fox. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    MsFeasance was starred MsFeasance was unstarred
    Image of Dr Emilio Lizardo Dr Emilio Lizardo
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    Perils of gwendolyn was awesome when I was a teenager. And I do believe this is the second time Tawny Kitaen has indirectly surfaced today. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Dr Emilio Lizardo was starred Dr Emilio Lizardo was unstarred
    Image of John John
    11/05/09

    @Dr Emilio Lizardo: Same here. Parents didn't have a clue when they rented it, and then went bowling and left my brother and I to watch it. WOW. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    SJ_Edwards promoted this comment John was starred John was unstarred
    Image of AngriestGeek AngriestGeek
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    It's called "Maybe we can still get those suckers with this marketing the way we didn't get them with theatrical marketing. See, the 'unrated' is going to make them think there's sex!"

    And I maintain it failed because it failed as a genre picture, not because of bad marketing. Teeth followed the genre rules better than this did. Not that a film budgeted at $16M that made $16M is that much of a failure.
     Reply
    Edited by AngriestGeek at 11/04/09 1:10 PM AngriestGeek was starred AngriestGeek was unstarred
    Image of TemporalSword TemporalSword
    11/04/09

    In reply to The Cluelessness Continues with "Jennifer's Body" DVD Cover
    Fox. Clueless? No way! #jennifersbody
     Reply
    TemporalSword was starred TemporalSword was unstarred
    Image of Belabras Belabras
    11/04/09

    @TemporalSword:
    I too am shocked to discover gambling in this establishment. #jennifersbody
     Reply
    Belabras was starred Belabras was unstarred
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