Trailers that spoil movies

(original article from http://uk.movies.yahoo.com)


We all know modern day comedy trailers show all the funny bits (just look at 'The Hangover's Mike Tyson cameo), while summer blockbuster promos are filled with all the best action sequences in the movie.
But what about those trailers that give away the ending too?
Infuriating and pointless – here are the worst offenders:

Free Willy
When you have a film that's central question is 'Can a young boy free a whale in captivity?' do you really need to see the actual rescue and money shot (Whale jumping over the young boy on his way to freedom)? The marketing team did, closing the trailer with it and plastering it on the posters.
It's not like we expected him to fail, what with it being a family film and all – but it would have been nice if we hadn't seen the ending before we watched the movie.
Watch the trailer

Carrie
There are lots of ways to get an audience interested in a film about a bullied girl with telekinesis powers who finally snaps after she is covered in pig blood at her prom. You could hint at her powers and the constant threat from both her classmates and her unhinged mother, creating an unsettling atmosphere that you know can only end one way – bad. Or you could just show pretty much all the main scenes from the move, ending the trailer with a bloodied Carrie walking out of the burning school after we see glimpses of her rampage!
At least they didn't include the film's famous shock ending though.
Watch the trailer

Termination Salvation
One of the main plot points of 'Terminator Salvation' focused on Sam Worthington's death row inmate character, who finds himself reawakened in the post apocalyptic world. Found by the human resistance, they, and he, are stunned to find that he is in fact a terminator.
It would have been a neat twist, and something different in the series.
Inexplicably, one of the film's trailers doesn't just hint at the twist, they show Worthington's entire character development during the film.
Watch the trailer

Cast Away
Until a certain point 'Cast Away's trailer is perfectly serviceable – it sets up Tom Hank's middle class character and his relationship with his wife, played by Helen Hunt. We see his plane crashing, and his subsequent escape to a desert island. We see the clumsy rotund man transform into a skinny and bearded adept hunter.
All perfectly fine. Why the marketing bods felt we also needed to see him being rescued and then meet up with his wife (it's also hinted that certain people have moved on since his disappearance), we'll never know.
While the film was still a hit, nothing would have been a surprise if you had seen the trailer.
Watch the trailer

What Lies Beneath
Robert Zemeckis shot 'What Lies Beneath' in between the filming of 'Cast Away' to give Tom Hanks enough time to lose weight for the island parts. And like 'Cast Away', the promo of 'What Lies Beneath' is incredibly spoiler heavy. The premise of Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer living in a haunted house should have been more than enough to pack in an audience. Throw in a few scares, a billowing curtain every once in a while and it should pique people's interest. But no, they had to reveal several key plot twists, including who the ghost is.
Watch the trailer

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
While there are legions of 'LOTR' fans, the first movie drew in not just avid readers of the books but a whole new audience. So why did the film's bosses decide to show a scene of Gandalf in the promo for the follow up.
Surely the return of a character previously thought dead should be saved for the actual movie?
Watch the trailer

The Negotiator
The trailer for this 1998 hostage film really did reveal every plot point in the film – including the twist that the two rival negotiators, played by Samuel L Jackson and Kevin Spacey, team up together at the end.
Watch the trailer

The Sum of All Fears
What was great about Tom Clancy's book was that the tired old plot of 'trying to stop a bomb going off in a major city' was given a fresh twist by having the actual bomb go off, resulting in the aftermath being the film's main storyline.
It was a ballsy move. Unfortunately, what could have been a great twist for cinemagoers was ruined when the entire story was mapped out in the trailer.
Watch the trailer

Top 10 craziest movie twist endings

(original article from http://uk.movies.yahoo.com)

There’s nothing like a twist at the end of a film to get people talking about it, is there? Even if it can be an all-too-familiar and often lazy device from movie-makers at times. But let’s leave all the ‘OMG! You mean it was all just a dream?!’ rubbish-ending DVDs nestling unbought in the 24 hour petrol station’s big white wire discount bin - along with the ice scrapers and shop-damaged Creme Eggs - and celebrate ten of the truly great (and truly crazy) movie endings that you never saw coming...


‘The Usual Suspects’ - 1995
The Twist: Verbal Kint’s entire story to the police was a lie and he himself is the legendary crime lord, Keyser Söze...
Why it was surprising: Limpy, weak Verbal (Kevin Spacey) is routinely bullied and barracked throughout the film and Söze’s such a petrifying criminal mastermind, he makes Blofeld look like Garfield.

‘Se7en' - 1995
The Twist: "What's in the box?! What's in the box?!" Screams Det. Mills (Brad Pitt) to serial killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey). Oh. It's Mills' pregnant wife's head (awk-ward...!). So Mills shoots him.
Why it was surprising: We knew we still had the sixth and seventh victims to go, but noone expected a beheaded Gywneth Paltrow, did they...?

‘The Mist’ - 2007
The Twist: Convinced there are no survivors of the attack by the other-worldly tentacle-y monsters and facing certain death, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) shoots his three passengers - including his eight-year-old son in a mercy killing. He gets out of the car to discover... soldiers. A rescue mission had been successful - they’d all have survived...
Why it was surprising: While it’s a very good sci-fi thriller and not the most uplifting, nothing could prepare you for an ending as bleak and jarring as this one. Shocking stuff.

[See also: Most bizarre films ever]

‘The Sixth Sense’ - 1999
The Twist: Dr. Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a ghost...!
Why it was surprising: When you watch one of director M. Night Shyamalan’s movies now you expect a twist at the end (if you can get that far - his films really are terrible nowadays). This was his breakthrough picture though and no one was expecting such a huge reveal at the end (a bit like in ‘Boogie Nights’...).

‘Fight Club’ - 1999
The Twist: Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is the subconscious alter-ego of our nameless narrator/hero (Edward Norton)...
Why it was surprising: You’re so caught up in the stylised appearance, snappy script and visceral violence, your brain barely has room for anything else and then BAM!

‘Memento’ - 2000
The Twist: Leonard (Guy Pearce) knows that Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) didn’t kill his wife, yet he sets it up so that he’ll think he did anyway...
Why it was surprising: It was only really surprising if you could keep up with the delicately intricate plot, which was told in reverse order. A real melon-twister of a mind-bender.

‘Planet of the Apes’ - 1968
The Twist: Astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) sees a blown-up Statue of Liberty on the mystery planet run by those ‘Goddamn dirty apes’ and realises he’s actually on Earth, but in the future...
Why it was surprising: You didn’t get many endings like that back then, although it’s not that surprising now. Especially if you watched it on DVD and even briefly glanced at the cover - a cover which has a huge picture of the Statue of Liberty on it!

[See also: Apes from new 'Planet' film revealed]

‘The Crying Game’ - 1992
The Twist: She’s a man...!
Why it was surprising: Like the contents of of his underwear, Dil (Jaye Davidson)’s identity was pretty well hidden throughout the film. It was a ‘reveal’ also seen with Lt. ‘Lois’ Einhorn in ‘Ace Ventura: Pet Detective’ a few years later.

‘Chinatown’ - 1974
The Twist: Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway)’s daughter is also her sister...
Why it was surprising: Incest isn’t the kind of subject normally dealt with in Oscar-winning films, is it?

‘Psycho’ - 1960
The Twist: Murderous motelier Norman Bates’ (Anthony Perkins) over-bearing mother is long dead. He was talking to himself all along...
Why it was surprising: Director Alfred Hitchcock loved a twist ending, but even so - themes and imagery this shocking and creepy (Hello, Mother’s wig-wearing skeleton!) were pretty rare five decades ago.

There’s no surprise incest, mental illness or hidden packages ending to this feature though readers (sorry). Just a question:

What are your favourite twist endings?

Miramax in talks with Netflix, Google, Hulu, others for digital distribution deal

(ORIGINAL ARTICLE FROM http://latimesblogs.latimes.com)

March 25, 2011 | 6:07 pm

Independent film studio Miramax is in licensing talks with Netflix and other video services -- including Amazon, Hulu and Google -- to distribute its 700-film library online, according to a person familiar with the matter.

No agreement has been reached, however the terms for any deal would likely exceed $100 million, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about negotiations.

As the rivalry among online video services grows more intense, competitors are vying with one another to secure valuable content. The Miramax library is an obvious plum, with such recognizable titles as "Pulp Fiction," "Chicago" and "Good Will Hunting."

When he took the post running the independent studio in December, Miramax Chief Executive Mike Lang said signing a digital distribution agreement was a top priority.

Spokeswomen for Miramax, Hulu and Amazon declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Google Inc. Officials for Netflix did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Miramax is owned by a consortium of private investors led by construction magnate Ron Tutor and private equity firm Colony Capital, which last year paid $660 million to acquire the company and its library from Walt Disney Co.

The Netflix talks were originaly reported Friday by the Wall Street Journal.

-- Dawn C. Chmielewski and Ben Fritz

Removing "Add To DVD Queue" From Streaming Device

(from http://blog.netflix.com)


Hi there, it’s Jamie Odell, director of product management at Netflix, with an update for members who add DVDs to their Queue from the device they use to watch instantly. We’re removing the “Add to DVD Queue” option from streaming devices. We’re doing this so we can concentrate on offering you the titles that are available to watch instantly. Further, providing the option to add a DVD to your Queue from a streaming device complicates the instant watching experience and ties up resources that are better used to improve the overall streaming functionality. This change does not impact the Netflix Web site, where most members manage their DVD Queues.

Netflix Enrages Subscribers By Limiting DVD Queue

(original article from http://paidcontent.org/ )

Andrew Wallenstein
@awallenstein 

Converting to a streaming-only business isn’t easy, as Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) discovered Monday when the company’s blog was bombarded by complaints over its decision to remove the ability to add to DVD queues from connected devices.
Jamie O’Dell, director of product management at Netflix, may want to get an intern to start his car tomorrow after offering the following gem of corporate gobbledygook on the Netflix blog:

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We’re doing this so we can concentrate on offering you the titles that are available to watch instantly. Further, providing the option to add a DVD to your Queue from a streaming device complicates the instant watching experience and ties up resources that are better used to improve the overall streaming functionality.

Though the ‘Add to DVD Queue’ option will still be available at Netflix.com, that didn’t stop hundreds from voicing considerable displeasure that they can’t use everything from their iPhone to their PS3 to manage their queue.
“With all sorts of streaming devices out there the computer is becoming more and more obsolete, this seems like a step backwards,” noted one concerned sub named Luke.
Raged another sub named Hal, “Sorry Netflix, I love you but this is idiotic. Hire some developers that know who has the premium accounts and who just has streaming access. It should all go by log in. This is a dumb move.”
What many subscribers called out Netflix on was its gradual dismantling of its disc business as more and more of its video delivery gets devoted to streaming. With its recently altered subscription model clearly steering customers toward digital-only delivery, Netflix is forced to undergo the painful process of alienating the core customer base that may still want to hang onto discs and don’t want to be weaned off. “When the optical media goes, so do I,” pledged Jason.
Netflix needs to proceed with great caution in how it unwinds its disc business or risk losing a chunk of the subscribers on which it built its booming empire. The company would have probably been better off figuring just what new functionality they were going to bestow on their subscribers once they “untied” resources, but it’s too late to un-ring that bell.

Netflix Is Abandoning DVDs, Customers Who Prefer DVDs

(original article http://blog.movies.yahoo.com)

by: Tim Grierson

When Netflix started up more than 10 years ago, its sales pitch was pretty simple: Hey, subscribe to us, and we'll mail you DVDs that you can then mail back to us without worrying about any late fees. But as the rental market moves toward online and on-demand models, Netflix's iconic red envelopes may eventually become as antiquated as VHS tapes. Beefing up their streaming business, Netflix has predicted that in about two years their economics will be geared more toward their "Watch Instantly" service than through physical discs. For that to happen, Netflix will have to nudge their DVD-loyal customers to the new platform. And on Monday, the company learned just how hard that may be.
In a seemingly innocent 109-word blog post, Netflix director of product management Jamie Odell announced, "We're removing the 'Add to DVD Queue' option from streaming devices," suggesting that it was being done so that the company "can concentrate on offering you the titles that are available to watch instantly." Granted, the Netflix website still allows DVD queue updating, but this post, dropped on the morning of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, created an immediate firestorm of comments -- most of them very, very angry.
"Clearly Netflix wants to send less discs through the mail, and therefore wants to make it more difficult for the user to add to their queue in furtherance of that," wrote "Eldendor." "Horrible idea!" wrote "usrbingeek." "Especially when there are still few titles available for streaming and the titles that you do have, seem to have very narrow license windows." On and on came the complaints, with most responders saying essentially (1) I like having access to DVDs even if I use a PS3 or mobile phone to stream movies on Netflix; and (2) there aren't enough good titles available on "Watch Instantly." "I think this is a totally foolish move on your part. I like to be able to add movies to my DVD queue from my iPhone," commented "b.dsign."  "[I]f this means that netflix is going to add more movies to watch instantly i support the change," "Beto" wrote, "but if they are not, then it's just a bad idea."
As of yet Netflix hasn't released any response, which, really, is their response. Whether customers like or not, Netflix knows that the future is moving away from physical discs and toward instant access. And, really, none of us who use Netflix should be surprised: Back in November the company announced that they were offering a new lower subscription rate for streaming-only customers while increasing the rate for people who still wanted DVDs. Right now, if you want DVDs from Netflix, the company is less than thrilled with you: They need you to get used to the idea of streaming films and TV shows so that you'll drop the physical disc habit: a craving, ironically, that they themselves created thanks to the ease of their iconic red envelopes.
But while Netflix is slowly discouraging the continued interest in DVDs, they face a different challenge even if their business model transformation succeeds. As Slate reported, if Netflix's streaming business takes off the way they think it will, it could prove a serious drain on America's broadband capacity, which is far less nimble than other countries'. Netflix is angering customers right now because the company wants to do away with DVDs: We don't even want to think of a future where Netflix angers the entire Internet community because too many people are streaming old episodes of "Friends" at the same time.