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What should Warner Brothers Do With THE IRON GIANT'
I've been hearing all types of interesting rumors about the marketing (or lack thereof) of THE IRON GIANT.... Everything from rumors of orders from the top deck of the studio to not invest in it's success to the marketing department not seeing the movie till three weeks to release. But I've been brushing these off as idle wonderings... Bellyaches and misgivings from those that wished the film the best. But it seems that Brad Ball, President of Ad/Pub at the WB, feels like they let the film down. Well... What to do with this critical gem that audiences loved? Well, pull A LITTLE PRINCESS with this gem. Re-release the film around the holidays with a strong advertising push across the board, heralding it as audiences last chance to see a classic on the screen. Use the amazing quotes from everyone that loves film and get behind this film. Don't drop it. Just because you guys at Warners threw a massive interception in a playoff game doesn't mean you put Elway on the bench... You put him back in... And this movie needs to be taken off the market... A careful campaign with magazines and print ads to build a following. Do a push for a Screenwriting nomination. Do a strong award season campaign. Have WARNER stores push the bejeesus out of the merchandise. BUT GET THE MOVIE BACK OUT THERE FRONT AND CENTER. Of course... That's just my opinion. Meanwhile... All you folks that haven't seen this movie... Go see it while you still can!
Just heard some interesting news on the marketing of
The Iron Giant(or lack there of). Word has it that
someone on the IG crew(not sure who) e-mailed Gerald
M. Levin, whom I'm sure you know is CEO of Time
Warner. The crew member basically said IG was a great
movie, that has been probably the most critically
acclaimed film of the year thus far. So how is it that
a film that should be so easy to sell could have been
so poorly marketed? Believe it or not Mr. Levin
actually e-mailed the person back and said that he
agreed that he thought the Giant was a great movie and
Brad Bird is a great director and that, yes, the
marketing had been
botched but he would defer to Brad Ball president of
Advertising and Publication. He CC'd Brad Ball and
told him to address this person.
I guess that is what he did because in Screen
Cartoonist's Newsletter, The Pegboard, had a bit in it
today that said Brad Ball President of Ad/Pub at
Warner Bros., personally called Brad Bird and
apologized for failing to sell a film that is
acclaimed from Roger Ebert to Dr. Laura Schlessinger,
to even
Howard Stern. In the article it also said that Mr.
Ball said the reason they did not want to invest in
the marketing was due to the Quest For Camelots
failure which I can sympathize with because it was a
terrible film. But, when they made the Wild Wild West
were they not apprehensive on the marketing due to the
failure of the Avengers? Apples and oranges! WB are
you in the filmmaking business or not? Go figure it
out!! So are they really taking responsibilty or is
Brad Ball just fearing for his cush office and expense
account?
If they have taken some responsibility, then why don't
they pull the film and re-market it? Just in case
anyone is intersted in giving their input on this
re-marketing idea, feel free to e-mail Mr. Ball at:
brad_ball@warnerbros.com
Hell if the Disney Machine is smart they should swoop
in and buy it for $30 mill(the remainder WB needs to
recoup) market the hell out of it, and make a freakin'
killing.
Entomologist and Red on the Head out!
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..so you mean all those people i told to go see it didn't help at all?? Really, though, this makes me mad. Boy, Harry, you've just brought a whole bunch of bad news today. Usually I don't post negative posts, but today I think I've already done three! I'm going to e-mail that Brad Ball guy, and get this thing settled!
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First, fire all the marketing staff at Warner Brothers that are responsible for disasters. Swing the sword of Damacles over them. Second, get someone who knows how to market and advertise movies instead of getting paid high salaries for patting each other on the back. Remember, this was the studio that let $20 million dollar man, Mel Gibson go over to Paramount. Also, the ad campaign for "L.A. Confidential" could have been much better. They didn't wise up until later when they started using the european movie poster instead of that stupid, "What is it?", police lights and Ed Exley in a long distance shot pic. You couldn't figure out what this movie was about. It could have made more than $48 million at the b.o. with a better ad campaign. The WB marketers should be forced to work the night shift at a bowling alley or sling hash at the commisary in order to learn some humility.
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....Hey Harry, you're right about
lots of stuff. :^)
It's funny, I go to the local
(Seattle) WB store often, and
haven't seen ANY tie-in product
for the movie. Odd, considering how easy it would be
to adapt into the clean Batman-animated style that is so great.
They studio's actions marketing
this movie are probably going to
be considered one of the 10 blunders of the 90's. -
No one's to blame, it was the system. Sounds like tired excuses. Warner Bros. marketing execs who make dumptruck loads of money to make command decisions didn't push the film because Quest for Camelot failed? What bullshit! For all the money they make to do this, they didn't look at the film or test it to see how it would go over and then make key marketing decisions. Did it fail miserably at test screenings? Is that why they didn't put anything into promoting it? That would be a valid business reason but I doubt it did poorly in testing. Did they even test it? What are they getting paid for then? By their logic since Quest for Camelot failed so they didn't promote Iron Giant then they shouldn't promote any new Warner Bros. films at all since most of their recent films have failed. Hell, by that logic they should shut down the marketing division and all quit. As for the nice idea of a Holiday rerelease, it'll never happen. The studios are run by bottomliners who will just look at the figures for the first week of release and not all the press and decide it's not marketable since it's already failed once. All we can hope for is a push for the video/DVD release and hope a lot of people discover it there. What a shame.
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I don't understand this accusation of no marketing for "Iron Giant". Here in Chicago, for a month before hand, there was a constant stream of commercials, enough that I was getting a little tired of seeing them. In both newspaper's kid sections and weekend movie pages there were "Coming Soon" ads for 2 weeks. And even after the release, every Friday and Sunday, there are still big full page ads with lists of all the shoing theatres.
As far as I could tell, it was marketed just as strongly as any other summer release. At least here in Chicago. -
Aug 27, 1999 7:33:42 AM CDT
The Iron Giant will make money and then some when it is released
by spike lee
Parents need something to put in the vcr and quiet the kids, and Hollywood knows this. I would not be suprised to see more Iron Giant films released directly to video in the future.
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the problem with that attitude is that it perpetuates the myth that animated films are only for children. IG has messages in it and parts of it that are designed for an adult to understand. The film got released with a PG rating for a reason.
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Okay, I do think they advertised this movie here in the Baltimore/Washington area, but not very much. There was no good word of mouth, it was essentially a kiddie movie in most people's opinion. The TV spots were only on kid shows(thank god for Mainframe and Batman/Superman). But "A Little Princess?" Why do people keep pulling that stinker back out as an example of bad advertising? I saw it, the movie was no hidden gem, it was stinking turkey! A better film was "The Secret Garden." And even if the ads for Princess weren't great, the original artwork of the girls dancing in the attick was very attractive--far better than the shitty rerelease still-shot(and THAT's the one that gets on all the videos, dumb second marketing fools)! Iron Giant was a great movie that suffered from American not getting animation. It deserved as much hype as Star Wars, MORE, but remember that the head of WB said he "never got this animation for adults stuff," back when 'Prince of Egypt' was coming out. Warner Bros. is full of shit, and they don't derserve the animation department they have. Fer crying out loud, they vetoed JUSTICE LEAGUE and Kirby's NEW GODS shows by Paul Dini and team! IDIOTS!
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I have to take issue with KS. As a student of theology, I found very little in terms of overtly Christian content.
Now, some folks might be inclined to think of IG consistent with certain expressions of the Christian witness. However, with the theme of "you are what you choose to be" I think IG is far closer to a Buddhist understanding of things. And perhaps less specifically Buddhist and more generically "New Age".
That's not to say I didn't like the movie. I loved it.
ON a tangentially related note, I find it interesting that the many viewers interpreted the film as preaching an explicitly anti-gun message. Do keep in mind that the line is "You don't HAVE TO BE a gun!" (emphasis mine) The line is not exactly don't be a gun--it's slightly more ambiguous than that. In that ambiguity lies a lot of the film's power for me.
BTW, I'm writing emails to that Ball character at adpub to beg him to remarket this movie. Thanks Harry.
JonO -
Not follow the "A Little Princess" example, because that failed, badly. Instead, do what Universal did with "Babe" - mount a spirited Oscar campaign, and be ready to re-release it in theaters if it gets a Best Picture or Director nomination. While "Babe" had some box-office success to work with, "The Iron Giant" still has the best reviews of any movie to come out this year, and I don't see that changing.
But WB will have to really get behind the Academy campaign. Full-page ads crammed with good reviews. OTOH, WB doesn't really have a lot of other potential Oscar contenders: "Three Kings" and "Liberty Heights" would seem to be it. -
yeah the dumb SOB's at Warner Brothers wouldnt know how to market a film if the opportunity presented itself (and it has) I havent heard ONE negative comment about Iron Giant, in fact I've heard Terrific things from people who have seen it....what was Warner Brothers thinking???? ugh... People have forgotten "Quest for Camelot" already why would you WANT to remind them about that again...NOW? It just doesnt make sence. Anyway, when a movie opens at #9 and drops out of the top ten within two weeks of its release, you gotta know that its headed for video QUICK....I might have missed my only chance to see it in the theaters!
--McK -
If it weren't for all the positive buzz about "Iron Giant" on this site, I would have skipped it. But, I finally saw it last night, and I was completly blown away! As soon as I got home, I had to phone all my friends and tell them to see it! This movie rocks big time, and I thank you, Harry and AICN crew for bringing it to the forefront.
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It's not _quantity_ of marketing, people, it's _quality_ that is the issue here. Here in Cincinnati, we had two IG commercials that played ad nauseum. One contained several of the film's best gags in soundbite form, and made it look like a cheezy kids' flick. The other one featured the Giant destroying things and eating metal while "Rock Me Like a Hurricane" played...oh, and some quality soundbites of Hogarth and the Giant saying, "rock!". Both commericals cheapened the film. The quick cuts made the animation look worse than "Quest for Camelot". In fact, everyone I know has told me they specifically didn't see Iron Giant "because the commercials looked cheezy".
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and sadly, it probably won't be the last that Warners screws up royaly. Someone mentioned L.A. Confidential, and thats a real good example of how WB doesn't know how to market anything that isn't a retread of another movie. Anyone remember Batman: Mask of the Phantasm? Incredible movie by the B:TAS guys that is, in my opinion the best Batflick to ever be on the big screen. WB released it on Christmas day with NO ADVERTISING IN MATINEES! It was around for about two weeks! Then they released it on video and everybody found it and loved it. Hell Siskel and Ebert gave it 2 thumbs up, but get this, as connected to movies as they are THEY DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT WAS OUT IN THEATERS! They had to review the video! I hope WB rectifies this with a "Babe campain" because I honestly believe it deserves a best picture nod. But it won't. It'll probably recieve a "special achievement" Oscar just like every other movie that's so good it scares Hollywood (i.e. Toy Story, Roger Rabbit (Damn Disney execs, but that's another rant))
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KING GRINCH, you are an idiot. You think The Sixth Sense "depressed the competion" and TPM didn't? That makes NO sense. The Sixth Sense has made $118 Million so far, which is great for 3 weeks. TPM made $120 Million in ONE week. So far its sucked $420 Million out of the possible summer movie pool of money to be made. How is that NOT depressing the competition? Do you doubt that, without TPM, Wild, Wild West would have made $200M? While you may delude yourself thinking that it was of such poor quality that the public stayed away, its your choice. People stayed away from WWW because there was better competition, including TPM. Remember that that piece of celluloid garbage Men in Black made $250 Million and I can't decide if it was better or worse than Wild Wild West. The Sixth Sense's effect on the box office competition has been negligible. Blair Witch has made $35M+ since Sixth Sense debut. Bowfinger has made $40M. Both Mickey Blue Eyes, Runaway Bride, and others have all performed up to or even slightly above expectations (as predicted by Yahoo box office, About.com box office, and others). The Sixth Sense's effect on Iron Giant was none. Zilch. The reason people avoided Iron Giant was a combination of weak appeal to the average person + poor marketing. Don't try to pin its failure on unrelated matters. Sixth Sense is MANUFACTURING its audience, not stealing it. There IS no late August blockbuster, most years. And as for TPM, don't ever underestimate it's effect this summer. Without TPM the summer would have been below last year's total. TPM is responsible for bringing millions into multiplexes and getting them exposed to other coming attractions including your precious Iron Giant. Besides, Lucas' new classic is a better movie. TPM rocks!
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Again I ask, does anyone, Harry especially, have any info on how IG will affect the future of animated film, at WB and in general? Is Brad Bird sacked? Are they going to cancel their neat-sounding projects like Osmosis Jones? Are they going to do direct-to-video movies from here on out? Anyway, I would *really* get behind a rerelease, a la LA Confidential--WB DID eventually do right by that film. The *only* reason IG failed was the bad advertisements and the lousy opening day (up against 5 other movies for crying out loud!!!) Rerelease it anytime before the Thanksgiving rush and watch it make more money. Seriously.
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Yup, that is what i had too do to get my friends to go see this movie last week. They asked me,"Well what is it about?" and I say,"It is about a kid that meets a giant robot, but there is more too it then that really!" My Friends just stare at me. But i swear that after watching it everyone of them loved it. A few have even seen it again. I understand what one of the ealier post said about the ads making the film look cheesy. I was not going to see this film until Harry started talking about it. I guess we should almost forgive the WB marketing department. It is so rare that they get material that transcends mediocrity i suppose they were unprepared for the task of dealing with something truly great. But if i were in their position, i am not sure i could have done anything better. Any ideas?
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The Iron Giant failed at the box office because of its release date. Simple as that. It came out at a weekend when about 47 other movies were being released at the same time and many of those suffered the same consequences. Had Mystery Men been held back for a Christmas release I'm sure it would have been a lot more successful. I couldn't believe that weekend. The local AMC, which has about 20 theatres, had a different film showing on almost every screen, it was ridiculous. And when you divvy up the takings, of course the non-Disney animated kids movie is going to come out last.
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I'm not sure about the rest of the country, but here in the NY/NJ area, this movie was hyped like crazy. Hell, they are still running ads in the paper even though the movie has all but vanished from theaters. Judging from the talkbacks, it seems the WB decided to only market in major cities (Philly, NY, Chicago) and gave a big F you to the rest of America. But I am sure that there is no conspiracy. Nobody at WB wanted this movie to fail. Please stop imagining the studio heads as these evil, shadowy figures and see them for what they really are: Poor incompetent simps who can't market a film to save their lives (jobs?). The major insult is that the advertising was plentiful, but TERRIBLE! The commercials probably kept more people away than drew them in. "Rock you Like a Hurricane"?!? Indeed! I didn't think IG was the defining moment of our generation like alot of you do, but I did enjoy it, and it deserved to do at least 10 times better than Runaway Bride, Bowfinger, Inspector Gadget, etc. --Walt Flanigan's Dog
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Here is a copy of my letter to Mr. Ball:
Dear Mr. Ball
I'm concerned with the direction that warner brothers is going as far as its animation department is concerned. I saw Iron Giant by accident. If it werent for the fact that no other film was showing at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, I'm sorry to say I would have missed one of the best films (animation or otherwise) of the year. I found it ironic that while the chinese theatre had nothing noteworthy to advertise the treasure within, The theatre across the street had INSPECTOR GADGET name in bright las vegas lights. Not to mention the empty lot next door to the chinese theatre was plastered with huge Inspector Gadget billboards.
I whole heartedly agree that Iron Giant should be pulled and rerealeased this thanksgiving with a better marketing push. True it will have to go against Toy Story 2 but this film deserves to be seen. May I suggest that you market it as a touching coming of age family film rather than a mindless kiddie flik. You made a film unlike disney and were the better for it, please dont advertise Iron Giant like it's a disney flik. Dreamworks made that mistake.
Iron Giant is a film that could signal an new area for animation where disney isn't undisputed king. I think that the competition would be good for the animation industry.
I hope this film becomes the little film that could and overcomes this set back. I don't know of any other film that has generated this grassroots effort by those who have seen Iron Giant to pass on the magic. A sort of Save Iron Giant Campaign.
In the meanwhile I've been trying to get everyone I know to see this diamond in the rough before it disapears.
Thank you for your time.
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I think what King Grinch meant was that when The Sixth Sense came out most of the other films that came out during its run have failed at the box office (Mystery Men, The Iron Giant, Killing Mrs. Tingle, Universal Soldier 2, Dick, Detroit Rock City, Brokedown Palace) but when The Phantom Menace was ruling the B.O. many of the other films that opened did very well too (Notting Hill, Austin Powers 2, Big Daddy, The General's Daughter, Tarzan). Speaking of bad marketing, has anyone seen the hack job Universal pulled on Dudley Do Right. That film has no chance in hell and I don't get it. It's got Fraser hot off The Mummy and its a kids flick. Its sad even though the film probably sucks although I enjoyed George Of The Jungle a lot. Re-releasing The Iron Giant may just put WB more in the red. What if it didn't work and theres a good chance it wouldn't without Oscar wins or something?
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Well, I saw IG the first week it came out and I was blown away. Then I heard that it was receiving great reviews, so I looked into this and sure enough, EVERYBODY loves this movie. So why was my theater empty on a Summer Afternoon? I don't watch TV or listen to mainstream radio so I have no clue how much advertising is going on for the beautiful movie, but if the reports from friends and newspapers are correct, there was NO advertising for IG. Bastards! WB promotes the hell out of horrid trash movies and so-so flicks like BLAIR WITCH become ubiquitous everywhere, but a movie universally agreed upon as fantastic is ignored. Somebody call me when the world begins making sense. Right now I've got to try to convince a friend to go see IG with me so I have at least one person spreading the gospel of Superman's supreme sacrifice (if you've seen the movie, then you'll understand).
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I'll tell you what's going on with Osmosis Jones. Ultimately, it's a lot of the same crew that was on IRON GIANT. But, WB is forcing the movie to come out Nov. 2000 after dragging their feet on a green light. That gives less than a year and 1/2 to complete the film, forcing at least half the movie to be outsourced. They alson have a lower budget than IRON GIANT. Does that sound like a studio that is behind animation? I don't think so.
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...your pet 'The Iron Giant,' has disappeared from the public's radar screens, and there's nothing anyone can do to bring it back.
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Before people go nuts, I know Artisan Entertainment released BLAIR WITCH. I was using it as an example of a so-so film being cleverly marketed and made into a hit based on nothing but bs hype. BTW, if you liked it, fine. I would rather pay money to see IG ten times again before you'll get me near the Blair Witch or her boring shenannigans.
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Here in Philly there were plenty of commercials and even a 1 hour special on the WB channel. When I was in LA a few months back, I even saw a building painted up with the Iron Giant all over it (somewhere near the building with the clothing ads painted on them). However, the quality of the commercials was quite lacking. Rock me like a hurican? Oh yeah, that makes me want to rush right out there. This movie was simply swallowed up in a sea of big movies, on the screen and in your VCR. I know Im going to rent "Go" tonight instead of seeing Iron Giant. Unfortunately, if the studios deccide to re-release this movie they will have to push back a newer movie that could have made much more.
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Iron Giant is hardly the first - nor will it be the last - "classic" film to utterly bomb upon its intitial release. It's not a fair or pleasant fact but I'm nonplussed by all the distress around this movie's failure. To list all the movies throughout cinematic history that "should've" been box office successes would be a long and tedious task. Just recently films like Election, Go, and Rushmore were all acclaimed but yet they didn't find anything close to a wide audience in theaters. I loved these films as well as Iron Giant but I'm not especially concerned that they didn't do well. Every year some great films are ignored by the public - that's never going to change. The upside is that every year some great films beat the odds and happen to do really well (or at least well enough). That also is unlikely to change. As for the subject of "hype" - it seems like "hype" is the easy excuse people use to disparage the success of a movie they didn't like. But in reality, all the hype in the world can't make a movie a hit. It may draw a crowd but it can't make them stay. Once a film hits the theaters, word of mouth is the only thing that can make or break a movie. If hype was all a movie needed, films like Wild Wild West, American Pie, Eyes Wide Shut and The Haunting would've done much more business than they actually did. Some of those films I liked, some I despised but the point is for all the advance publicity and hype they had, word of mouth put a certain ceiling on how much they made theatrically. In most cases it was less than their respective studios might've liked. In the case of The Iron Giant, too few people ever showed up in the first place to make word of mouth count. I can't see a re-release changing that.
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Personally, this angry clown would love to take an atomic-age, metal-munchin' piss on all of those ad execs over at the Dubba-Dubba-WB. The Iron Giant is pure gold! More golden than my most golden of golden showers. It's a shame, really.
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Great analogy, Harry. Warner Bros. is the studio that in my "I'm a high school film geek" days considered my favorite team... me and uber republican poster 20th Century Fox would argue this kinda stuff over lunch and study halls (at the team, however, he was a Paramount cheerleader, no matter how much he denies it). Anyway, now that I'm a "Hollywood professional, still a film geek", I'm ashamed at Warner Bros. as a whole, with this clusterfuck Iron Giant bad marketing problem bringing it to a head. I agree they should pull the film and release it in a few months with a stand out campaign. The only good news is that Alan Horn from Castle Rock will be taking the reigns at WB, and if he can make sure Mickey Blue Eyes brings in over 10 mil, I'm confident other films like Iron Giant wll get their day in the sun.
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It's quietly being put to video in early November. Stop toying with people like that!
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I admit the quick cuts and kid oriented advertising was detremental to the film - but when I was sitting around the house one saturday and heard "Rock You Like a Hurricane" come over the TV I went over to check it out...it brought me back to my younger days. I actually think the old school rock may have helped appeal to the older crowd. Now if it were Hanson or Green Day I might wonder...
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The reason that we are all so distressed at Iron Giant's failure at the box office is the appaling stupidity behind it. Films like Rushmore, while brilliant, are aimed at niche audiences. (Personally, I don't know why everyone says that Election was a flop. $15 million was about three times what I thought it would bring in. And how much did it cost? Just because a movie doesn't hit nine digits doesn't mean it's a failure. But I digress.) Iron Giant, on the other hand, is an animated flick with a kid-friendly theme. Disney seems to have no trouble racking up huge totals with similar films that, quite frankly, aren't as good. And how about E.T.? That's the film (rightly or wrongly) that IG is most often compared to. And it was certainly box office poison, wasn't it? It's clear from both the comments of that other Brad, and the progress of their other projects, that WB gave up on not just IG but their entire animated feature division. All based on a piece of corporate waste product like Quest for Camelot. How sad. Send all the e-mail you want (I will), but I don't think it will do much good.
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I've been reading several responses and i feel that i have to point out that the advertising campaign on IG was minimal. People claim to see lots of commercials and even a "making of special". YeaI saw them too. But let's remember the special aired on the WB network the #5 network in the country -they don't exactly pull in a lot of the ratings.I saw commercials for IG which began right after Tarzan opened in theaters giving that campaign about2-3 weeks. I think I saw advertising for Tarzan 2 months before the movie opened. I'm not sure but I think McDonald's promoted tarzan toys. Who promotes the IG kid meal toys? Johnny Rockets. How many Johnny Rockets are all over this country? Do the people on the East Coast know what Johnny Rockets is? I'm not sure. I turn on the tv and see Rosie O'Donnell talking to her animated gorila self on her talk show. What a clever way of advertising. I haven't seen Jennifer Aniston or Harry Connick Jr. hitting the talk shows to promote IG. Really, IG was given a lousy deal.
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Osmosis Jones is being produced on a very small budget (less than the Iron Giant.) Warner Bros. Animation has a history of throwing money at a film and watching it run down the toilet. The retainers they paid artists to sit on their asses while they waited for Space Jam were crazy and the amount they spent on The Quest for Camelot was obscene! Warner Bros. has realized that they have to produce animated films on a smaller budget and the best way to do that is to look for quality animation studios outside Los Angeles to outsource to. They had planned to do the same on the Iron Giant but got lucky when Disney laid off a whole crew of animators and Warners scooped them up on a freelance basis.
Don't assume that because animation is being done outside LA that it will not be up to snuff. If what I have heard is true... the crew they have put together outside LA is incredible! -
Before I get into the film's three marketing challenges, I must say that I saw it two days ago in a theatre empty save for one family with a small girl. It was a stunning film. (It even perfectly captured two scenes I'd been dying to put onto celluloid: the nighttime ride with the giant and the making of a star.) I waited to hear the others' reaction. It definitely entertained the parents. Who knows about the young girl? She was too young to catch all the messages and jokes and cultural references. So the three strikes against this film: 1) A beautiful score, some great oldies, but no MOR soundtrack to market. Didn't even the crapfest of 'Camelot' get a guaranteed Best Song nomination at some awards show? Dreamworks had the marketing push to break their non-musical films in college markets (timing counted for Antz,) and even released three soundtracks for The Prince of Egypt. It seems like an animated film sans tie-in soundtrack is largely anathema. The only great idea would have been for old Pete Townsend to chunk in a few new tunes, a la Phil Collins. 2) What toy to market? The robot's most marketable incarnation is its amazing gun/rocket defense system stage. This goes directly against the heart of the parable, however. I don't know what they're hawking at Johnny Rockets, but I bet (and hope) its the gee-whiz version. 3) It appeals to teenagers and adults, and they won't know it. Every market I've been in over the last month, from Chicago to Oklahoma City to Albuquerque only showed The Iron Giant before 6 PM. NO EVENING SHOWINGS. Kids are back in school. This limits the market to under sevens and their stay-at-home parents who probably have more affinity for a video cassette than a trip to the cinema. There we go. No solutions, but one cannot blame just the marketing division. Its release date was inopportune. Most major theatres will program 'lesser' kiddie flicks solely in daytime, leaving the night available for more 'mature' robot flicks, like 'Universal Soldier: The Return.' That's my three bits. (Small aside: that was the best portrait of villainy I've seen this summer. Isn't that right, champ?) Ciao.
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Anotomy of the perfect Iron Giant Preview: 1)WB logo. 2) title card - "No musical numbers." 3)Shot of Iron Giant plunging to Earth. 4)title card - "No cute fuzzy wisecracking sidekicks." 5)Shot of Dean apologizing to the restaurant and letting the squirrel out of his pants. 6)title card - "Nothing like you expect." 7)Shot of Hogarth in the forest, when the giant shadow of I.G. turns and you see his eyes. 8) title card - "From the classic story that inspired the rock classic 'Iron Man'," 9)Shot of Mansley getting into his half-eaten car. 10) title card - "Executive Producer Pete Thownsend," 11) Shot of fisherman seeing I.G. through the storm and fog. 12) title card - "And one of the directors of 'The Simpsons' 13) Shot of Mom and Mansley bursting in on Hogarth in the bathroom. 14) title card - "The grown-up tale of a boy," 15)Shot of Hogarth telling Dean to jump in the water. 16) title card - "A Beatnik," 17) Shot of Dean refusing to get in the water. 18) title card - "And a giant robot from outer space." 19)shot of I.G. jumping into the lake and the giant wave coming towards Dean. 20) title card - "IRON GIANT" 21) title card - "Featuring the voices of Jennifer Anniston, Harry Connick Jr., Christopher McDonald, John Mahoney, and M. Emmet Walsh" 22) shot of wave setting Dean down on the street, followed by the truck stopping and the exhange between Dean and the driver.
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I would love to see Iron Giant reach the audience it deserves, the only thing is there've been several movies that came out to great critical acclaim only to do no business that have been reissued with lots of bells and whistles. A Little Princess, LA Confidential, The Shawshank Redemption all failed second time round too. I'm afraid that modern audiences only want "brand new" movies - nothing else will do. It's too bad, Iron Giant is a great movie. Oh well...
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Aug 27, 1999 7:52:07 PM CDT
There's only two things for Warner's to do to save Iron Giant
by nordling
Put ads in all the trades "For Your Consideration" and push the film as Oscar material with promotions to the Academy members. I realize that like so many films that buy and sell Oscar that this might cheapen this marvelous film. But the truth is, if this truly bombs, expect crap to deluge the cinema. By far this is the best reviewed film of the year (even over Eyes Wide Shut!) and when the top ten lists come out this year I'm certain Iron Giant will be on many of them. Push that. Otherwise, this film is doomed.
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Have to abandon my normal reserve & jump into the fray on this one. Just came across an extremely germane-to-the-topic article:
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I went and saw the Iron Giant agian tonight and i am happy to say that the theater was about 1/2 full. or empty, depending on your point of view. Anyway, i cannot find anything wrong with this movie. The crowd loved it, Parents, Kids, and 2 teenagers next to me. (After i watched 20 mins of Inspector Gadget, and what crap fest. And this thing made over a 100 million,) Why is this and what can i do to change this!!!! I am trying to get as many of my friends to go see this movie without coming off like some sort of mutant born again Christian sharing the gospel according to Hogarth. So i got an idea. Here in the Bay Area we have KGO News Talk 810. You can call up and talk to the host about anything. So come monday i am calling Gene Burns and mention that the IRON GIANT is something him and his listener should check out. Who knows, over a million people tune in to KGO, i suggest you all do the same in your areas. ( side note about the film, Kent was a great villian because in his heart he really thought he was doing the right thing. Suttle funny moments: Kent turning the potholder around when the General is laughing at him on the phone, or Hogarts mom telling Kent that she got the toilet paper he asked for when Kent is exposing those pic in the bathroom. The Giant ponding that car with the stuck horn., lots more, go see the film, or see it agian)
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It's a shame that disparaging comments from sites like AICN can ruin a movie yet highly positive comments from these same sites cannot increase a reclusive movie's audience.
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THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION didn't become a bona fide success until months after its release, when they added more theaters and went with an Oscar push. Same with L.A. CONFIDENTIAL. Granted, a different challenge confronts WB and their mishandled IRON GIANT, but, even if it is a risky business decision, it's hardly going to bankrupt the studio (that job belongs to Jon Peters) to, at least, try. Besides, Warner Brothers has the only genuine box office lock this fall/winter with THE GREEN MILE, as well as a hotly anticipated action film in THREE KINGS (BTW, please drop the Public Enemy song from that trailer. I agree that it's a good fit, but the problem is that nobody listens to PE anymore, as evidenced by non-existent record sales, and, more importantly, the overwhelmingly negative response that the usage of "He Got Game" in said trailer continues to receive. If there's one crime you can't afford to commit in these media savvy days, it's being un-hip.) I'll keep pulling for WB to resuscitate THE IRONG GIANT. It's the least they can do to make up for WILD WILD WEST.
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Here's a letter I'm sending to Warner Brothers. (I'm sure some of you will think I'm an idiot for having this viewpoint, but try to contain yourselves. I'm not interested in your illiterate flames. I am interested, however, in intelligent opinions on the subject.) . . . . . "I got your email address from AICN. I hope you'll take into consideration a request from a parent who thought "Iron Giant" was a terrific, wonderful film.
PLEASE, oh, please, if and when you put it to video can you take out the profanity? This is a movie aimed at kids, and yet you have people (even the good guys) using "hell" and "damn."
I'm not thrilled at letting my son hear those words even once in a movie theater, but I figure there was little harm done. However, if I were to buy the video and let him watch it over and over, I figure those phrases might start coming out of his mouth. They would certainly be echoing in his brain.
That is JUST NOT RIGHT. There is no reason on earth why profanity should be in a kids' movie. It's shameful, and shameless, and stupid, too, because you could sell a LOT MORE COPIES of a kids' movie without the bad words in it.
Dumb and dumber, I'd say.
So please, if you care and have any influence over this issue, I beg you to consider releasing a more acceptable version of the movie on video." -
If you do e-mail Brad Ball, be sure to be civil and polite. I heard all the evil e-mails pissed him off and that's not going to help the movie.
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Forgive me if I'm being naive here, but why not just keep the movie in theaters, and start a new ad campaign? Just a few months ago we were all angry at ABC for pulling shows before they could "find an audience". Let IG find an audience! You didn't market it aggressively because you thought "Camelot" proved that audiences don't want WB animation? (Why did you even bother realeasing it, then?) I thought the whole point of advertising was to MAKE people want your product! Represent the movie as what it IS, not a childish Disney lookalike (jeez, don't you WANT your movie to stand out from the crowd?), sprinkle liberally with positive quotes from critics. Brad Bird made his own trailer for the movie, right? So you've got the basis of another campaign right there!
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here in san-fran, I think we were lacking some advertisement, since I didn't even realize the movie came out when it did, and I've been waiting for it for a long time. When I finally went to see it at nort californias largest theater, I found that it only had few showing times, and they stuck it in the theater where the thx was broken, and we only got sound from 2 speakers in the front (yes, I did get my money back). On top of that, the theater was filled with little kids that would do things like cry when their father stoped the anoying jiggeling of his keychain. I was tempted to leave the theater more than once, but the movie was too damn good. I definetely want to see it again, but by now, it's only playing 2 times a day, and with the new semester around the block, I'm not sure I'll be able to.
Sincerely,
Anakin
P.S. I want a friggin Iron Giant of my own! I went to the WB store... NOTHING!!! not even displays, or comercials running on their tv's! I ended up finding a place hidden in the back, where they had a single iron giant item... pathetic. You know why disney makes money with bad movies: People know they're in the theaters, and there are plenty of lovable toys!!! -
I haven't seen IG, despite the hype I've seen here and elsewhere. I really don't know why. It sounds like the kind of movie I'd like. I enjoy animation films. I enjoy 1950s nostalgia. I even think Harry Connick Jr. is cool. Maybe I'll see it when it hits video, but that's a big maybe. IG just hasn't won me over enough to get off my butt and go see it. And to whomever it was who dissed Blair Witch before, I'd rather see Blair Witch a seventh time then go see IG, and I'm not saying that hatefully to IG. It's just that Blair Witch has consistently entertained me six times. Other people claim it's the hype, but for me it's just a refreshing approach to filmmaking that I support and hope to see more often. Maybe IG just looks too much like films I've seen before. The style's a little different. It's not exactly like E.T. or Free Willy or any movie in which a young person finds some creature that changes his life. I'd want to like Iron Giant. I don't know for sure why I won't give it a shot but maybe it's because I already have, and I'm tired of seeing the same kind of movie over and over again. I want something new.
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Aug 29, 1999 4:27:31 AM CDT
If it fails in USA, it maybe won't be released in the rest of th
by basuro
The failure at box office of a good film is always a tragedy. But it may implicate serious consequences over its commercial career out of USA.
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Aug 29, 1999 6:20:04 AM CDT
Here's another reason to make IG successful (if you need one)
by nordling
Animators don't often make films with the 2.35 to 1 aspect ratio. Sleeping Beauty and The Lady and The Tramp are the ONLY Disney films that come to mind. 2.35 to 1 in animation is ridiculously expensice. They have to fill that extra space with something. Iron Giant is a BIG movie, and it feels like it. If this movie does finally flop (yes, oh ye of little faith, I'm still hoping to pull a rabbit out of a hat), you can bet that they won't make many more BIG animated films - it justs costs too much. Also, when this comes out on video and DVD, it won't necessarily be widescreened. Warners, I love Iron Giant, but I won't buy it if you don't have a widescreen option - simple as that. Widescreen video and DVD please. Warners has been pretty good about that, better than, oh say 20th Century Fox, who when they release a widescreen movie it's got to be some special event. Go see Iron Giant this weekend. Hey, you, Zachsmind! Yeah, you, on the fence! Get the fuck off and see it! If you haven't seen it(and live in the USA) yet why the fuck are you posting here? I've seen it twice and intend to see it again tonight. When you people who wait for video see it then and kick yourself in the ass for not seeing it in the theater when you had the chance, I'll be laughing at you, and you'll have my pity that you missed a Great One in the medium that it was meant for. A 2.35 to 1 animated movie. Don't get that everyday. Go see this.
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I loved Blair Witch too, but wait for video - because video is the PROPER medium for that film. The way it was made practically demands it. Folks, those who want a big movie - BWP has made its coin. If you haven't seen it yet, wait for video where it's actually easier to take than on the big screen, if you get motion sickness and take that money and spend it on Iron Giant. You'll thank me. blair Witch is a cool movie. The Iron Giant is THE BEST FILM TO COME OUT THIS YEAR. So where should your money go again?
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A few comment to the posters above. Please do not try to make Warner Bros. change the movie to your liking. If it says Hell and Damn a few times, and you are worried, well just look at the rating (PG) Parental Guidance! Guide your son, just tell him sometime down the road not to say it! I'm also surprised you found this only to be a kids movie. To the poster who has not seen IG, but seen Blair Witch, I almost pity you. I liked Blair, but IG is just better film. And also, if they wanted to make this film do any better, they better pull it out and re-release it LATER. Keeping it in the theaters is not going to help it much right now, it will just creep along and most don't understand it will be booted out anyways, it isn't going to stay in theaters till the oscars. Here is hoping the WB can redeem themselves.
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I dont get it. Why would you make comments on how IG isn't original if you havent even seen it? Y=In fact your reason for not seeing it doesn't make much sense. You say BWP has enetertained you 6 times because its so new and refreshing, well just think how new and refreshing a NEW movie would be. And if your "tired of seeing the same kind of movie over and over again." and you "want something new" then see IG instead of BWP for the 20th time.
You say its like "any movie in which a young person finds some creature that changes his life", but you havent even seen the movie so how do you know? What makes this movie unique is that IG's characters aren't flat out good or evil, that's the point that all these posts are trying to make.
Dont fall for WB's antiadvertising. -
Do any of you own a copy of SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT? FLASHDANCE? ENDLESS LOVE? EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE? Do any of you even remember these films? Keep in mind they were all MONSTER HITS at the box office at the time. Today I'd be surprised if any of these things made it onto someone's top one hundred list. How can you measure a film's quality in how many millions it makes right off the bat? The enthusiasm about getting people to see it is well-taken, but be patient and forget about the loot. The cream rises. CITIZEN KANE tanked when it first came out. The novel "Moby Dick" was a huge flop. It's author had been dead about forty years before the general public finally caught on. I saw IG and loved it (that ridiculed Rock U Like a Hurricane campaign was the very thing that sold me BTW). I will probably buy a copy of this gem and cherish it for years to come as will many of you. Initial BO never was nor will it ever be indicative of a film's longevity. And the IRON GIANT will be at the local video store long after WWW, ARMAGEDDON, BATMAN FOREVER, TWISTER, and other Box Office Giants have been removed due to lack of interest. And you can take that to the bank.
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Well, I don't know what they should do with the movie but I'll tell you what I do know. Finally got to see it today and it was everything I expected to be -- warm, funny, visually appealing with a solid story. My only complaint about this movie is that it's way too short. They should have added maybe another 30-40 minutes and given us a bit more of a backstory on the Giant. So, when can we expect the sequel? ;-)
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Happened to be in the flagship WB store on 57th & 5th in NYC this afternoon. They managed to cobble together a pathetic IG display by the front door: an animated bank, pretty cute, actually (put a coin in his hand & he raises it to his mouth & 'eats' it, makes roaring noises too) & kiddie-sized T-shirts, 2 different designs. Next to it was the running IG poster, with a tiny 'poster not available for sale' notice stuck in its corner. Elsewhere in the store they had a bunch of 'plush' IG's hanging from a rack. That's all, folks!
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Point well taken, Sprocketbot. Remember Ralph Bakshi's
WIZARDS? I thought for sure a revolution was coming after that film opened. Then STAR WARS came out of nowhere and the trend went toward FX instead of animation. HEAVY METAL was another one that had promise, but America just wasn't ready. I sincerely think the general populus will embrace animation as adult fare one day, just not this one. But until then, here's another bit of BO trivia to keep you warm when thinking about IG's "failure." TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES racked up more money than all of Stanley Kubrick's films combined. -
Warner Bros. doesn't really care what happens with IG. They'll make their money back on video anyway. If they were smart, or cared about the film, they'd take a Disney-style approach to advertising it (ie: Your LAST TIME to see it on the screen this millenium!, or See it on the BIG SCREEN in WIDESCREEN the way it was intended... but nobody would ever say that). Does it matter? If they tried a re-release campaign, Disney would just counter by re-releasing Song of the South for "Two Weeks Only!!!", thus killing it completely (see Fox's "Anastasia").
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Aug 30, 1999 4:32:33 PM CDT
Warner should shove the Iron Giant back up their ass, where they
by mattman
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Aug 30, 1999 10:08:22 PM CDT
HARRY UPDATES AT: http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/anti-cgi.html
by harry knowles
It's true. Check It Out!!!
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Warner Bros. Shouldn't do anything with this project. They screwed up. Their trailers sucked and the movie failed to make money. That's how the movie business works.
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Actually, using your free passes does count toward a movie's box office take. The theater company counts all admissions on aper-time basis. I.E. if you use the free pass for a matinee, it counts at matinee price to a movie's box office take. If you use the free pass in the evening, it counts as a regular-price admission. Since it would be impossible for them to record whether or not it was a free admission or a paid admission when they tally up tickets issued at the end of the day, they count them all as paid. So yes, you did bump up the box office of Iron Giant by $10 or whatever. On a side note, I went to see The Phantom Menace for the 10th time yesterday. I passed on Iron Giant yet again. Maybe eventually I will see it, but I just have that Star Wars fever!!
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when will you, and the rest of the world, realize what a cinematic masterpiece EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE is? How can you diss a film with such heart and emotion. This was THE movie of the 70s. Maybe even the 80s! Before you make any more comments, you need to go see EWWBL again, and see it for the five star film tour de force that it truly is.
As for IG. I went twice to go see it, only to find (like others here) that it wasn't playing past 7:00 in the theatres. I finally saw it the weekend before last, what a great movie. I think you can pin the movies BO failure on several problems- poor marketing (I agree it wasn't a quantity problem, it was a quality problem) & poor timing (WB: "Hmm, there -
It's "WHOSE zany antics" not "WHO'S zany antics". Learn to spell, what are you, in 4th grade? Oh wait, I understand. You are the old, Empire Strikes Back Yoda -- the senile one. Better you should be the Phantom Menace Yoda. At least then you might be young enough to spell "whose" right.
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Therreason that THE IRON GIANT bombed at the box office is simple: THERE WAS NO REASON TO SEE IT! Especially this summer with the variety of movies out, a new one hitting #1 each weekend. Why would anyone select a cartoon about a giant robot that lives in a junkyard and eats metal? As for the advertising, the main image was a giant robot running from police officers. There was never any hint as to what the actual story might be. I think most of America saw the poster image of the robot and decided that they had seen the movie. I mean, what else was there? I'm not talking about whether the movie was good or bad, this is about getting people into the theatre.
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I work in the video game industry and I often find myself amazed at the parallels between it and the way the movie industry does things. In both cases, you have these inferior blockbuster products that make gajillions of dollars while the little gems that really deserve the accolades get passed over and forgotten. And, I suspect in both cases, much of the blame for this phenomenon can be laid squarely at the foot of the marketing department. Now, I don't know much about how the film side of things works, but I am quite familiar with how they do things in games. And the problem is this: in the games industry the marketing folks generally just don't care about their products. Of course, they are interested in the bottom line because that affects their income, but as for the quality of the product itself, they couldn't care less. Most of them actually REFUSE to familiarize themselves with the very product they are to sell as that would somehow make them unclean. It's all about the "marketability". As one marketing guy told me face to face, "Look, we don't really care what you guys do. We can sell sh*t if we give it enough shine." So, in the case of the IG, I can understand why it isn't getting the support it deserves. Some marketing schmuck probably evaluated its "marketability" based upon a very shallow exposure to the film and the rest is history.
Is there a solution to this? I think there is. The trick would be getting marketing personnel who genuinely understand the product and believe in it. I think this is what happened with Blair Witch. They marketed that film with passion. But, unfortunately, I think the IG (a much better film in my opinion) was mortally wounded by a lack of interest. In fact, if I hadn't read such rave reviews here on AICN I would've also passed on IG just because the trailers and the advertising sells the film as something that it is not: a kiddie shoot-em up Saturday Morning flick. Thank Goodness this film is so much more and thanks to Harry for evangelizing it! -
I agree with the earlier comment to "let it be," in that this may wind up as another Wizard of Oz. If the movie is truly meant to be, the rest will eventually be...history. I can just see a network in the year 2030 reruning this "timeless classic" for my children's children. Bix Hath Spoken!
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Upon rewatching EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE, I did not cringe as I had anticipated. Instead I was enthralled. Like DOG DAY AFTERNOON, EWWBL is a powerful, absorbing social commentary. And you wanna talk about funny? I laughed so hard at one point I peed my pants. But I blame that on all the beer and cough syrup I was swilling down. Point blank, EWWBL isn't the pandering piece of shit I remembered it to be. It is a rich cinematic tapestry, a great mirror thrown up to our culture, evoking the quintessance of what the French call la condition humain. EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE is an artistic triumph that will be rediscovered by generations to come. Having said that, apologies to Clint, as well as Clyde the chimp. And props to you, ESBYoda, for setting me straight./// PS--- I (seriously) think you hit it on the nose, ESB. The release date was the Giant's downfall. Alot of people could not wait to see this movie so the marketing wasn't the weak link. It was a case of bad timing.
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Iron Giant has just recieved a UK cinema rating (U). The British censors charge several thousand pounds(1 pound=$1.50 US) to do this and therefore it can be assumed that WB are planing a cinema release for the film in Europe, dispite the fact it floped in the US. WB must think they can still make money out of it. -
The following is a copy of my email to Brad Ball at WB, thought I'd share.......................
Mr. Ball,
As a paying moviegoer and more importantly a father I feel compelled to write to you on behalf of the WB film "The Iron Giant". This was by far one of the best films I've seen this year - and yes that includes episode one! I have not been so moved by an animated film...I take that back, I have NEVER been so moved by an animated film as The Iron Giant. I don't think pointing and crying is a solution at this point but I do implore you to please use the power trusted to you and give this film the attention it so richly deserves!!!, (I know the people who created it did!).
I will buy a copy of this movie to have in my home, I bought the action figure to stand beside my home computer as a reminder of what a soul is and the freedom to choose to do the right and good thing...I'm hoping you will also.
...nuff' said! -
I cannot believe you insist on posting your degrading comments about this movie. You are probably one of those people that think that 'Blair Witch' was amazing!!!! What the hell else have you seen taht even compares to IG?!!! Huh? The only other movies that I even found to be close were 'Sixth Sense,' 'Bowfinger,' and maybe 'Tarzan,' minus the elephant and Rosie. If you choose to be that closed-minded, so be it.
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It seems perfectly clear that the marketing people were purposely undermarketing IG. Why? They didn't want to awaken the sleeping "giant" that is Disney. Remember what Disney did when Prince of Egypt came out? Remember the rescheduling of Mighty Joe Young's release as well as the rerelease of a Bug's Life? Now that Prince of Egypt is about to come out on video, Disney is turning the publics attention away again by rereleasing their worst animated movie The Great Mouse Detective.
It seems fairly apparent that WB felt they could have a sleeper hit if they didn't market it enough to make Disney fight back. Unfortunately, Disney already had Tarzan out, and with IG minimally marketed, IG didn't seem like a threat. And it still isn't.
So stop blaming Warner Bros. They tried to come up with a way to beat Disney competitive marketing without going up directly against them (like Dreamworks did) and they are suffering because it wasn't the best choice. Prince of Egypt fought Disney head on, and still suffered but not as much as IG did.
Warner Bros. should only be blamed for trying an alternative to going up against Disney. I think alternative thinking is a good thing, so that we don't get stuck in the same method of doing things.
Either way, I still think POE was 100 times better than IG (animation wise and directorial). In the end, IG just wasn't good enough and state-of-the-art enough. -
After this site hyped this movie to high heaven, and despite some very unpromising-looking trailers, I was actually expecting something special from the Iron Giant. But I was disappointed. This film absolutely SCREAMS mediocrity. There's nothing special about it. It won't become a classic. Nobody will even remember it in ten years. The whole thing was tired and predictable, the plot little more than E.T. meets Gigantor. I called everything that was going to happen an average of 10-20 minutes before they actually did happen. The animation left a lot to be desired after seeing Tarzan. And the whole movie felt extremely kiddy after having to listen to everyone yell about how "this is the first mature animated movie ever!!" ...good grief, why is it that every "mature" animated movie that ever comes out is always the "first". Hasn't anyone else seen Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame? Akira? The Prince of Egypt? Mulan? Ghost in the Shell? Watership Down? South Park? The Wings of Honnemaise? (and I could list about a hundred more animated films more "mature" than IG) I enjoyed this movie, but it really was nothing special. I won't go see it again. I probably won't get it on video. and in several years I'll have forgotten about it like everyone else. Let the stupid thing die. I'm really sick of reading about it.
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I first read abot "The Iron Giant" here on AICN. This was about three days before the national release. I looked through Indy And Cincy and Nashville websites for preview screenings, to no avail. Well, as luck would have it, it was a week into release before I was able to go see it. Since then, I've been back twice, once with my niece (a really nice bonding experience). What should WB do with this movie? Show it later than 6:30 in the evening, for Pete's sake! So many friends I know would dig on this flick, daddio, but are unable to catch any movie that early. Let it play later. And release it to video W I D E S C R E E N, please. Too damn much work went into the ratio to, um, mess it up. The soundtrack on Rhino is great! Where is the too-cool metal "Iron Giant" robot for sale? (hint-hint)
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Brad Ball should be hung upside down and hosed down with cold water and made to recite"I am a moron" a thousand times.Then sent to marketing 101 on how to sell a brillient movie.If universal could sell a 3-hour b+w epic about the final-solution, is there anyone on the planet who can't sell a 90-minute feelgood sci-fi/fiftes/masterpiece about childhood and wonder? Just a thought!
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I saw IG here in the UK, really enjoyed it, made me cry !
Undermarketed, undershown, what a shame. Seems the UK got the same treatment as the US. Can't wait to buy the Vid. I bouhgt he Ted Hughes book - very diferent from the film, quite surprising.
Cheers,
Marky B
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