So Much for Keeping Secrets

"I saw it at a film festival in Baltimore," Pellington said. "And suddenly, it was a different movie. Especially when you had characters talking about 'feeling safe' in their homes and lives. The movie shook you up a little bit more, because it explores our vulnerability. Littleton may not have been a 'terrorist act.' But it was an act--like the murder of schoolkids, or an assassination, or an athlete being attacked by a fan--that shows how vulnerable we all are. No matter where we are."

*

Pressed once again on the marketing campaign, Pellington sighed and conceded his ambivalence. "It's a double-edged sword. You don't want to let anybody know too much about your movie ahead of time. But if you make it more abstract, you'll have people say, 'Well, yeah, the poster was very abstract--and nobody saw the movie.'

"The first time I saw the trailer, I thought it was very visceral and very exciting. It really captured the energy of the film. And it worked on a kind of gut level for me. But, of course, now that it's been played to death, and the movie's been delayed, people have seen it three or four times. I actually had a guy come up to me and say, 'Oh, yeah. "Arlington Road." That's the movie where Tim Robbins plays the terrorist.' But you will never know whether a more obscure or mysterious or abstract marketing campaign would have worked for the movie."