Studios try that same old pickup line
WORD OF MOUTH
You should never, ever tell your Valentine's Day date that she or he reminds you of an old girlfriend or boyfriend (and never compare your date to a parent!), but when it comes to movies premiering on the romantic holiday, there's no prohibition on bringing up old acquaintances.
Four new movies will hit the multiplex on Thursday, and in varying degrees each new film is being sold as much for what it is as for what it's related to.
Fox is hawking its sci-fi thriller “Jumper” as "from the director of 'The Bourne Ultimatum' and 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith.' " Universal is promoting the romantic comedy “Definitely, Maybe” as "from the producers of" such films as "Notting Hill," "Love Actually" and "Bridget Jones's Diary." Disney is touting the success of its hit dance movie "Step Up" in pushing the sequel “Step Up 2 the Streets.” And Paramount is selling “The Spiderwick Chronicles” almost as if it were the work of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, who had nothing to do with the film.
When Paramount and Nickelodeon Films first started discussing possible marketing hooks for "Spiderwick," according to someone familiar with the meetings, the companies looked at the creative media for Shyamalan's "The Village," which hinted at a foreboding presence just beyond sight. One poster for that 2004 fright film included creepy tree branches obscuring a small town, while the one-sheet for "Spiderwick" takes similar limbs and spells out "beware." Trailers for "Spiderwick" warn: "There is an unseen world right outside your door."
Adapted from the wildly popular children's novels from Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, "Spiderwick" may face the trickiest marketing challenge of all of the new movies in wide release. Even though the film was co-produced by Nickelodeon Films and is rated PG, "Spiderwick" is much more disturbing than any episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants" (unless you are reflexively disturbed by a singing sponge).
While the typical audience for Nickelodeon's cable television channel is kids ages 7 to 12, Paramount and Nickelodeon both want "Spiderwick" to play older, hitting some teenagers. The danger in making a movie that is particularly intense for the PG rating is that young children may flee the theater in tears. But if the film is perceived by older kids as being soft, they may go see "Jumper" or "Step Up 2 the Streets" instead.
