Spoilers Marvel Cinematic Universe spoiler-heavy speculation thread

[Mr. Adventure]

I'm of two minds on this, I mean movies can legitimately get tweaked before they release but after a trailer has been cut. OTOH, some movies have intentionally created scenes for the trailer that were never meant to be in the final product such as the TIE Fighter scene in the Rogue One trailer which is kinda bullshit.

 

[theenglish]

I'm of two minds on this, I mean movies can legitimately get tweaked before they release but after a trailer has been cut. OTOH, some movies have intentionally created scenes for the trailer that were never meant to be in the final product such as the TIE Fighter scene in the Rogue One trailer which is kinda bullshit.

This is what it will come down to--an intention to deceive or legitimate business factors in film development and promotion.

 

[Christopher]

This is what it will come down to--an intention to deceive or legitimate business factors in film development and promotion.

All advertising is deception to some degree, exaggerating the product's good points or glossing over its drawbacks. By its very nature, advertising is biased and created to support an agenda. And it makes no secret of that. So nobody should expect advertising to be objectively truthful to begin with, and it's a matter of basic common sense to be skeptical of any and every advertisement. Anyone who feels surprised or betrayed that an advertisement was not a dispassionately literal account of the facts is hopelessly gullible and has only themselves to blame for expecting it to be trustworthy in the first place. So suing movie trailers for not being accurate? That's the very definition of a frivolous lawsuit and I hope it gets thrown out.

Plus, of course, sometimes trailers deliberately alter things to hide spoilers, or are released before the film's final edit. When they create new scenes not in the movie, that's not intended as deception, but merely as a teaser that conveys the idea of the film without giving away its surprises. Pixar does that all the time. Didn't The Incredibles have a teaser trailer that was a self-contained skit of Bob struggling to get into his supersuit?

I recall some early trailers from the '40s and '50s that were literally a cast member or the director talking to the audience to tell them about the film and encourage them to see it. There were clips too, but it was mainly just the speech. I think Hitchcock did that for Psycho and maybe some others. So there's never been a requirement that trailers limit themselves only to footage from the film itself.

 

[Anwar]

The really funny thing is that this had nothing to do with the MCU, it started because Ana Des Armas was in trailers for some movie she turned out to not be in.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

The really funny thing is that this had nothing to do with the MCU, it started because Ana Des Armas was in trailers for some movie she turned out to not be in.

Which she was cut from due to poor testing from early screenings. So this wasn't a case of deliberate deception but rather early advertising showing how the film was planned to before it was changed.

That said, they shouldn't be running teasers for films that are still being tested if there is potential for a change like that.

 

[Tuskin38]

They'll just stick a small line of text, something like "Content in the trailer may not match the final film", at the bottom of the trailer to get around that, just like actual commercials do fairly regularly.

And video game trailers

 

[Christopher]

That said, they shouldn't be running teasers for films that are still being tested if there is potential for a change like that.

Any movie is always subject to change up until the day it's released (and often afterward, what with corrected prints, directors' cuts, special editions, and all). The only way to guarantee what you're suggesting is to ban all trailers until the film's release date, which defeats the entire purpose of trailers. Besides, a change this major is the exception, not the rule, so it wouldn't make sense to bend over backward to avoid such an uncommon situation.

That said, I have to admit, as nonsensical as I think this lawsuit is (come on, caveat emptor, guys), I can certainly sympathize with being deeply disappointed to be deprived of the chance to watch Ana de Armas. It's not worth suing over, but I understand the intensity of their wish to see her.

 

[JD]

Yeah, the problem with this lawsuit is that the trailers often come months before the final edit is done. Hell, I think some big movies have started releasing teasers before they even finished filming.
And a lot of the time, I don't think they even finish the final edit until right before the premiere. I'm pretty sure I remember hearing stories about editors finishing and handing the film or whatever they're on in the digital age to a person, who literally drove it over to the premiere and started playing it.
The only thing that is a little irritating is when they create fake scenes just for the trailer, or when the trailer promises one tone and the final movies is totally different. One of the later that stands out for me is Operation: Elephant Drop, which the trailers made look like a silly comedy, but then the final movie was actually pretty serious, with the only funny scenes being the handful in the trailer.

 

[Christopher]

And a lot of the time, I don't think they even finish the final edit until right before the premiere. I'm pretty sure I remember hearing stories about editors finishing and handing the film or whatever they're on in the digital age to a person, who literally drove it over to the premiere and started playing it.

Robert Wise had to release Star Trek: The Motion Picture to theaters before he was finished editing it due to the rigid release date, and he requested permission to finish the edit and have the final cut shipped to theaters to replace the one already showing. But Paramount wouldn't shell out for it, so he had to wait 22 years to see his director's cut finished.

The only thing that is a little irritating is when they create fake scenes just for the trailer

I don't see them as fake, I see them as symbolic. The point of a trailer is not to be an accurate document of the film's content, but to create interest and curiosity about it. If a scene created just for the trailer conveys the tone and substance of the movie, it's done its job, even if that exact scene won't be in the film.

or when the trailer promises one tone and the final movies is totally different. One of the later that stands out for me is Operation: Elephant Drop, which the trailers made look like a silly comedy, but then the final movie was actually pretty serious, with the only funny scenes being the handful in the trailer.

If all the trailers do that, then it's misleading, but the standard formula used by the main couple of companies that produce movie trailers is to have each one emphasize a different facet of the film. For instance, the first teaser trailer is often more vague and ominous (largely because it's released before the CGI is finished so it tends to omit big critical scenes), the second is usually more straightforward and specific about the plot, and the third often emphasizes the humor and pithy dialogue. So a single one of them may not represent the film's tone, but it's not meant to be the whole picture, just one part of a triptych.

For instance, for a rather drastic example, the teaser trailer for the Ghostbusters reboot (the one retroactively subtitled Answer the Call) was so serious and ominous that if you weren't familiar with the franchise, you'd never have been able to tell it was a comedy. But the subsequent trailers showed its comedic side clearly.

 

[JD]

Here's the only trailer I could find on Youtube

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From what I remember it's actually a fairly serious movie, dealing with the war and all of the stuff going on at the time. This just really stuck in my mind, because it felt like false advertising.

 

[Christopher]

From what I remember it's actually a fairly serious movie, dealing with the war and all of the stuff going on at the time. This just really stuck in my mind, because it felt like false advertising.

Sometimes it's just that the people making the trailer aren't sure what to make of a film, especially if it's an unusual film with a hybrid tone like a mix of comedy and drama. So they try to fit it into a standardized mold, and sometimes they choose poorly.

In this case, with a title like Operation Dumbo Drop, it's no wonder the trailer makers expected a goofy comedy, and that probably predisposed them to try to make it fit their expectations.

 

[Nightowl1701]

One of the all-time greatest offenders. It didn't outright say something that proved not to be true, but damned if it didn't want the audience to jump to the wrong conclusion:

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I recall some early trailers from the '40s and '50s that were literally a cast member or the director talking to the audience to tell them about the film and encourage them to see it. There were clips too, but it was mainly just the speech. I think Hitchcock did that for Psycho and maybe some others. So there's never been a requirement that trailers limit themselves only to footage from the film itself.

Oh, Hitchcock made a masterclass of that kind of promotion with the Psycho trailer. Guided tour of the sets of the Bates house and hotel, treating it like a real crime scene, pointing out exactly where people were killed - and even how - without saying who it was. And ending with just a tiny taste of the shower scene. *chef's kiss*

 

[JD]

One of the all-time greatest offenders. It didn't outright say something that proved not to be true, but damned if it didn't want the audience to jump to the wrong conclusion:

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I've never seen that before, it definitely gives makes it sound like a very different movie from what we ended up with.

 

[Awesome Possum]

That Alien 3 trailer was made before they had a script. Fox wanted to rush it to meet that release date. They went through several different scripts, some of which have ended up as comics and novels. Eventually they settled on one, started building sets, the script changed again, then it kept changing during production.

 

[JD]

Oh, OK that would explain a lot. I know the William Gibson script was turned into a comic by Dark Horse before they lost the licesne to Marvel.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

I'm not sure how you would define stepping over the line with this. Like it seems there's a point where you can picture a trailer being maliciously misleading or deceptive but I don't know how to define that in a meaningful way.

If you pay Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock to film scenes for a trailer with no intention of them even being in the film it seems that would be pretty obviously wrong. Or say a trailer with lots of car crashes and explosions and it's actually a Merchant Ivory film. But for typical trailer overstepping, I don't know how you dial that in.

One of the all-time greatest offenders. It didn't outright say something that proved not to be true, but damned if it didn't want the audience to jump to the wrong conclusion:

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While it would still be misleading I could see that used for Alien Resurrection.

 

[Anwar]

When Marvel picks up Henry Cavill, I hope it's NOT for a Superman type character and we get to see his legit acting chops doing something else.

 

[1987SpaceGuy]

came across this yesterday, doesn't shine the best light on a certain now former Superman actor.

 

[The Knappos]

Yeah, the problem with this lawsuit is that the trailers often come months before the final edit is done. Hell, I think some big movies have started releasing teasers before they even finished filming.
And a lot of the time, I don't think they even finish the final edit until right before the premiere. I'm pretty sure I remember hearing stories about editors finishing and handing the film or whatever they're on in the digital age to a person, who literally drove it over to the premiere and started playing it.
The only thing that is a little irritating is when they create fake scenes just for the trailer, or when the trailer promises one tone and the final movies is totally different. One of the later that stands out for me is Operation: Elephant Drop, which the trailers made look like a silly comedy, but then the final movie was actually pretty serious, with the only funny scenes being the handful in the trailer.

Also, the trailer making companies aren't always involved in the production. They're essentially given a brief and a collection of finished shots and tasked with making a sizzle reel for the movie.

A lot of the time, those involved in making the film, particularly the directors, aren't involved in the trailer, not even in a sign off function.

With this 'Yesterday' case, it's going to come down to looking at the dates the trailer was put together and sent out, versus the date the decision was made to cut de Armas' story out of the film.

 

[Christopher]

Also, the trailer making companies aren't always involved in the production. They're essentially given a brief and a collection of finished shots and tasked with making a sizzle reel for the movie.

Yes, and sometimes the filmmakers aren't happy with the choices the trailer people make. For instance, the makers of How to Train Your Dragon 2 were upset that the trailers revealed something they intended to be a big surprise.

A lot of the time, those involved in making the film, particularly the directors, aren't involved in the trailer, not even in a sign off function.

Right, because they're too busy making the actual film.