By Christopher Stipp

Archives? Right Here…

Instead of manning-up and actually going the emotionally hard route of being outrightly rejected by publishers, I’m rejecting them first and allowing you to give my entire book a preview, let you read the whole thing or, if you like, download the whole damn thing at no cost. Download and read my first book “Thank You, Goodnight” for FREE.

Did you know there is a Comments section below? Feel free to leave an opinion or two. I have been known to leave a rebuttal so, by all means, let your freak flag fly.

However, now that we’re deep into 2008 by a good three days there is the matter of wrapping up old 2007 business. I have been thinking over and over again about the trailers I saw this year and wondered what it was that qualified the top 5.
There are the old stand-by arguments, kind of like the R S T L on Wheel of Fortune, about the showing of too much of the story, the copious use of voiceovers, the use of superlatives that not even your most fear-mongering newscast could employ but I think the list of the remaining 5 trailers of 2007 have certain qualities that really express the best of what it is to be a solid preview:

5. PARIS JE T’AIME: I can’t remember a more earnest and compelling trailer that made me feel good about paying attention in reading class. There is a certain sense of global community when you can see a movie packed tight with so many different styles, tossing out the requisite “there were more hits than misses” quip when you have to explain this is a movie of short stories, essentially. The trailer, though, is gorgeously composed of all these competing styles and you will find yourself humming along with Feist’s “We’re All In The Dance” if you give into the trailer’s tractor beam. There could have been a train wreck of mish-mash proportions if you tried to explain what the hell this movie was going to be about but it was the trailer’s dependence on selling a macro view on what the film was about that allowed it to create an ambiguous portrait of what it was; it paid off, as well, if you tried to hunt it down like the dodo bird it was while it was playing in small art houses across America. Do yourself a favor and rent the film. Just be ready to read, and be pleased.

4. HE WAS A QUIET MAN: If you could sum up about what I call the Grey’s Effect (Patent pending) this trailer would exemplify it. The use of smart rhythms and appropriate music can actually bring the overall effectiveness of a trailer to greater heights. Not only have I been playing this trailer over and over again because it hits the right notes, literally, at just the right time but I’ve had Bloc Party and Keane on repeat on my iPod ever since I saw this thing. As well, how bizarre is the premise? Not only are we not really given a super clear idea of what’s happening this trailer deftly straddled surrealism and point blank drama with some of the sharpest edges you could ever lay on someone within 2 and a half minutes. I am especially taken with Christian Slater’s performance and that’s saying something after I’ve had to endure some of his direct-to-DVD arsenal as of late.

3. THE KING OF KONG: A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS: Can you all give me one “I told you so”? This trailer just unscrewed all the hinges on my door and then kicked it in, karate style. Some people remember odd things about where they were when things happened and I’m not joking when I say that I remember stumbling onto Yahoo!’s trailer site (which blows harder than a hungry crack whore, for what it’s worth) and finding this gem. It had all the elements of a great documentary trailer: a little goofiness, a little heart and a whole lot of showcasing these people and letting their nerdery hang themselves with the rope they were given. These people were so strange but you couldn’t help but stare, the graphics were hilariously on point, the crux of the film was clear and not muddled with anything superfluous and it managed to leave you with the taste that you wanted more. To wit, the trailer leaves you thinking: What happens next? The very fact it can do this shows you how great this preview is.

2. ONCE: One of the best movies I saw all last year. I would have never, ever seen this film if it hadn’t been for the trailer. I think that when you are able to transcend the relationship of viewer and performance there has to be an explanation of how that was possible. With the trailer for ONCE there is just an immediate kinship that’s formed with this man, this woman, and you just bounce on the lilting vocals of these two people. And that ending! “Who the fuck is she running toward? The dude who was trying to get her, someone else? Who???” I can’t imagine anything worse this year than rushing out to see this movie only to find myself gripped with tension to get to the ending of a film. The music still gets me as the words of brilliance from other critics, a usual red flag to me whenever it’s employed, ring absolutely true each and every time I see this trailer. The movie is brilliant and, honestly, if you don’t think it is then…I really don’t respect your opinion; you’re wrong.

1. IRON MAN: Is there no one out there who would deny that this trailer is everything that we weren’t given this year by any other of its variety? What made this trailer so special and why it made the number one slot isn’t for its musical miscues with the Filter and Black Sabbath remixes but it’s the visuals and the unmistakable idea that Robert Downey Jr. is indeed Tony Stark in all his glib glory as he initially brushes off a reporter and then deadpans his way through a military presentation that just oozed geek delight. Beyond the small touches it was really the creation of a trailer that expressed everything a summer movie trailer (the reason why trailers are excellent when they’re allowed to do it) should be: loud, fantastical and barely giving a hint about where the movie’s going. It eschews Voiceover Guy, doesn’t deal with cards in between the scenes, allows the movie to just be seen and experienced and, best of all, gives you a peek of what the modern day Iron Man is going to look like as it’s in the air. I know it doesn’t seem like much but everything about the trailer builds up to the payoff that it rightfully deserves. If the last few moments don’t make you want to see the film then I’m not sure what you like in trailers; at the end of the day these previews are looking to get you spend your money. We all want to buy but we hate to be sold. This trailer does both effortlessly without any of the animosity.

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman
Release: July 18, 2008
Synopsis: Christian Bale once again embodies the man behind the mask in “The Dark Knight.” The film reunites Bale with director Christopher Nolan and takes Batman across the world in his quest to fight a growing criminal threat. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman has been making headway against local crime…until a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) unleashes a fresh reign of chaos across Gotham City. To stop this devious new menace–Batman’s most personal and vicious enemy yet–he will have to use every high-tech weapon in his arsenal and confront everything he believes.

View Trailer:
* Large (QuickTime)

Prognosis: Positive. Yes, I think we all can agree it doesn’t need my gushing to label this an amazing feat of trailer construction but let’s try to analyze why it works so well and why, dare I say, this is going to be the best trailer you’ll see in 2008.

I will dare to say that and I’ll dare even more to put out there that this is best argument, watershed and precedent as to why Voiceover Guy should be put on the street with the rest of the other cheap tricks and gimmicks to get you to see a film or spend your money. The reason why, you see, is because this trailer pulls in close and doesn’t let you look away for any reason at all; not a lame voiceover, not some hackneyed one-liner in-between the scenes and certainly there isn’t any inclusion of material that would make this trailer all things to all people. This is for geeks and it goes the distance with embracing what it felt was the right direction, eschewing mediocrity.

It’s the opening, really, that hooks you like one of those flashy lures you see on the Outdoor Channel that catches all kinds of fishes who happen by it. It’s subtle with the camera shot that is riding on the lower back end of that low-rider motorcycle, his cape flapping behind him. It’s the pensive, minimalist moment as Bale contemplates something (Why I was right about his need to inhale deeply among his bats, thus causing acute histoplasmosis, why downtown Chicago needs to be in more movies like this one and why Katie Holmes was such an obviously bad choice for a romantic lead…) that’s really engaging in a different way, While Routh had the Superman-itis which caused him to neither be able to act or show any definitive emotion Bale is able to loudly convey a sense of exhaustion. The drop down into a parked car, fluorescent light making it look deliciously real, and the standing with his bat-binoculars is stark, to say nothing of the Chicago landmarks you can see from that angle from the Chase building to the very slanted structure that Elizabeth Shue’s young ward dangled outside of in ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING. It makes me homesick.

Beyond that, though, the Joker’s monologue that ends with seeing Heath, head askew and quite small compared to the composed shot behind him, and a building going up in flames with explosions was just the kind of thing that took this from an 8 to an 11.

The tick-tick-tick score behind the action on the screen, men with guns at the ready, the anticipation that this is a major deal, and the breakdown of the villainy that this psychopath is capable of is handled too good for words. Nolan creates less of the comic book environment that made Burton’s BATMAN so good, Nolan steps beyond that by making this SILENCE OF THE LAMBS meets Vertigo and it is all there to see.

Then we get the smeared face of Ledger’s Joker and it should quash any misgivings many of you had, myself included, that it was a bad idea. This is a very good idea.

We get more of the batcycle, a little Bale being bombastic, but we also get more of that introspection that we saw earlier where Wayne seems divided about what to do. Michael Caine provides the perfect parry to Bale’s morose defeatism and we’re given the new and improved batcave which seems like it took a page from Dwell modern living and made sure it was nothing but clean lines and bright light; it’s gorgeous.

Moving on to more of the confusing, but perfectly placed cut scenes, we’re given a police processional that is broken up for some chaotic reason, we’re introduced to Maggie the new love interest or Vicki Vale hit-it-and-quit-it, and an extended moment with the Joker’s mannerisms and patois. The fisticuffs between the psycho and the bat suited one is a welcome diversion as we’re led to more cut scenes of destruction.

The clap of the Joker’s hands, Bale flashing the smile that no doubt gets all the ladies to shed unwanted pounds, the semi that does a one-over on itself before thunderously crashing down and the eventual showdown between the Joker and Batman on the streets of Chicago (Schaumburg, Palatine, Barrington, Northwest Suburbs representin’, yo) seemingly feels close to Burtons denouement but this is so much better with the way that the reality of the moment seems so much more dire.

What’s ultimately wonderful about this trailer is that it not only whets the appetite for more of Ledger, more action, more moments to dissect this is an example, or should be anyway, why classic textbook cases of people being coy or secretive about the work (STAR TREK and CLOVERFIELD are but two obvious examples) aren’t being creative by holding back, they’re only frustrating those who could start buzzing about the film months before its release. Case in point: I’ve shown this trailer and/or passed the link on to handfuls of people just because I had to share my excitement with someone. You want viral marketing, you want to create fake websites, you want people to become involved in your brand, and make no mistake these are corporate brands, you have to give them more than just thrills, you need to excite people and this is the perfect way to do it and not once did I mention the absence of Anthony Michael Hall or Harvey Dent. Completely irrelevant.

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