Side Bar: Movie Previews--Good and Bad

Dear Film Industry Leaders:

On behalf of real movie fans everywhere, I am writing to request that you please stop releasing previews for films that are NOT really previews rather they are Reader's Digest versions of the films--in other words, you are giving away too much of the plot and, in some cases, ruining the movie magic--which is why most people love to go to the movies in the first place. Here is a list of current or recent previews, for example, that fit this description:

• X-Men III--Why would you show some of the best and most exciting scenes in the film in the preview? I think you guys really blew this one! In order for this film to be really amazing now, there better be scenes that top Angel unfolding his wings and flying out the window and the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge--and sorry, it might be a bit late to go and whip up some stuff now.
  
• Click--If the twist in the film is that Adam Sandler's character's universal remote control starts to advance his life too fast on its own, which, in my view is an amazing twist, why did you blow it and put this in the preview, you should have just left in the funny parts of him slowing things down and fast forwarding and left it at that. Sorry to say, buy you've ruined the magic of this film already.
• You, Me, & Dupree--if there are any surprises left in this film, I cannot imagine what they might be.
• The Lake House--again, what magic could be left in this one? You even put in the scene of Keanu Reeve's character running up to the train with Sandra Bullock's character looking out the window. This preview would have been perfect had you just stopped half way through.
• Just My Luck--all we needed to know was that there's an unluck guy and super lucky girl who kiss at a masquerade ball and their luck switches, then stop!
• Pulse--finally, a horror movie where we've seen every scary scene before it comes out so we won't have to be scared by the real thing, oh, and by the way, the dead are coming back to steal our life via electrical connections--yeah, it's all in the preview--get your red duct tape now, it's the only thing that keeps them out.
• Superman Returns: I'm sure there are still many secrets to the film, but the preview shown this week during Poseidon, gives away way, way too much. What I got out of it is that it's an awful lot like the first Christopher Reeve Superman film with Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor--which, it's too bad that this couldn't have been kept a very closely guarded secret that even the most prolific data miners in the film industry at IMDB couldn't find out because the actor playing Lex Luthor, in my view, has been a delicious surprise to me in every past Superman film/series/etc. that I have loved finding out during the movie. Again, this preview in general showed just way too much. Show some mysterious scenes of Clark Kent here and there and stop! Moreover, I think the first time audiences should ever seen Superman in his costume should be on the screen, during the movie. But, the marketing geniuses behind this film released photos of the suit a year ago. In my view--that was a very bad move.

Now, on the contrary, here are some examples of excellent previews:

• The Devil Wears Prada--A longer scene from the film just as it was, giving us enough to decide if we like the concept and the two main characters, but in no way could this possibly have reavealed all of the film's secrets. In fact, how cool would it be if this scene were not even in the film, and the film started just after this point?
• The Da Vinci Code--Of course, I haven't read the book like 191 million other people. It's tough to do a preview when the film is based on a book that so many people already know the plot. And yet, even though this preview shows a lot, I still have no clue really what the movie's about or how it works. It might have been too much to show the UV revelation in the Mona Lisa--not sure yet, but otherwise, this was a really good preview.
• Mission: Impossible III--Great preview, shows excitement, great characters, and teases on the main plot, but didn't even come close to ruining the movie.
• Pirates of the Carribean 2--Excellent job! Everyone I have talked to cannot wait to see this film. Just enough of funny stuff from Cap'n Jack Black (especially the scene of him being roasted over the fire pit and trying to blow out the flame), just enough of the idea that he's made a promise with his soul and he's got to repay, and just enough of a sense that this movie might even be better than the original--which is crucial for a sequel to be successful, right?
• The Lady in the Water--well, we know that M. Night Shymalan wants us to be surprised, and I'm surprised the preview and advance materials give away as much as they do, but still, if this is the whole movie, then, well, it's not going to be a very good one, so I have to presume that this teaser is just that, and there is a whole lot more mystery to uncover.

Guys, it's not that tough a concept. The purpose of a preview is to make people want to see a movie, not to make them say as I hear time and again listening to people in the audience, "No need to see that film," or "That's probably every funny line in the film, no need to pay to see that" [this was in reference to Little Man], or "We've all seen that before. No need to go to see that movie." Please consider this and think about the decline in box office receipts over the past few years. Doesn't it stand to reason that if you blow your very best way of marketing your film--captive people who've already demonstrated they go to the movies in theaters--that's not a good thing? Previews should stir the imagination not provide plot summaries or serve as spoilers.

Sincerely,

MSCT