In a World Where People Watch Movies

The Guardian has a great piece on how all movie trailers look alike, sound alike, begin with the words "in a world" and have the same guy doing the voiceover:

... by far the oddest practices in the world of trailers concern the music that accompanies them. Film scores tend to be completed so late in the production process that most trailer editors can't use the correct music even if they want to; normally, however, they don't. Deploying the music from a successful older film to advertise a new one must be about as close to subliminal advertising as it's legally possible to get.

"Fire In Brooklyn Theatre," a foreboding instrumental song from the 1991 film Come See the Paradise, has been used in trailers for Clear and Present Danger, A Few Good Men, and nearly two dozen other films.

A snippet of the song can be heard on the soundtrack page on Amazon.Com.

The director of the film, Alan Parker, can't escape the song:

There is a Randy Edelman cue in my film ... that has been used for the trailers of at least a dozen other movies at last count. I even have to listen to it every weekend because it's also been pinched for the theme music of the Premiership Plus matches on Sky.

Joshua Allen wrote a funny fake roundtable discussion of how the trailer was made for the Tom Cruise film Minority Report:

Erskine: Don't be coy, give us whatcha got. Combee: 'In a world where crimes are st -- ' Doven: No. Combee: But -- Doven: No 'in a world.' Erskine: What do you mean no 'in a world?' 'In a world' is our bread and butter. Test audiences love 'in a world.' The people like knowing a movie's going to be 'in a world.'

Music · Movies · 2005/06/13 · 4 COMMENTS · Link

Comments

Janeane Garofalo, who really was funny at one time, used to do a bit about movie trailers where she said they all started with "In a world ..." maybe 10 years ago, actually it was New Year's 1994 in the Bay Area that I saw her do it. Funny stuff.

I keep hearing this one emotionally manipulative instrumental in movies like A River Runs Through It (I think) and others that I can't recall now, and a ton of movie trailers, it's starting to drive me crazy.

#1 · Uncle Mikey · 2005/06/14

Here Come De Judge

BOO!

Gird Your Loins Bro's

So, as I was Sayin':

Remember back when

the Second Coming

played for Free

At the beach?

O Mangus.

That was the Great Thing

about the '70's:

The Sense of Community

we Young People enjoyed.

Why Can't We ALL

Get Together

and Love One Another

Right Now?

#2 · Just ArGene · 2005/09/20

"In a world where Don LaFontaine makes millions doing trailer voice overs..."

#3 · G33K · 2005/10/08

Hey! Just let you know a nice place called: http://www.tvokay.com
it has thousands of movies or TV shows......free for you!

#4 · debbycruz12 · 2008/07/31