Hi,
I understand the problem people in the business may have with regard to publicity/advertising etc; but how far should advanced revelations go with trailers and posters? Also, how much should the media reveal in the form of a news story or journalistic article?
I have already some years ago, stopped watching EastEnders, over this. The result has been that I watch far less television, and found myself buying Radio Times less frequently. I had, not for the first time, had all the drama taken out of a storyline by a spoiler. As I walked into a branch of W. H. Smith, I was confronted by a glimpse of a magazine cover announcing that Stella was dead. She had another 10 days to go! I decided not to waste my life anymore, following up a tale, only to find its climax and end is revealed. After the storyline finished and a few losse ends were cleared, that was it.
How do Britmovie members feel on this subject? Spoilers: A curse or necessity?
(By the way, I do not think she died. I saw someone who looked like her, in the pub at a later date.)
Alan French.
Last edited by alan french; 15-05-11 at 08:53 AM.
I hate it when you're watching a drama serial and, just seconds after the end of the episode, it goes straight into "Next Week..." and a montage of often very give-away scenes from the next episode. I dive for the remote to switch 'em off! I know the programmers do this to try and hook people into the next edition, but it is very annoying that they even leave this on when you are watching on iplayer weeks after the run has finished!
I dislike movie trailers these days - it's all the same voiceover, quick cuts that show the entire film and therefore kill my interest in wanting to see the actual film!
Have to say...this trailer is an all-time favorite: gives enough to whet your interest without giving the story away:http://youtu.be/bSlvWajeBVc
Last edited by scraller; 15-05-11 at 04:12 PM.
Trailers, especially for films, often include sections that are made just for the trailer and aren't in the actual film.
But different people have different thresholds of what they regard as spoilers. There are some people who I've seen complain about spoilers on the IMDb who seem to regard giving away the title as a spoiler
Steve
I must admit to being out of step with everyone else I know about this.
I love having the luxury of knowing just how something will unfold, and then being able to relish it, secure in the knowledge of the final outcome without any distracting shocks (I don't like surprises). In fact I'd go so far as saying that I generally HATE not knowing the outcome of a film / TV storyline etc beforehand... the polar opposite of most viewers. I seem to enjoy the "comfort" of knowing how things will ultimately pan out, even if the outcome is bad. In some cases it helps me make the decision not to waste my time watching a drama or documentary in the first place, because I know the ambiguous or annoying ending will simply irritate me. There's nothing much worse than wasting two hours watching a film only for the ending to leave you hanging in limbo (why do so many modern programme makers seem to think that's clever? perhaps they like to leave untied threads in the hope of a lucrative follow-on?). A recent TV example was "The Reckoning" where the finale left me feeling cheated.
Friends are now used to me asking them (when they've been to the cinema to watch a new release) "How did it end?"
Must say something about my psyche I suppose...probably not very flattering either
There was a DR Who writer mentioned on the radio at the weekend who got quite shirty about somebody on the the internet who blogged some plotline that gave away a show that the weriter felt had to rely on surprise for the viewer. The writer said he wished the geek would go and be a fan of something else. It was quite funny listening to him ranting actually...
I'm ambivalent about knowing too much. I have to say that I can watch "The Sixth Sense" over and over because it's such a good script as well as well-acted, and Toni Collette especially is just fantastic. On the other hand, one viewing of "The Village" was quite enough and had I known the ending, it might have made the film better because I was waiting for a surprise that never was, and it really annoyed me that that was all there was to it...
Poor old M. Night Shyla-man-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place.
I admitted to this once in a post & someone put up a "screwy" icon in my quote. I'm glad to see someone else with the same mindset. I like to watch vampire movies because I know that if someone dies, they'll come back to life again. I also have to Google the winners of America's Next Top Model & Project Runway coz I can't wait til the end.Originally Posted by Tonch
I must admit to being out of step with everyone else I know about this.
I love having the luxury of knowing just how something will unfold, and then being able to relish it, secure in the knowledge of the final outcome without any distracting shocks (I don't like surprises). In fact I'd go so far as saying that I generally HATE not knowing the outcome of a film / TV storyline etc beforehand... the polar opposite of most viewers. I seem to enjoy the "comfort" of knowing how things will ultimately pan out, even if the outcome is bad. In some cases it helps me make the decision not to waste my time watching a drama or documentary in the first place, because I know the ambiguous or annoying ending will simply irritate me. There's nothing much worse than wasting two hours watching a film only for the ending to leave you hanging in limbo (why do so many modern programme makers seem to think that's clever? perhaps they like to leave untied threads in the hope of a lucrative follow-on?). A recent TV example was "The Reckoning" where the finale left me feeling cheated.
Friends are now used to me asking them (when they've been to the cinema to watch a new release) "How did it end?"
Must say something about my psyche I suppose...probably not very flattering either
I love watching stuff in total ignorance of what I'm in for, though this doesn't happen very often. But I got lucky with the recently-revived Les Diaboliques - I'm not quite sure how I failed to absorb any spoilers at all before stumbling upon it at the late lamented Scala Cinema in the 1980s, but I genuinely didn't know anything about it other than the most notorious line from that British review that slammed it as "vulgar, nasty and French".
I really wish I'd seen Psycho under the same conditions, but sadly not.
I think they should continue the trend with regards to soap operas as my mum (an avid soap opera watcher) cannot watch any programme that I happen to introduce her to without asking what's going to happen or trying to guess the outcome and asking for confirmation! Soap opera fans are obviously used to knowing the plot prior to the episodes airing so obviously the pleasure is in gossiping about the (pretend) people concerned as if they were real people!
Having said that & reflecting on movies like "The Sixth Sense", there are times that being uninformed is a necessity.I admitted to this once in a post & someone put up a "screwy" icon in my quote. I'm glad to see someone else with the same mindset. I like to watch vampire movies because I know that if someone dies, they'll come back to life again. I also have to Google the winners of America's Next Top Model & Project Runway coz I can't wait til the end.
Audiences were specifically asked not to give away the ending to anyone. Back then they tended to obey such requests more than they do now
Steve
I would never reveal the identity of the killer in The Mousetrap having been sworn to secrecy on the subject
IIRC The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry has a card at the end telling the audience not to give away the twist (which is a bit rubbish anyway)
The urban legend is that if you get a taxi to the theatre to watch The Mousetrap, if you don't tip the cabbie - he'll give away the endingI would never reveal the identity of the killer in The Mousetrap having been sworn to secrecy on the subject
Steve
I have a friend who, upon starting to read a novel, will always look at the last page first !
Someone mentioned The Sixth Sense... I think I've bragged about this before, but I guessed the 'big twist' in the plot without ever even seeing the film : the reviewers made such a big thing about the surprise at the end that you could save yourself the price of a ticket and figure it out for yourself.
A great trailer. Love Hitch's wit in it......
Have to say...this trailer is an all-time favorite: gives enough to whet your interest without giving the story away:
All I want to know are some generic basics, i.e. is the film a rom-com, drama, mystery, or a horror flick where a man graphically rips out the hearts of ten women,which I then avoid like the plague.
Trailers and the like are filtered opinions from studios, critics, et al which often skew the film for me and aren't always on the mark anyhow. I skip them and wait to see what I think about the film.
Cheers,
Barbara
I imagine that when the concept behind Columbo was first mooted, the execs.' cigars would have slipped from between their slack-jawed lips, and singed indelible marks into the mahogany board-room table ............
What - all of them? Surely that only leaves wildlife documentaries. And not very exciting ones at that!All I want to know are some generic basics, i.e. is the film a rom-com, drama, mystery, or a horror flick where a man graphically rips out the hearts of ten women,
It also leaves out comedies, westerns, sci-fic...but I know you know what I know I meant.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote