I can’t handle it anymore. The excitement is building exponentially. This is a movie Marvel fans have been waiting for every since Nick Fury began recruiting his team in 2008′s Iron Man & The Incredible Hulk. We’ve all wondered whether The Avengers will live up to the hype. Thankfully, each and every promotional still, promo and trailer have confirmed that we are in for something special.
This edition of Versus should probably incorporate Neill Blomkamp somehow as his extraordinary film District 9 kind of paved the way for more low(ish) budget/high concept films. Even better, he did it by creating an imaginative short film called Alive In Joburg first which I included below.
Director Oren Peli did an amazing job with a tiny budget and created a massively successful horror franchise. He proved that it doesn’t take a ton of money to create a horrific atmosphere if you have a solid concept and clear direction.
2010′s Monsters showed us that you don’t need a massive budget to create a successful alien invasion story.
Director Gareth Edwards created the incredible visual effects by himself but more than that, he created an pretty fantastic film driven by wonderful characters.
Each took relatively small budgets (Peli especially with a budget of $15,000) and armed with entertaining stories, launched themselves into the Hollywood spotlight.
Sometimes all it takes is a good idea and the passion to pull it off. Blomkamp did it and is now seen as one of the leading young directors today.
So which director will win this battle? Lets break it down.
The Hype
Paranormal Activity
Oren Peli and company made this film in 2007. It was a long time before it got into the hands of Steven Spielberg.
The marketing team did an incredible job of creating hype for this film. Basically, daring people to demand it in their cities. Using the web, social media and positive word of mouth, a tremendous amount of hype was generated.
And the film delivered as promised.
Monsters
This film didn’t get nearly enough publicity leading up to it’s release. It’s unfortunate.
I did like how they released it online. I wish it was available somewhere On Demand in Canada early on. I would have definitely payed to rent it.
Instead, I was forced to wait.
Winner: Paranormal Activity
The Directors
These films are both incredibly alike and incredibly different. Both films involve 2 main characters facing enormous challenges and both keep things relatively simple. Where they differ is scale.
Paranormal Activity
Shot in one house with hand held techniques. The ‘found footage’ style is executed perfectly and provides some of the best scares in recent memory. Peli does a fantastic job showing you just enough to keep you at the edge of your seat while holding back for the spectacular finale.
Monsters
Monsters is a much more polished film. While P.A remains locked in one location, Monsters takes you on a journey filled with Aliens, Armies, Battles and much more. Edwards has a great eye for visual effects. You’d never know they were done on such a low budget.
Using clever placements of signs, debris and other effects, the director creates a perfect ‘Infected Zone’ that pulls you into the story.
I give the edge to Monsters here for the sheer scale the director managed to achieve.
Winner: Monsters
The Cast
Paranormal Activity
Both main characters did a great job selling the story to the audience but there were still moments here and there where it felt a little over the top.
Monsters
The strength of this film is the character work and a lot of credit has to go to the cast.
Winner: Monsters
The Films
Paranormal Activity
To this day it remains one of the best theater experiences I’ve ever had. Such a simple concept. Such an entertaining movie.
Monsters had a different impact on me. The way the film is presented was inspiring. I may not know a lot about visual effects but I’ve certainly applied it to my screenwriting. I’m no longer afraid to go a little further instead of constantly worrying about escalating costs.
Early word has surfaced that Gareth Edwards will be taking on Godzilla next. If that’s the case, it will be a while before we see anything new so the edge still goes to Peli.
Winner: Paranormal Activity
Overall
Each category is worth one point with ties counting as a point for each.
Paranormal Activity: 5 Points
Monsters: 3 Points
The Winner: Paranormal Activity
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Here is a brand new still from 17 West’s upcoming short film, The Climb.
Expect more and more updates as the production moves along including exclusive stills, features and the film’s trailer.
The Climb centers on Cameron and Destiny and their struggles living on the streets. Each of them must face their terrible pasts in order to move on. While Destiny lost all hope long ago, Cameron holds to his belief that he will find a way to change things one day.
I don’t know much about Cowboys & Aliens but the title, the cast and now the poster have me pumped to see it.
How can a movie called Cowboys & Aliens NOT be entertaining? Especially when you have John Favreau (Iron Man) at the helm with Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde in front of the cameras.
It just looks cool!
Now we get the first trailer for the film.
This is officially on my must see list next summer.
Very rarely does an original film come along like Inception. The last one I can remember was The Matrix. These types of movies are ‘game-changers’. Films that change the way we look at movies and raise our expectations for future releases. Stories that challenge your mind while still providing blockbuster entertainment are the reason we love movies. It’s impossible not to be excited about Inception.
Christopher Nolan is once again pushing the boundaries of technology and storytelling to a height we’ve never seen. Many people once asked if he would ever top The Dark Knight. Inception could very well be that masterpiece.
Nolan’s films are legendary for generating enormous amounts of hype and then delivering on that promise. It’s rare these days that an extremely creative film is partnered with an equally impressive advertising and promotional campaign.
It’s inspiring to see how these movies are packaged and presented to the public. Trailers, advertisements, websites, TV spots and more give us glimpses into a mysterious story that we simply HAVE to see.
Everyone wants to know what Inception is?
Why are we so interested in Inception?
Secrecy
At first, only die hard film fans knew about Nolan’s next top secret project. In the early stages all we knew was the title and that it was a thriller involving the mind. Huh?
Whenever a brilliant director talks about tackling a passion project you have to take notice. Sheer curiosity alone puts this movie on most people’s radars. That’s before you mention the man directed The Dark Knight, Memento, The Prestige and Batman Begins. (All incredible movies.)
The hype machine slowly grew as little, yet perfectly timed, details came into focus. With each new detail came new questions.
Just what is Nolan and that impressive cast and crew up to?
Trailers
Creating a good trailer is an art form. Most trailers these days give way too much away. Credit has to be given to the filmmakers for having enough confidence in their film to avoid this pitfall. Show just enough to get people talking.
The first teaser trailer did just that.
After watching that trailer I still didn’t know what the movie was about yet I desperately wanted more. To quote the best villain to ever grace the silver screen:
“It’s all part of the plan”
Next came two incredible trailers that showed off some of the action and more of the mysterious plot.
This is how you promote a movie. I love how they handled these trailers. Even the TV spots are amazing. It’s fascinating to watch them and try to figure out what Inception will be in the end.
That’s the point!
This is why movies inspire me. There’s nothing like being excited to see a movie. Much like The Dark Knight, this promotional campaign etches itself into popular culture. Everyone is talking about that weird movie with Leonardo DiCaprio and the girl from Juno.
Artwork, Posters and Ads
Are you kidding me with these advertisements? First off, I agree it takes a ton of cash to pull off images like this but all the cash in the world doesn’t inspire creativity. It simply provides the freedom to dream big and pull it off.
I’m still in awe of the images these artists created to promote the film. I can’t get enough.
The amount of marketing dollars that went into this film is insane. I like to think that these types of ads coupled with early screenings for critics means the studio has enormous confidence in the film.
It’s been a blast to follow.
Hype
Pretty much anyone who loves going to the movies is at the very least intrigued by Inception. How can you ignore it?
I wish each and every weekend saw the release of a movie of this caliber. That is a world I would like to live in.
Inception has received tremendous praise from critics and looks to be another monster hit. I’m not surprised. Generating this amount of hype and delivering an amazing film is what makes filmmakers legendary. This amount of buzz is normally reserved for big budget franchises and sequels.
What makes this summer unique is it’s crown jewel is an original story from one of the most talented directors of this generation.
Christopher Nolan is a genius.
I’m almost sad that once I see it, I won’t know what to look forward to next. Actually, I’ll probably see it more than once.
kind of paved the way for more low(ish) budget/high concept films. Even better, he did it by creating an imaginative short film called Alive In Joburg first which I included below.
