How to save the film of a first time filmmaker.... Re: The Way Of The Gun

Straight up, I haven't talked with Christopher McQuarrie since his movie was obliterated at the box office... But I imagine he's probably at his home in Seattle or hanging with friends in Los Angeles... and licking his wounds.

He made a film, which he doesn't feel is perfect... but he feels it is still a good movie... and he watches as the marketing gods raise the golden calf that is Keanu to the top of the box office charts this weekend while his film lays hemoragging in the gutter.

Now in an earlier column, I called the folks in charge of THE WAY OF THE GUN trailer and tv spots... KNOBS. Having spoken with one of them, I assure you that he isn't a knob... just a consumate professional. Usually the folks over at Artisan do a fantastic job of marketing their films... in fact, usually they are among the best at taking little unconventional films and giving it the room and introduction it needs to succeed.

Right now, look at their trailers for REQUIEM FOR A DREAM.... or their brilliant BLAIR WITCH PROJECT advertising campaign from the original film. These are not knobs... they know what they are doing.

But even though they are professionals, they are humans... which allows for mistakes. In my opinion, the marketing of THE WAY OF THE GUN is the stake being driven through its heart.

Their theatrical and tv spots position and market the film to a young 'hip cool' demographic through the use of Limp Bizkit and The Violent Femmes and an emphasis on the comdedic quirky elements of the film.

First off... the film is a very serious R-rated film. Meaning right off the bat that they should be marketing to a slightly older audience... ANYWAY. With the exception of Taye Diggs, Ryan Phillipe and Juliette Lewis... EVERYBODY else can be considered.... older. In fact, the entire film is a combination of two older genres... Film Noir and the Spaghetti Western... not necessarily the Gen Y story of the day.

NOW... Artisan wanted to expand the demographic of the film beyond the older crowd... they also wanted the younger set. They wanted to bring and introduce this Film Noir/Spaghetti Western flick to the Limp Bizkit and Violent Femmes crowd.

A noble concept. And had Artisan placed their Limp Bizkit and Violent Femmes spots on the young and hip channels... Comedy Central, MTV, etc... And placed the 'young' trailer on say THE CELL and SCARY MOVIE... well that's where that trailer belonged...

But they didn't have an alternative campaign that was reaching out to OTHER AUDIENCES. They were concentrating all their energy on the message that this movie was supposed to be young and hip and cool and quirky. To the other audiences... this looked like some sort of Gen Y bang bang with a smile. The older and technically LARGER audience was alienated by the campaign and from the box office this weekend... they stayed away in droves.

BUT IT'S A WONDERFUL MOVIE...

Yeah, but the title held no resonance for the audience at large... all they knew was funny, bang bang, rock-n-roll. THEN... when the audience that got that message went to the theaters... those that wanted funny, bang bang, rock-n-roll... well since there is no Rock-N-Roll.... since there is very little funny and there is occassional bang bang... they walked away disappointed. They left saying it was Tarantino-wannabe... a low-rent Pulp Fiction.

BUT THIS MOVIE HAS JACK TO DO WITH PULP FICTION!

Now, I'm going to backseat drive a bit here... but this is how a deluded fanboy would've marketed WAY OF THE GUN.

First off... What is 'the way of the gun'? To the audience you needed to define and state concisely... What is The Way Of The Gun? There are rules you follow.... Those that go the way of the gun, never accept the bag man's low first offer. You don't become friendly with the victim. You see the plan through to its conclusion... good or bad... live or die.

Second... To the older audience, you want to position the intensity of the film and the mythic nature of the characters. If you take a look at the old Sergio Leone trailers for films like ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY and FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE... you can see how you set up that this is a movie where these characters will end up at THIS POINT and.... you'll just have to go to the movie to see how it turns out. Now... you don't have to put in the Morricone score of old.... Joe Kraemer has created a GREAT score... one with every bit the flair of Morricone's fine Leone flourishes.

Third.... Clearly define the characters... These are archtypes... not terribly original, so it's very easy. Del Toro and Phillipe = The Kidnappers. Nicky Katt and Taye Diggs = The BodyGuards. Dylan Kussman = The Doctor. Scott Wilson & Kristin Lehman = The Parents. James Caan = The Bag Man. Juliette Lewis = The Suitcase. Ultrasound of child = The Prize. The Courtyard of the Whorehouse = The Mousetrap. The Bags of Money = The Cheese. THESE are the points you have to make. That you emphasize to the older demographic. You accentuate these points... drive them into the audiences' tv addled brains. You force them to sit up and pay attention... and wonder... HOW IS THIS ALL GOING TO PLAY OUT?

Now... there is the issue of... if you divide the attention of the audience... send two messages... You will confuse and alienate the audience. Well, at this point... with the box office opening that this film DIDN'T HAVE... I think risking confusing the audience might be the smartest move. After all... DREAMWORKS met great success with the duo message GLADIATOR marketing... where the weird 'football, baseball, basketball/Gladiator' trailers hit the younger audience... while the classic more EPIC trailers skewed for the older crowd. Marketing is about trying to get AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE... there is still work to do here... this isn't a bad film. This is a film that has polarized critics... but look at who did like the movie. USA TODAY, THE NEW YORK TIMES, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, BOSTON GLOBE, WASHINGTON POST, etc... This isn't TELENOTICIAS and the 60 SECOND PREVIEW. The film is pulling in a 7.5 on IMDB which makes it a 3 star movie in the audiences' minds... but there are under 300 votes because... NOONE SAW THE MOVIE THIS WEEKEND!!!

This is a solid damn fine action film for educated action audiences. It skews older than the marketing... It would be nice to see an agressive repositioning of this film instead of just letting it die on the beach... The folks behind the movie worked their asses off... Give them your support.

Harry