Best Poster Artwork of 1997
HomerJ1995
Although I would have to agree with Chris Gove that the SE Star Wars Trilogy
posters were great, my favorite poster was the Austin Powers: International
Man of Mystery Poster with Austin on the front (dancing) and various "hip"
phrases around him...
Very hip and VERY funny...
Darren Laflamme
Charles Fitzsimmons
Happy New Year Fellow MoPo Members!
I've gone off "no mail" status for the day to wish all of you good folks
a very Happy New Year! (and to participate in this "best poster art"
discussion.)
Oddly enough, I personally think that "most" poster artwork is
superfluous (meaning, I rarely go see a film because it has a good
poster, and have never avoided a film because it had a bad poster).
But on rare occasions, I have seen a film because of its poster. I saw
Jackie Chan's "First Strike" this year because MoPo's very own Jon Allen
made the poster look as if Chan had finally appeared in an expensive
production. Unfortunately, the poster looked more costly than the
film. You owe me $8.50, Jon! ;)
The first poster for "Great Expectations" is my favorite poster of the
year. I know that some folks hate this poster, but it made me want to
see the film. Some folks think the first poster is ugly. I think it is
gorgeous.
Unfortunately, they've replaced it with a new poster. The interesting
thing is that I've no desire to see the film that the new poster is
advertising. It is, of course, the same film -- but it gives off a
totally different impression (and probably a more accurate one. I saw
the "trailer" this weekend, and the film looks awful. They've made the
story "modern," which, although unfortunate, is accurately reflected on
the new poster.)
I hate to say it, but I think the least attractive poster of the year is
for "Donnie Brasco," however -- it is an accurate poster for the film.
It conveys what the film is about, so I cannot fault it.
An interesting trend this year is to make a film appear to be something
that it isn't. The poster for "In the Company of Men" made it appear to
be a comedy (which it certainly wasn't). A few other posters did the
same thing, (but their titles escape me at the moment).
Major goof of the year was the chosen poster for "Air Force One." The
poster chosen is uninspiring and tells me nothing about the film. Jon
Allen's rejected design makes you want to see the film! If you haven't
seen it already, you can see Jon's design for "Air Force One" (and
Jackie Chan's "First Strike") at http://members.aol.com/jca2112/
HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL!
Kindest regards,
Charles (The Pacino Guy)
Derek Balling
>An interesting trend this year is to make a film appear to be something
>that it isn't. The poster for "In the Company of Men" made it appear to
>be a comedy (which it certainly wasn't). A few other posters did the
>same thing, (but their titles escape me at the moment).
Hey now, I saw that film at its premiere in Fort Wayne, Indiana (where it
was filmed) and I think it qualifies as a comedy in a certain respect... a
very f***ing DARK comedy, I'll grant you, but a comedy nonetheless). Yes,
the movie is sick, twisted, and screws with your emotions up until the
final closing scene, but there are definitely a lot of points where you
laugh. What guy DIDN'T look at those two guys in the beginning, and chuckle
a deep sinister chuckle thinking to himself "I've wanted to do that..."
Of course, my girlfriend hated it, but that's to be expected. She couldn't
get past the actions of the people in the movie to see that it was a very
well-written piece of work.
Derek
=======================================================================
Derek J. Balling | J: "You ARE Aware Elvis is dead, right?"
dr...@megacity.org | K: "Elvis isn't dead, son he just went
http://www.megacity.org/ | home!" - Men In Black
=======================================================================
Charles Fitzsimmons
Hi Derek,
Yes, you are correct. "In The Company of Men" could be termed a comedy
(but I use that term loosely); I should have clarified this a bit -- it
certainly wasn't the "type" of comedy that the poster "suggested" (and
there were a number of critics who didn't think it a comedy at all --
regardless of the filmmaker's intentions).
There was an interesting article in the NY Times about that poster and
others. The article was inspired, I believe, by the writer overhearing
two ladies deciding to see "In The Company of Men" based on seeing that
poster. (The ladies wanted to see a comedy and the film they wanted to
see was sold out). But, that film certainly isn't "that" type of a
comedy, and I believe the distributors intentionally misrepresented the
film by using a much more "friendly" poster.
A similar print ad campaign here showed the two characters in "Mrs.
Brown" to be laughing uproariously. And while that film had humor, it
was not a comedy.
It isn't anything new of course (deceptive advertising). "In The
Company of Men" was a "tough sell" and the distributors knew this when
they produced that poster.
But I suppose the positive thing is -- the poster was better than the
film.
Happy New Year!
Kindest regards,
Charles
Derek Balling wrote:
> Hey now, I saw that film at its premiere in Fort Wayne, Indiana (where
> it
> was filmed) and I think it qualifies as a comedy in a certain
> respect... a
> very f***ing DARK comedy, I'll grant you, but a comedy nonetheless).
> Yes,
> the movie is sick, twisted, and screws with your emotions up until the
>
> final closing scene, but there are definitely a lot of points where
> you
> laugh. What guy DIDN'T look at those two guys in the beginning, and
> chuckle
> a deep sinister chuckle thinking to himself "I've wanted to do
> that..."
>
> Of course, my girlfriend hated it, but that's to be expected. She
> couldn't
> get past the actions of the people in the movie to see that it was a
> very
> well-written piece of work.
>
> Derek
> =====
> =================================================================
Sue Wang
Charles Fitzsimmons wrote:
> Major goof of the year was the chosen poster for "Air Force One." The
> poster chosen is uninspiring and tells me nothing about the film. Jon
> Allen's rejected design makes you want to see the film! If you haven't
> seen it already, you can see Jon's design for "Air Force One" (and
> Jackie Chan's "First Strike") at http://members.aol.com/jca2112/
I have to agree that posters aren't really enough to make you see (or
not see) a movie - at least for me. Trailers are always a much bigger
deal for me. Although a poster might be eye-catching when you walk by
it, unless you're really really hooked by it you'd sort of have to be
crazy to say "hey, that looks like a good movie to see" - unless maybe
the movie you wanted to see was sold out and you felt like seeing
something else. Of course trailers can certainly be misleading as well.
I don't know about the "goof of the year" though - doesn't everyone love
Harrison Ford, so they'd go see the movie regardless of the poster?
(That was the rationale of most of my friends) He seems to make a much
more convincing president than, say, Bill Pullman, and I haven't even
seen AFO. :)
Sue
--
"I hate it when people say, 'just part of the job.' Of COURSE
it's part of the job, it IS your f---ing job!"
-- Ed Harris, ABSOLUTE POWER
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/2393
Snowball (1987-1996) - rest in peace
Chris Weber
Hey there... happy new year!!!
I have to disagree with you and say that I did not like the Great
Expectations advance poster at all. Although I usually prefer painted
posters to movie stars egos, I thought the second poster was quite
elegant and even made Gwyneth Paltrow beautiful even though I'm not
a big fan.
I have to admit the worst poster of the year is the Titanic advance.
Big, grey and ugly. It's quite funny because in my opinion the most
beautiful poster of the year is the Titanic regular. It is the one
poster from this year which I will get framed. I also loved the advance
poster for Midnight in the Garden Of Good and Evil, the regular Fifth
Element, advance Little Mermaid, and of course, the Star Wars. I alsot
thought that the Boogie Nights posters was funky and well designed, event
though I didn't care very much for the film.
Chris Weber <umwe...@cc.umanitoba.ca>
"Alright! Let battle commence!
Wine and... bananas! Bring on the dancing girls!"
-Monkey
BERSERKer
i think the poster for 'wag the dog' is very smart. not the one with
the actors' faces but the one showing a film reel tin with the
presidential logo.
Daryl Mok
Chris Weber wrote:
>I also loved the advance
>poster for Midnight in the Garden Of Good and Evil, the regular Fifth
>Element, advance Little Mermaid, and of course, the Star Wars.
Good call on the Midnight In The Garden Of Good & Evil advance - I forgot
about that one! I thought the Alien: Resurrection International style (with
Sigourney's face) was quite good, and the poster for Les Miserables is also
oddly appealing - can't quite explain why!
Daryl
William Weiland
Jupiter151 wrote:
>
> You guys should try the Internet Movie Database
>
> http://www.imdb.com
Thanks for the heads up.
So the question is now: is the nice poster shown at
http://www.titanicmovie.com/ a US poster with no title on it or is that
the international poster? The one linked to the Nostalgia Factory was
fairly plain.
--
Bill Weiland
w...@adelphia.net
http://wcw.simplenet.com/
* Software for movie poster collectors, car collectors,
hobbyists, employee safety and health managers
* Movie Poster On-line Price Survey
Jupiter151
William Weiland
Chris Weber wrote:
> Also, does anyone know any links which show the different Titanic posters?
> I've seen the 2 domestic US posters (Advance, and Regular), but I just
> want to look at the other posters that have been released.
I'd like to see the 2 domestic US posters you referred to. Are they
shown at any links that you know of? I'd like to buy one Titanic, but
since I don't know which looks best, don't know what to shop for.
Chris Weber
On Sun, 4 Jan 1998, Daryl Mok wrote:
> Good call on the Midnight In The Garden Of Good & Evil advance - I forgot
> about that one! I thought the Alien: Resurrection International style (with
> Sigourney's face) was quite good, and the poster for Les Miserables is also
> oddly appealing - can't quite explain why!
Hey there...
Does anyone know where I can find a link to a picture of the Alien:RES
International style poster?
Also, does anyone know any links which show the different Titanic posters?
I've seen the 2 domestic US posters (Advance, and Regular), but I just
want to look at the other posters that have been released. Thanks...
Chris Weber <umwe...@cc.umanitoba.ca>
"As far as I'm concerned, progress peaked with the frozen pizza."
- John McClane
Derek Balling
On Mon, 5 Jan 1998, William Weiland wrote:
> So the question is now: is the nice poster shown at
> http://www.titanicmovie.com/ a US poster with no title on it or is that
> the international poster? The one linked to the Nostalgia Factory was
> fairly plain.
I know the artwork for the international version is different than the US
version (from a running discussion on this topic from the Titanic [the
boat not the movie] mailing list). I can't remember the US version's
appearance, but if that's the same basic artwork [sans title] as the US
version then you still haven't seen the international one. :)
The difference is apparently Rose/Jack at the top being depicted
differently.
=======================================================================
Derek J. Balling | J:"You ARE aware that Elvis is dead, dude?"
dr...@megacity.org | K:"Elvis isn't dead, son, he's just gone
http://www.megacity.org/ | back home!" - W.Smith, T.L.Jones, MiB
=======================================================================
William Weiland
Derek Balling wrote:
> I know the artwork for the international version is different than the US
> version (from a running discussion on this topic from the Titanic [the
> boat not the movie] mailing list). I can't remember the US version's
> appearance, but if that's the same basic artwork [sans title] as the US
> version then you still haven't seen the international one. :)
> The difference is apparently Rose/Jack at the top being depicted
> differently.
Thanks Derek. I've learned that the poster depicted on IMDB (link from
Nostalgia Factory) is the Advance US. I don't know what the poster is
that is depicted at the titanicmovie site. But apparently the US and
one of the International are very similar. Front of hull and faces at
the top. There is apparently a Style A and B of the International.
I've also learned that an International is already being reprinted.
William Weiland
Daryl Mok wrote:
> Hey, I found one site with photographs of *both* US and Int'l styles for the
> Titanic regular poster. Here it is:
> http://www.musicman.com/merm/tita.html
> Personally, I prefer the Int'l style - pity that it wasn't used as much.
I agree. But I see, they only have the reprint.
Barbara Franchi
On 1/7/98 6:08 PM Derek Balling said
>>The artwork on the page mentioned above looks to be either a fantasy
>>piece or the International Teaser. Note: The title does not appear on the
>>poster
>
>I would say it looks more like the US Release poster without the
>overprinted artwork. (e.g. what the artist handed the production company,
>without the credits, logo, etc. printed on it).
I don't believe they are embracing on the US release poster.
Orders and further queries to:
Rudy Franchi(nostalgi...@compuserve.com)
or Barbara Franchi (pos...@nostalgia.com)
1-800-479-8754 or 617-720-2211
Fax: 617-270-5587
The Nostalgia Factory, Boston, MA
http://www.nostalgia.com
Daryl Mok
Derek Balling wrote:
>I know the artwork for the international version is different than the US
>version (from a running discussion on this topic from the Titanic [the
>boat not the movie] mailing list). I can't remember the US version's
>appearance, but if that's the same basic artwork [sans title] as the US
>version then you still haven't seen the international one. :)
>
>The difference is apparently Rose/Jack at the top being depicted
>differently.
Hey, I found one site with photographs of *both* US and Int'l styles for the
Titanic regular poster. Here it is:
http://www.musicman.com/merm/tita.html
Personally, I prefer the Int'l style - pity that it wasn't used as much.
Daryl
P.S. Was someone asking for a picture of the Alien: Res Int'l poster?
There's a photograph at http://www.mm.com/polish/sig.html, if anyone's still
interested :)
Derek Balling
At 02:31 PM 1/7/98 -0500, you wrote:
>The artwork on the page mentioned above looks to be either a fantasy
>piece or the International Teaser. Note: The title does not appear on the
>poster
I would say it looks more like the US Release poster without the
overprinted artwork. (e.g. what the artist handed the production company,
without the credits, logo, etc. printed on it).
Derek
=======================================================================
Derek J. Balling | J: "You ARE Aware Elvis is dead, right?"
dr...@megacity.org | K: "Elvis isn't dead, son he just went
http://www.megacity.org/ | home!" - Men In Black
=======================================================================
Derek Balling
At 06:49 PM 1/7/98 -0500, Barbara Franchi wrote:
>On 1/7/98 6:08 PM Derek Balling said
>>overprinted artwork. (e.g. what the artist handed the production company,
>>without the credits, logo, etc. printed on it).
I thought they were, although its been a couple days since I've seen it so
I could be wrong. :)
D
b. franchi
On 1/6/98 1:30 PM Derek Balling said
>> So the question is now: is the nice poster shown at
>> http://www.titanicmovie.com/ a US poster with no title on it or is that
>> the international poster? The one linked to the Nostalgia Factory was
>> fairly plain.
>
>I know the artwork for the international version is different than the US
>version (from a running discussion on this topic from the Titanic [the
>boat not the movie] mailing list). I can't remember the US version's
>appearance, but if that's the same basic artwork [sans title] as the US
>version then you still haven't seen the international one. :)
>
>The difference is apparently Rose/Jack at the top being depicted
>differently.
There are 3 posters that we know of for Titanic
1. Advance as shown on the IMDb. Just the title on the steel plates of
the hull
2. US release. Winslet and diCaprio facing out above prow of ship
3. International release. Winselt and diCaprio embracing above side view
of ship.
The artwork on the page mentioned above looks to be either a fantasy
piece or the International Teaser. Note: The title does not appear on the
poster
I hope to get photos of the other 2 posters we have in stock up on the
IMDb shortly.
Jon C. Allen
Charles Fitzsimmons wrote:
> Oddly enough, I personally think that "most" poster artwork is
> superfluous (meaning, I rarely go see a film because it has a good
> poster, and have never avoided a film because it had a bad poster).
Hey Charles... Been off the list for a while. Take it from me (and all the
movie poster designers I know and work with) we never see a film based on
the poster... Do what the pros do, go based on the buzz and trailers! :)
> But on rare occasions, I have seen a film because of its poster. I saw
> Jackie Chan's "First Strike" this year because MoPo's very own Jon Allen
> made the poster look as if Chan had finally appeared in an expensive
> production. Unfortunately, the poster looked more costly than the
> film. You owe me $8.50, Jon! ;)
Sorry about that. I guess I did my job, huh... :) Actually, I'm very
flattered, as I think this is the only time I've heard of someone seeing a
movie based on a poster I worked on...
> The first poster for "Great Expectations" is my favorite poster of the
> year. I know that some folks hate this poster, but it made me want to
> see the film. Some folks think the first poster is ugly. I think it is
> gorgeous.
Every Monday morning where I work (at the film advertising agency), we go
over other work out there... I seem to recall everyone disliking the GREAT
EXPECTATIONS poster immensely, because they took a perfectly good shot of
Gwenyth Paltrow (sp?) and surrounded her with particularly ugly elements.
(Such as the two heads behind her, including the white ghosted back head on
the right - ugh.) Unfortunately, in our biz, the clients are too often
uncomfortable with a strong single image, and feel the need to add "kitchen
sink" elements... For example, how many times have you seen a poster with a
big head and a smaller "action" scene at the bottom? (Or as we like to call
it, "Big Head Floating in the Sky"...)
> I hate to say it, but I think the least attractive poster of the year is
> for "Donnie Brasco," however -- it is an accurate poster for the film.
> It conveys what the film is about, so I cannot fault it.
My company did the DONNIE BRASCO poster. You wouldn't believe how many
designs we went through, only to have Columbia run out of time and rush
back to an earlier idea - the poster you know today...
> An interesting trend this year is to make a film appear to be something
> that it isn't. The poster for "In the Company of Men" made it appear to
> be a comedy (which it certainly wasn't). A few other posters did the
> same thing, (but their titles escape me at the moment).
That trend is always around. There are many occasions where we do artwork
that has nothing to do with the movie... You'll be happy to know that I'm
now working on new Jackie Chan posters, for his upcoming movie, MR. NICE
GUY, which have absolutely nothing to do with anything that happens in the
movie. There's reasons for that, too many to go into now... Email me back
if you'd like further explaination. :)
> Major goof of the year was the chosen poster for "Air Force One." The
> poster chosen is uninspiring and tells me nothing about the film. Jon
> Allen's rejected design makes you want to see the film! If you haven't
> seen it already, you can see Jon's design for "Air Force One" (and
> Jackie Chan's "First Strike") at http://members.aol.com/jca2112/
Thanks for the kind compliment, Charles. :) The AFO poster was rejected by
Mr. Ford personally, so I won't question HIS judgement. If you'd like my
own opinion on the poster - I think his head shot is a bit lacking, but
that was the shot that Columbia insisted I use at the time. (Which I think
is why Harrison Ford rejected it - he didn't like the way he looked.)
I haven't updated my site in a while, as I did the poster for (ahem) SPICE
WORLD, the Spice Girls movie... I also did PALMETTO (starring Woody
Harrelson and Elizabeth Shue...) I'd upload a binary of one or both here,
if someone wanted to see them, but I'd hate to cause a "net.abuse" binary
in non-binaries newsgroup racket... Hope to have the web page (re-done!)
and updated soon - it's pretty lacking right now.
Anyway, the best poster I've seen lately was for a movie that hasn't even
come out yet... I believe it's called ZERO HOUR (?) starring Bill Pullman.
I'm not sure about that title - anyone know what I'm talking about?
--
Jon C. Allen
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
My (not-so) latest MOVIE POSTER design:
http://members.aol.com/jca2112
Tom Ferreira
As far as the best one-sheet artwork of the year, I'm particularly fond
of the Pink Flamingos rerelease, but what I really want to know
is....who the hell is responsible for that Bulworth teaser poster? If
you haven't seen it, it's unbelievably ugly, and I won't even try to
describe what it pictures, because I'm not sure. Warren Beatty or
someone at Fox is on some serious drugs to ever approve this thing.
It's art work that looks like it was drawn by a first grader. They need
to come out with a style 'B', and fast!
http://www.angelfire.com/nh/workjobb/
"No, Starvin' Marvin, that's Kenny's creamed corn.."-Eric Cartma