These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. Back when I was part of a crew that had an endless capacity for discussing all manner … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: “Fearless” trailer
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. I’m planning to get to my review of The Big Sick tomorrow. As a precursor, I want … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: The Big Sick
Because on weary days like this one, I believe this is indeed a flag I would march under. MORE COFFEE IN OUR COFFEE OR FIGHT! Other entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Art of the Sell” tag. Continue reading The Art of the Sell: The League of Honest Coffee Lovers
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. I’ve long held an affection for Moon Knight, both the character and the nineteen-eighties comic book series preside over by writer Doug Moench and artist Bill Sienkiewicz. And yet every time I’ve gone back and perused an issue or two — with an entry in the “My Misspent Youth” feature in mind — I’ve found it to be difficult sledding. Even though I read a bunch of those comics back in my heavy-duty collecting days, the old … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: Moon Knight
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. By the middle of the nineteen-nineties, I was becoming dismayed with the state of movie posters. I have no empirical evidence to offer to prove my theory, but it truly seemed as if attempts at creativity and artfulness were dwindling. There was little evident willingness on the part of studios to bring memorable images to their promotional efforts. Instead, they wanted great big pictures of the movie stars with as little other information as possible. If they … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: “Fargo” movie poster
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. There’s so much that’s marvelous about the original trailer for Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The virtues begin with the auteur himself, genially leading the viewer through a tour of the film’s sets as if they are real places, all the while alluding to grave horrors that took place within them. And then there’s the pleasant music that accompanies Hitchcock’s ambling, like the soundtrack from Leave it to Beaver was misplaced there. And its six minutes — six minutes! … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: “Psycho” trailer
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. Jonathan Demme said he preferred to call Stop Making Sense a performance film rather than a concert film. The reasoning behind that is clear. He captured Talking Heads live on stage in a manner markedly different from most predecessor films in the genre. The film is dynamic and enthralling, intensely focused on the swerving rhythms of a band in sync with each other and the added visual trappings they brought to their show. Demme wasn’t trying to … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: “Stop Making Sense” trailer
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. What can I say? I’m proud of my college radio alma mater. We had a lot of fun, impressive stuff back in my day, but we never had a billboard. Other entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Art of the Sell” tag. Continue reading The Art of the Sell: Trivia 2017
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. In 1975, when Tom Waits released Nighthawks at the Diner, he had only been a known quantity for two years, with just a pair of studio full-lengths to his credit. He was in his mid-twenties, though he already looked like a bedraggled middle-aged man who’d spent a few too many nights helping keep a barstool in place. The Waits persona was already firmly in place. Not that there’s a desperate need for proof of the above assertion, but … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: Nighthawks at the Diner
These posts celebrate the movie trailers, movie posters, commercials, print ads, and other promotional material that stand as their own works of art. I could definitely be wrong, but this is how I remember it. There was a trip to Madison, an occasional necessity when attempting to generate content for a program filled with movie reviews on a radio station in a modest Central Wisconsin town. I was standing in the three screen bunker of a movie theater located in Westgate Mall, one of those ramshackle outposts of commerce that seemed to be on its last legs from the moment it … Continue reading The Art of the Sell: “The Silence of the Lambs” movie poster
Coffee for Two 