“I don’t know why or when this occurred, but somehow this industry became convinced without any evidence that Michael Cera is a star.” “Aside from recasting, I don’t know what they could have done,” the individual with knowledge of the marketing campaign told TheWrap. Like “Scott Pilgrim,” all the these films featured Cera as a mumbling, geeky, and virginal protagonist. “Year One” earned $43.3 million, “Youth in Revolt” netted $15.3 million and “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” grossed $31.5 million. “Scott Pilgrim”s’ fate may have been sealed the moment Michael Cera nabbed the lead role.Ĭera may have had a hit with “Superbad” and “Juno,” but the credit there may lie with Judd Apatow and Diablo Cody, respectively: Films with Cera’s name above the title since have all bombed. At This Stage, Michael Cera Couldn't Open an Envelope However, their enthusiasm wasn't enough.ģ.
It’s not the real world,” a film marketing executive told TheWrap.īy heavily screening the film at Comic-Con, Universal was banking that the true believers would serve as ambassadors for the film. “Comic Con now reads like it's ShoWest, but it’s a hot-house environment. Some studio executives privately griped to TheWrap that the failure of films such as “Scott Pilgrim” and “Kick-Ass” show that what plays like gangbusters in San Diego doesn't necessarily have great appeal in the flyover states. Part of the trouble is the ever-expanding influence of Comic-Con in studios decision making process. “You can only dig into the bottom of well of the comic book canon, before you come up with esoteric characters no one's heard of.” “There is too heavy a reliance on the fanboy and fangirl crowd, and they don’t always branch out to the mainstream,” an individual with knowledge of the film’s marketing campaign told TheWrap. Given the dwindling takes for movies such as “Kick-Ass,” “Jonah Hex,” and now “Scott Pilgrim,” film executives should be cautious before greenlighting the next graphic novel or comic book adaptation (hear that "Green Lantern" and "Green Hornet"?).
It’s been a rough year at the box office for second- and third-tier superhero properties. One element the spots never quite managed to convey was the film's video game aesthetic, where words like "pow" pop up in bold face letters and characters disappear in a shower of coins much as they would in "Super Mario Brothers."
#SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD THE GAME HENTAI TV#
The plot and its comic undertones seemed at loggerheads with the action that the posters and TV spots tried to sell. In the final weeks leading up to the movie's release the film’s art and commercials shifted away from Cera and focused more on the superpowers of the exes themselves. “They couldn’t decide if this was a true superhero movie and they should make him look like a hero, or if it was an underdog story and you were supposed to root for him to get the girl,” a marketing executive with knowledge of the production told TheWrap. Their initial art, showing Cera cradling his electric bass guitar, seemed to position him as a cool guy, while commercials played up the star’s awkwardness. Its posters and billboards were often contradictory, some marketing executives said.