The whole world was watching when Mr. Fincher, and My Sensei, unveiled footage from our film for the first time. It was Super Bowl Sunday, people were upset and confused by Bad Bunny’s performance and commercials that “cheapened” pre-fab Hollywood product Good Will Hunting, and somewhere in there—I don’t know when, I didn’t watch the Super Bowl—there was a trailer for The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth. Only a minute long, it was the first preview of the film the world has seen yet. I have to admit, it was confusing. I found the trailer extremely disappointing, from a number of angles, which I’ll expand upon here.
The biggest problem BY FAR is that it looks like Mr. Fincher forgot to turn the lights on. This movie has an “infinity money” budget, probably somewhere between $150-200 million, yet when you watch the trailer, you don’t watch the trailer, you try to watch the trailer. Nobody’s faces are lit. I understand certain shots take place at night, in movie theaters, but every single indoor shot is alarmingly under-lit. I was part of the cast for this movie, and even I’m not sure what I’m watching. Why does every interior looked smoked out and dark? It looks like everyone is on their way to Hell.
I know that this bit of footage—the one going around illicitly on the internet—can’t be calibrated exactly. Netflix hasn’t put up the trailer, so whatever we’re seeing are broadcast and broadband rips. Still, if you put My Sensei’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood through the same chain of signal degradation, you’d still be able to see Rick and Cliff’s faces. I can’t see Cliff’s face in most of Mr. Fincher’s little teaser trailer. That’s a problem, and don’t mind me saying it. They need to do something about this before the movie’s released.
That leads me to the next problem: the trailer ends with “COMING SOON.” When, exactly, is “soon”? This summer? The fall? Is the movie going to get a “robot theatrical release” as promised? Or who even promised that? Netflix never even officially confirmed the existence of this movie until Sunday night. Still, we don’t know when it’s coming out and they’re already playing previews. I like to plan in advance. I’m thinking of hanging in Narragansett this July and would like to know whether or not I should book a stay; I wouldn’t want to miss the premiere (and the press junket). Oh, and also, I guess, shouldn’t the rest of the world know when the movie’s coming out? They should know, too, I guess… whatever…
On the other hand, I’m not opposed to the trailer bearing no title. It’s called The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth, and that’s all that you need to know for now.
Three, this doesn’t have anything to do with the trailer per se but it was reported on the same night, by Andrew Salazar: “QT was on set for most, if not all, of shooting for the Cliff Booth movie. His high chair was next to Fincher’s, which makes the 10 movie rule feel a bit more silly.”
World of Reel’s Jordan Ruimy wrote, “Let’s be honest—he’s already made ten movies, no matter how often he insists that Kill Bill counts as just one release.” KILL BILL IS ONE MOVIE. It was written, shot, and PROMOTED as one movie (in November 2002, before Gangs of New York). Why do people insist on getting this technicality wrong? The Lord of the Rings was never meant to be a single film. The only strong comparison you could make is to Richard Lester’s The Three and Four Musketeers, released a year apart in the mid-1970s. During production, the filmmakers realized that what they had was too long for a three or even three-and-a-half hour roadshow epic, so they finished Three and put everything else into Four. It wasn’t a creative decision, merely practical (and financial). Kill Bill is one movie, one story, told out of order from start to finish. Didn’t this guy see Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair? It’s a four-and-a-half-hour movie. But we know from Grindhouse that the public doesn’t like when My Sensei pushes past three hours. They become too overwhelmed and stimulated by what they’ve seen that they’re brains can’t take in any more. This isn’t the fault of My Sensei, but he must pander to the pea brains in order to make a living (rent is due).
Neither Mr. Fincher nor My Sensei have responded to my MANY text messages about problems with the trailer. Presumably, I wasn’t the only one to complain. I hope they fix it, otherwise I want my credit removed. You can’t stick around trash too long until it sticks to you. Remember that when you make it in this business, too.
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