This is topic "Snakes on a Plane" marketing in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 08-03-2006, 11:45 AM:
 
Have you seen a better marketing opportunity than what New Line has for "Snakes on a Plane"? I don't think anyone could buy what they're getting for free. So what (if anything) makes this film a special situation and why has it been so embraced by so many? Is it just the "perfect storm" of title and high-concept? What's your guess of its opening weekend and total gross?
 

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Posted by Dave Williams (Member # 299) on 08-03-2006, 05:44 PM:
 
I am giving it 41.3 million opening weekend.

It is thought by anthropologists that early fear of snakes is what forced man to evolve. That fear is still primevil within our instinctual behavior patterns, and an entire film of snakes on a plane allows us for a great roller coaster ride where everyone will be feeling the creepy slick creatures all over us during and after the film.

I don't see where the film can carry for two hours, but hey, it's snakes, and they are on a plane.

Ciao
 

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Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-03-2006, 05:51 PM:
 
I agree with Mr Williams. Most people are racist, the lead character is black so they want to see him die. If they are not racist then they are black and want to see a black man in a movie. Most people are afraid of snakes, so they want to experience their fear without the consequence, same with planes.
 

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Posted by Ian Woloschin (Member # 3709) on 08-03-2006, 06:40 PM:
 
Wasn't the movie idea thrown out as a joke or something silly like that, and people heard about it and said they wanted to see the movie?

I think if anything, this movie will just prove that a movie needs one of two things. A plot, which is what most good movies have. Or Samuel L. Jackson. The best movies obviously have both.
 

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 08-03-2006, 06:50 PM:
 
Saturday night Live did a skit about killer snakes on a plane (during an old john goodman episode I recall) and it was quite hilarious, I'm sure the writers saw it and ripped the idea off
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-03-2006, 07:06 PM:
 
Awww, wah.

Snakes aren't bad at all.

In our sign manufacturing plant we have a slew of beautiful corn snakes that help keep the rodent population under control. We have a fairly large area of vacant land ripe with rodents next to our property. And that land contains lots of rodents.

I'll put it this way. Have you ever had a bunch of mice crawl into your industrial space when it got cold outside and then die within the walls? The stink from decomposing rodents is seriously intolerable. A good population of snakes can alleviate that. We like the corn snakes since they are reasonably tame and non-venomous. There's also a good number of different rattlesnake species around the area. And they can eat as many mice and rats as they like. We won't bother them.

Most people who are bitten by rattlesnakes are dumb-asses who are either fucking with the snakes in some regard, trying to handle them or just blindly stepping on the things despite the warning noise.

Before anyone even tries to float some screwy idea that snakes are a scurge in the United States, here is a fact: only 5 to 6 people on average die every year in the United States from snake bites. Death from snake bites is very very rare in this country. And most people who are snake bitten are often doing something foolish involving those snakes.

You have a much greater chance of dying by means of some idiot honkey who wants to be a rapper gang banger and has a herd of pit bull dogs in his back yard.

Moral of the story:
Snakes: Just trying to live and mind their business.
People: Sometimes too fucking stupid too be allowed to survive.

BTW, yes. We have "rattlesnake roundups" in this part of the country. I don't agree with them at all and will not be forced to agree with them either. They are extremely retarded. If all the snakes are killed off, what will white trash festivals do? Have rat roundups? I don't see quite so many people lining up for rat merchandise or to partake in the rat chili.

 

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Posted by Anslem Rayburn (Member # 1267) on 08-03-2006, 07:31 PM:
 

quote: Ian Woloschin

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Wasn't the movie idea thrown out as a joke or something silly like that, and people heard about it and said they wanted to see the movie?

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quote:

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Actually, Jackson's management was spooked by the whole prospect of Snakes, which was met with skepticism from the day in 1999 that producer Craig Berenson first pitched the project. At the time, Berenson was an exec at DreamWorks' Patchwork Productions, where every Friday the staff rang out the workweek by drinking margaritas and lobbing gonzo movie ideas. One afternoon, Berenson pitched a concept based on a script called Venom by David Dalessandro. His presentation went like this: ''Take two of the biggest fears people have — fear of flying, fear of snakes — and throw them together at 30,000 feet and see what happens.'' Then Berenson hit them with the title: Snakes on a Plane. The room exploded with groans. But Berenson took their revulsion as a good sign: ''A visceral reaction is half the battle. That was gold as far as I was concerned.''

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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Awww, wah.

Snakes aren't bad at all.

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Yeah, but these snakes are ON A PLANE.

Add the fact that most people are scared of snakes anyway, even though the vast majority of them are harmless, and then calculate in that they're ON A PLANE where there's no escape. To me the only scarier scenario would be "Bats on a Plane" (maybe there'll be a sequel.)

I hear they're only going out with around 2500 prints, so I'll guess $37.5 million for the opening week.

I think the R-rating will hurt it in the long run, making for a big opening and a quick drop.
 

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Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-04-2006, 12:23 AM:
 
letting a half a dozen or so anoles loose in your house is a good way to 'help' keep the insect population down.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 08-04-2006, 12:29 AM:
 
I can't wait to hear Samuel L. Jackson say "Motherfucker" in it! And I know he will because they did some reshoots just so he could inject more "motherfuckers" in there because that's what people wanted.
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 08-04-2006, 07:58 AM:
 
I am liking the whole thing!

This movie has generated the buzz that we need to help our business.

I can't wait till August 18th!
 

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Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 08-04-2006, 08:21 AM:
 
Here's "Snakes On A Train" :

http://www.theasylum.cc/video/SNAKES.mov
 

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Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 08-04-2006, 11:35 AM:
 
Anybody remember the old Crown International film "Stanley?"

It starred Chris Robinson, previously seen on the old TV series, "12 O'Clock High."

Snakes everywhere, with lots of biting shots!

The star of the film was the snake.
I remember it doing good business at the drive-ins.
 

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Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 08-04-2006, 05:17 PM:
 
I think Snakes in a Cinema would be a good sequel.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-05-2006, 02:25 PM:
 
Snakes in a Cinema could definitely happen around here.

 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 08-05-2006, 03:03 PM:
 
Best real SOAP promotion yet. This is GREAT!!!

Sam Jackson Calls Your Friends

I WILL see this movie!
 

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Posted by Shane Cooper (Member # 2510) on 08-05-2006, 05:08 PM:
 
Apparently New Line is expecting a few people to treat this movie as a participation film, (ala Rocky Horror).

Some suggested items:

Whenever you see the guy that played Fat Albert. (In orange shirt)
Shout (in Fat Albert Voice) "HEY! HEY! HEY! It's Snakes on a Plane!"

Whenever "Flight 121" is mentioned.
SCREAM, "SNAAAAKES!"

After the Asian gangster says a line.
Shout: “…In bed.”

When: Snakes are attacking passengers.
Cross your arms over your chest with your snake sock puppets, so to the person sitting in back of you, it will look like the snakes are attacking you.

When: Whenever a snake bites someone.
COUNT out loud

Someone kills a snake
Make your own “asp” joke: “Kick asp!” “Shake that asp!” “What a total bad-asp!”

Has anyone else seen anything on this from New Line?
 

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Posted by John Alan Petrey (Member # 3906) on 08-05-2006, 09:13 PM:
 
If you want to see a good, but short snakes in a motor home sequence check out "Race With the Devil". A 1975 Peter Fonda, Warren Oates thriller that has them running from devil worshippers while on 'vacation'.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-05-2006, 09:30 PM:
 
Yeah. That movie is CREEPY.
 

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Posted by Michael Gonzalez (Member # 593) on 08-19-2006, 11:31 AM:
 
Well the marketing must have not been good enough here because we are DEAD! I have two prints of SOAP and the one print left of Pirates out sold both shows combined. Every customer that has come out of the show that I have talked to, really enjoyed it. Bummer. I was expecting a lot better.
 

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Posted by Jason Moore (Member # 3935) on 08-19-2006, 07:25 PM:
 
We have been unimpressed with the turnout. However rated R films always do poorly here. Haven't seen any of the enthusiasm that AICN reported. Alas.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 08-19-2006, 11:49 PM:
 
We have a collection of about 100 rubber snakes that were found by the ushers cleaning that auditorium.. Unfortunately, we have more snakes than ticket sales..
 

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Posted by Matt Fields (Member # 3211) on 08-20-2006, 12:54 AM:
 
I need to get the motherf'n Snakes off my motherf'n screen, cause they ain't doing .
 

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Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 08-20-2006, 05:24 AM:
 
I called Regal Hollywood 24 and asked about the 10:30pm show 45 min before start. They said not a single ticket was sold at that point. So I decided to go to Alantic Station 16 where the theater was at least two thirds full.

I was surprised by the low turnout in Atlanta where there are college students back in town and a big urban audience.

I will tell you what is wrong. THe internet side of the marketing was actually not marketing. It was more of a grassroots effort by Samuel Jackson and the fans. New Line blundered the handling of this movie from start to finish. THe only wise thing they did was allow some reshoots to spice up the movie.

The marketing by NewlIne was pretty much non existent. They had a cool standout. But that's about it. This is the same studio that wanted to name this with a bland Pacific Air 121 which would have doomed this to a 10M opening weeekend. They messed up royally the tv and theater trailers. When you watch it , you dont get a sense it is campy fun. When you see the tv ads, it looks more like B movie junk without the campiness but with the B movie silliness.

Awareness among the masses is horrible. Many people i came across vaguely heard of it but had no idea it even got much hype. I guess people in Atlanta don't watch the Daily Show as much.

Blame NewLine. They had an action movie that is not boring audiences and didnt know how to market it. They should have at least put up some ads with a campy narrator(KIll Bill bootleg trailer style) and some big captions and playing up the motherfucker part of Samuel's delivery without actually having to show it.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 08-20-2006, 10:37 AM:
 

quote: Pravin Ratnam

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THe only wise thing they did was allow some reshoots to spice up the movie.

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quote: Mike Heenan

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they should have edited the film further, so that Samuel L Jackson plays himself instead of a FBI agent. I think that would have been hilarious.

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Now that would be funny!
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 08-20-2006, 01:47 PM:
 
New Lines biggest mistake was not screening it for critics. Even if the movie got a bad review it was a big mistake. Not screening in advance makes people think it must totally suck because usually movies that are not reviewed totally suck.
 

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Posted by Chris Hipp (Member # 1788) on 08-20-2006, 02:34 PM:
 

quote:

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I need to get the motherf'n Snakes off my motherf'n screen, cause they ain't doing [bs] .

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That cracked me up. Ricky Bobby is still in our biggest house for the third week and Snakes is already in a small house. People know quality.
 

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 08-21-2006, 10:30 AM:
 
Ah yes, huge airplane disaster this weekend as "Snakes" crashed and burned. Suggested sequel: "Rabbits on a Plane". Couldn't do any worse.
 

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Posted by Jason Moore (Member # 3935) on 08-21-2006, 11:42 AM:
 
Bruce Campbell will be playing himself in a movie called "My Name is Bruce" where he is mistaken for his on-screen character, Ash, and is recruited to fight a real life monster.
 

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Posted by Adam Wilbert (Member # 1184) on 08-21-2006, 11:55 AM:
 
wasn't that movie called "The Three Amigos"?
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-21-2006, 12:38 PM:
 
The reason the movie disappointed is, the internet-people are the ONLY ones who went and saw it. And the R-rating kept out most of the kids.

Most of the people around here have told me they have no interest in seeing this movie. I guess we'll probably still play it just to fill a week, but now I'm glad we didn't go on the break with it.
 

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Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 08-21-2006, 02:52 PM:
 
If it was PG rated, it wouldnt have gotten the same internet hype. It would have gained a few more families but lost a lot of the people who went precisely because they played up the R Rating factor and wanted to hear Jackson say "motherfuckin snakes on this motherfuckin plane".

Usually if an R rating keeps away the kids, you would at least some kids try to sneak in or come with an older brother. I didn't see any of that in the two auditoriums I looked at(after my showing, I walked into the next screen out of curiosity). I just don't think your average moviegoer felt like watching this. Also many probably feel like this is a movie they would rather watch on video. The studio should have found a way to communicate to the moviegoer that this is home video level cheesy fun but not exactly the same kind of cheesy enertainment, but more fun in a theater full of crowds. I don't think the internet hype failed. Newline just failed to build any extra audience on their own.

Newline is saying that their only disappointment was it didnt do better than the tracking. Well someone must have f'd up the tracking because they did release it in a meganumber of screens. Someone is trying to cover their ass at Newline.

They should have done sneaks in selected areas in the previous week to build some regular momentum so people might bring their friends along. I know people in my auditorium had a hell of a time. The folks in the next auditorium were not. So they should have seeded this release and included audience reactions in their ads. Releasing this movie in such a large number of screens indisriminately in every kind of region was silly. While I was shocked that Hollywood 24(a lot of young folk, and a lot of African Americans go there) didnt have bigger crowds, I am not surprised at all by the low turnouts in the northern Atlanta suburbs. That was just a waste of prints.

No guarantee my suggestions would have worked, but at least it would not hurt. If you go to aintitcool.com, the Alamo knew how to run the movie. They played up the whole audience participation thing with rubber snakes and Samuel Jackson beer. It wouldnt have worked in your typical multiplex, but theaters in selected areas (not the suburban ones) in Atlanta should have put in a tiny bit of effort to make patrons know that this would be the place to watch the movie. I know a few people who saw the movie in suburban multiplexes who regretted watching the movie there after I told them of my audience reaction at Atlantic Station. NewLine would have been better off going with a higher average and less screens (with probably the same overall gross) for this movie to spin the opening weekend differently and build better press.

Another thing to note: Maybe Samuel Jackson is just cooler for those of us who went to college in the 90s than for the "You got Served" and "Step Up" youth crowd now. So the campy appeal of the movie combined with the Samuel Jackson factor was overestimated by some of us and it was just not enough to pull in even the urban crowd in Atlanta. So maybe it's also a generational thing when it comes to assume the "coolness" and "camp" factors? People who work in theaters on an everyday basis may be in better touch with their customer tastes to comment on this.

Also women seemed to be against going to this movie. It's not like the J-Horror movies which seem to attract a lot of women. The only people who didnt seem to like the movie were a couple of women at my screening. They were bitching at their boyfriends after the movie about how stupid it was.

Anyway, this is what it boils down to. It still made 15M which is really not that far off mark for this genre. Quentin and Robert Rodriguez movies dont make huge grosses, even in the first week, despite even more hype. Maybe better marketing would have had it at 25M if they got some of the summer movie action fans in bigger numbers. But all said and done, regardless of the marketing, this was no 100M movie. And not every movie we enjoy will be a 100M movie. This is not the kind of movie you release on 3500 plus screens. By doing so, NewLine guaranteed itself a letdown.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-21-2006, 05:07 PM:
 
Maybe the whole idea of snakes on an airplane is too close to home for a lot of folks. I mean, people can relate to it on a "this could happen to me" level...and it isn't a pleasant thought, being trapped in a plane with even one snake. So why would anyone want to see a movie with hundreds of them? Just a thought.

It could be why most people here (even the cool dudes) haven't really expressed much interest in this one.
 

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Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 08-21-2006, 06:12 PM:
 
Or it could be that since the hype was internet driven, those same 'drivers' have simply downloaded it already.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 08-21-2006, 06:39 PM:
 
New Line ran no display ads in the Weekend Entertainment section of the paper here, and since there were no advance press screenings, there were no reviews. Hell, even "Who Killed The Electric Car?" has a display ad.
 

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Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 08-22-2006, 01:00 AM:
 
I may be in the minority feeling the way I do but I think the movie will pick up business this weekend from the good reviews and word of mouth the film has been receiving. I agree, New Line pre release publicity and promotion was inadequate because they felt the hype the film was getting on the internet was sufficient. It was a good thing for them that the movie turned out to be very entertaining and getting good reviews. I have a free ticket for the movie and wanted to use it this past weekend but decided to wait a week because I thought the theatres was going to be packed. Thanks to Brad's and everyone's favorable comments about the film, I am looking forward to a great time this weekend watching the movie.

-Claude

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 08-22-2006, 05:06 PM:
 
The best marketing ever (considering no-one got hurt!):

http://www.gambling911.com/Snakes-on-a-Plane-082206.html

Deadly rattlesnakes released at theatre showing "Snakes on a Plane"

Two live diamondback rattlesnakes were released in an Arizona movie theater during a showing of the new film "Snakes on a Plane," according to Local 6 News.

Authorities said pranksters released the young venomous rattlesnakes in a dark theater at the AMC Desert Ridge near Tatum and Loop 101 in Phoenix.

The two snakes caused a panic in the dark theater, according to the report.

"That to me is very scary," herpetological association representative Tom Whiting said. "I would hate to be watching a movie about snakes and have a rattlesnake bite me."

Wranglers were called to collect the snakes, the report said.

No one was injured in the incident and, so far, the culprits have not been caught.

Officials believe the snakes were smuggled into the theater in backpacks.

"This thing is under someone's chair and they go to sit and they just push your foot in the air and startle it -- obviously all they got to do is startle this thing," Phoenix Herpetological Society spokesman Daniel Marchand said. "It's dark. They can't see you, you know that well. If it's scared, boom it strikes."

The snakes were released into the desert.
 

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Posted by Christopher Meredith (Member # 3767) on 08-22-2006, 06:11 PM:
 
To answer the original question regarding why this movie had such an internet hype surrounding it, the answer is here:

I find your lack of faith disturbing

Screenwrite Josh Friedman wrote this blog entry over a year ago and "Snakes on a Plane" was an instant internet phenomenon. And to top it off, the blog entry is pretty durn funny too...
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 08-24-2006, 05:31 PM:
 
According to later reports, the "Snakes in a theatre" event was an overblown hoax. It happened in Arizona (where there are some rattlesnakes) and one baby snake was found in the theatre lobby (not an auditorium) where it had slithered apparently on its own. A similar aged snake was found earlier in the day, in the parking lot (not in the building). Nobody was hurt, panic did NOT ensue, and the snakes were released into the desert. That last part is the only part the original report got right.

Thanks again news media, for making sure the story is not sensationalized gossip before reporting it! You're the best!
 

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Posted by Caleb Johnstone-Cowan (Member # 3710) on 08-24-2006, 09:10 PM:
 
Snakes is #1 at the box office here, has probably taken over $2m which is respectable. The marketing in the UK definitely played up to the fact it's a joke b-movie.

Guessing there were multiple prints at cinemas in the US, pretty pointless as most people will turn up for Snakes not just to watch anything, and also because having a big crowd kinda plays into the hype created, get the audience reaction and so on.
 

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