THE UNDERGROUND — ISSUE #121
Everything you need to know about in this weekly series: The art of making a movie trailer good or bad, Neill Blomkamp returns with a new and mysterious project, the entire history of Rome as we know it, and a classic book gets a film with a huge cast.
At Social Underground we go beyond the mainstream stuff and see what’s underneath the surface. What should we get into, listen to, read, eat or watch? If there is something in our culture that needs attention that’s our job: Show you the underground things that you need to know about: Books, music, television, movies, comedians, art, and whatever else we can find to get you into something you never knew about. That’s The Underground
1. The art behind a good trailer and a bad trailer. I think one of my favorite things when I was little was the time before the movie starts. There wasn’t YouTube or anything else to premiere movie trailers when I was little, so I had to either be in a theater to see them in full, or catch on on television. Now, making a movie trailer is an art. Sometimes the trailer will be genius, and it will make you want more, which is the point of a trailer. Other times, you will watch a trailer and think to yourself, “They just showed me the whole damn movie.”
The best example of a teaser trailer for me would probably be for Inception. Everything in the trailer looked amazing, and you sorta have the idea of it being about dreams, but that’s about it. Then, you go and watch the trailer for Batman v Superman, and they show you everything, even the big bad who should’ve been a surprise.
The video below really nails how to make a good trailer versus a bad trailer. Some are so revealing that they sabotage a movie being successful.
2. Oats is a surprise film by filmmaker Neill Blomkamp. The last we heard from Blomkamp was that he was working on Alien 5. Since that project is canceled, he has apparently been at work of a film that I have literally never heard about. This is a shock to me since I am an avid fan.
Is it a film, short film, project for Steam? Here’s what Blomkamp has to say:
“Maybe with volume 1, it could be entirely free. Which means #oatsstudios YouTube page is where to get extras like 3D models / Vfx assets/ concept art/ all the raw footage / all music etc , maybe on steam for a nominal price. If people like… Hopefully pay for volume 2. Or go to theatres to see feature adapted from one of the shorter films.”
So, yeah, we’re still not entirely sure what this project is, but Dakota Fanning with weird lizard monsters looks like it could be something fun to watch.
3. This is the history of Rome in 20 minutes. Since Rome is one of the biggest empires ever to have existed on the planet, it’s probably a smart idea to know a little bit about it. Sure, we’re still in the dark about a lot of the history since it was destroyed, but piecing things together is a constant struggle by scientists and archaeologists around the world.
Rome is a place I have always wanted to visit since I was a little kid. I would probably bring a can to put dirt near the Coliseum home just because it’s dirt or rubble that’s near one of the most amazing ancient buildings that still exists. It sounds silly, but when you have multiple glass bottles of stuff from ancient sites, people will stand around with glasses of wine waiting to hear your tale of how you got it. I’m not even joking.
Below is the history of Rome as we know it in 20 minutes. That’s about the length of an episode of The Simpsons, so give this a view to learn about Rome.
‘4. Murder on the Orient Express pack in the star power. Based on the classic book, this movie looks like it will be top notch. I’m not sure having Johnny Depp in it is a good idea. Everything he touches lately has been poison, but the rest of the cast in this film looks amazing.
Premise: A lavish train ride unfolds into a stylish & suspenseful mystery. From the novel by Agatha Christie, Murder on the Orient Express tells of thirteen stranded strangers & one man’s race to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again.
I’m hoping this movie won’t bomb. It will be telling because it seems that being an A-list actor no longer guarantees that the movie will make money, which means studios will take even less chances on films. We all know that some films are sequels, but lately it seems that everything that comes out is a sequel.
Check out the trailer below. This is how a trailer should be cut.
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Jeff Sorensen is an author, writer and occasional comedian living in Detroit, Michigan. You can look for more of his work on The Huffington Post, UPROXX, BGR and by just looking up his name.
Contact: jeff@socialunderground.com