Movies which revealed their big secrets in the marketing

[grim22]

I was reading the Terminator 2 article on "The Dissolve" ( http://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/670-terminator-2-and-the-worlds-biggest-spoiler/ ) and it was making the point that in T2 if you have gone into the movie only having watched Terminator 1, you don't know that

 

1. Arnold is a good guy, and

2. Robert Patrick is actually a T-1000 terminator

 

until they meet in the hallway and Arnold blows Patrick's head off. The movie plays around the first 30-45 minutes pretty deliberately to avoid revealing this, but the secret was revealed a long time ago in the marketing. 

 

Then I also read this question to Roger Ebert

My wife showed me your review of "The Truman Show," and I was crushed with chagrin to learn the movie is constructed to reveal its secret slowly to the viewer. I've already seen the "Truman Show" commercials revealing the secret. I feel betrayed. This is the third time when the advance info has ruined a surprise. The first was "Terminator 2." On talk shows, Arnold Schwarzeneggerbeamed, "This time I'm a good terminator! The bad guy is a T-1000, made of liquid metal, which can look like anyone." In the theater, the details are calculatedly ambiguous right until the two terminators confront each other and Schwarzenegger suddenly turns and protects the kid. At that moment, I thought--I shouldn't have known the details beforehand! The same thing happened with "The Empire Strikes Back." Magazines had cover photos: "Here's Yoda! He's an old, eccentric, funny-looking creature who's really a Jedi master!" In viewing the film I realized the audience wasn't supposed to know Yoda's identity until he started conversing with the disembodied voice of Obi-Wan. Now here's "The Truman Show," with a marketing campaign spilling all the beans. My wife contends there is no other possible way for the studio to successfully advertise the movie, but I have to believe there's SOME way to do it. 

 

This seems like something we take for granted now years later, of course Yoda was a Jedi Master, of course Arnie was a good guy, obviously The Truman Show is a reality show. 

 

I was wondering if there are any other movies which were spoiled so badly by their marketing as to prevent the audience from enjoying them as the filmmakers intended.

[Water Bottle]

I like how Ebert was complaining about the Yoda reveal in ESB.

 

Yes, 'cause obviously that's the big twist in that movie.

 

For Terminator 2, I can't imagine marketing the movie without being vastly misleading (which people HATE). For The Truman Show, how else do you market it?

 

And I never thought in the Truman Show that the reality show aspect was supposed to be a twist for the viewer. In fact, part of the fun for me watching it the first time was seeing Truman figure out something I knew.

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Well, Amazing Spidey 2 trailers sure hinted at you know what.

[John Marston]

I like how Ebert was complaining about the Yoda reveal in ESB.

 

Yes, 'cause obviously that's the big twist in that movie.

 

For Terminator 2, I can't imagine marketing the movie without being vastly misleading (which people HATE). For The Truman Show, how else do you market it?

 

And I never thought in the Truman Show that the reality show aspect was supposed to be a twist for the viewer. In fact, part of the fun for me watching it the first time was seeing Truman figure out something I knew.

 

 

agree, The reality show aspect of The Truman Show is not a twist. It is the basic concept of the movie. 

[John Marston]

some other advertising that gave away twists. 

 

 

-All the trailers, TV spots and Behind the scenes of GoldenEye gave away that 006 was the main bad guy

- All the trailers and Spots of The Island including the description on the back of the DVD cover gave away that The Island wasn't real.

Edited July 22, 2014 by John Marston

[CJohn]

Dream House main trailer gives away the big twist: Daniel Craig's family is dead. 

[The Futurist]

TA revealed the big twist  : Earth is being avenged by the mighty Avengers.

[RobinHood26]

some other advertising that gave away twists. 

 

 

-All the trailers, TV spots and Behind the scenes of GoldenEye gave away that 006 was the main bad guy

- All the trailers and Spots of The Island including the description on the back of the DVD cover gave away that The Island wasn't real.

 

Golden Eye Im with the studio though, that was the selling point of the movie right? 006 vs 007? 

[Webslinger]

What Lies Beneath's ad campaign pretty much eliminated all of the tension it tried to gather in the first 45 minutes. They might as well have just shown the scene with the lab mice, too.

[Dark Jedi Master 007]

I also struggle with Ebert's attack on The Truman Show's marketing. Even if Truman's reality was a twist, there was no other way of getting people to see the film without giving it away. I mean, if the trailers simply shows this perfect man living a perfect life, it would have been very boring. 

[Ethan Hunt]

Now I haven't seen How To Train YOur Dragon 2, but it would look a lot more appealing if they let us believe that the person that is suposedly Hiccups mom was the villan.

[Water Bottle]

Now I haven't seen How To Train YOur Dragon 2, but it would look a lot more appealing if they let us believe that the person that is suposedly Hiccups mom was the villan.

 

Yes.

 

'Cause Godzilla has shown us that audiences love it when the marketing lies to them.

[filmlover]

Now I haven't seen How To Train YOur Dragon 2, but it would look a lot more appealing if they let us believe that the person that is suposedly Hiccups mom was the villan.

LOL that would've been impossible for them to do. And would've been really stupid too.

 

Among the films not mentioned, the previews for Funny People from a few years pretty much gave away the whole movie (by revealing that Adam Sandler gets better). Between eliminating whatever hook they could've had and the movie itself being (at least in my and, judging from the pitiful legs it had, most moviegoers', opinions) an unfunny and obnoxiously overlong bore, no wonder moviegoers fled in the other direction.

Edited July 23, 2014 by filmlover

[John Marston]

not a trailer but the soundtrack for The Sixth Sense has a track called "Malcolm is Dead"

[TServo2049]

"Qui-Gon's Noble End," nuff said.

[dashrendar44]

Hulk catching Iron Man in Avengers promo so we know he won't crash dead from freefall when it occurs in the movie killing suspense.

[John Marston]

Hulk catching Iron Man in Avengers promo so we know he won't crash dead from freefall when it occurs in the movie killing suspense.

 

 

but as if anyone would expect Iron Man to die. It's a good money shot to put in the trailer. Also, most people might not even remember seeing the shot before while watching it. 

Edited July 23, 2014 by John Marston

[dashrendar44]

but as if anyone would expect Iron Man to die. It's a good money shot to put in the trailer. Also, most people might not even remember seeing the shot before while watching it. 

 

It ruined the suspense of the sequence so you're not surprised and less invested into the outcome as you watch it than if you were going into that movie blind. Seeing Hulk catching him at last moment, you already know how it will play out since it's the end of the movie.

 

It's like showing Batman catching the Joker instead of letting him fall to his death at the end or showing that Rachel dies in the explosion in TDK's trailer.

 

You ruin the suspense of the action beat by showing the capping of the sequence. It's not like Titanic which plays on the ineluctability of its fate with foreshadowing.

Edited July 24, 2014 by dashrendar44

[Jessie]

I wish The Village had given away its twist in the trailers, would have saved me money.

[Jessie]

In DOTPOTA they made it seem like Ceaser had been killed by Koba but I knew there were a few scenes from the trailer i'd yet to see therefore it was obvious he was still alive.