Check out this link about the licensing people all worried about how in 2008 there aren't enough movies that have merchandising potential the way 2007 did with Pirates, Shrek, etc.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...b76c460818205a
The worst part was this paragraph: they said Dark Knight and Speed Racer had the best chances but "But with the "Batman" sequel being described as a bit dark, there was concern it could limit sales among younger children who may not see the film."
That's the deal! They're making these movies and they make them PG13 or whatever (instead of R so they can get SOME kids into it) and then they MARKET their crap at these little kids. And the little kids, of course, want the toys. So then people are faced with two choices: take a 5 year old to a movie that any person who wrote the show would agree it's not intended for them, OR make them miss out on it and be the only kid who hasn't seen the movie. And doesn't get the toy. Because, really, does Terry Rossio expect to see a 3 or 4 year old sitting in front of a huge screen watching a little boy get hanged in the first five minutes of Pirates 3? No. Totally not. He's thinking an 8 year old. Definitely 13. But the marketing people are marketing those toys and the little kids want them. Ugh.
Sometimes you can dodge it by buying the kids book or by taking the original source material (those Spiderman 1968 cool DVDs) and showing those. But the long and the short of it is they're accepting their rating from MPAA but their marketing people are totally ignoring it because it's about making money at all costs. Which I can see, it's a business. But jeez, make a 30 minute cartoon thing to stick on TV then if you want kids to buy the junk and eat the cereal and be excited for the Happy Meal.
Argh. And I'm not picking on pirates. I loved Pirates. But these marketing people are just kind of sleazirific. I hope the Dark Knight doesn't get watered down just so they can sell more toys.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/...b76c460818205a
The worst part was this paragraph: they said Dark Knight and Speed Racer had the best chances but "But with the "Batman" sequel being described as a bit dark, there was concern it could limit sales among younger children who may not see the film."
That's the deal! They're making these movies and they make them PG13 or whatever (instead of R so they can get SOME kids into it) and then they MARKET their crap at these little kids. And the little kids, of course, want the toys. So then people are faced with two choices: take a 5 year old to a movie that any person who wrote the show would agree it's not intended for them, OR make them miss out on it and be the only kid who hasn't seen the movie. And doesn't get the toy. Because, really, does Terry Rossio expect to see a 3 or 4 year old sitting in front of a huge screen watching a little boy get hanged in the first five minutes of Pirates 3? No. Totally not. He's thinking an 8 year old. Definitely 13. But the marketing people are marketing those toys and the little kids want them. Ugh.
Sometimes you can dodge it by buying the kids book or by taking the original source material (those Spiderman 1968 cool DVDs) and showing those. But the long and the short of it is they're accepting their rating from MPAA but their marketing people are totally ignoring it because it's about making money at all costs. Which I can see, it's a business. But jeez, make a 30 minute cartoon thing to stick on TV then if you want kids to buy the junk and eat the cereal and be excited for the Happy Meal.
Argh. And I'm not picking on pirates. I loved Pirates. But these marketing people are just kind of sleazirific. I hope the Dark Knight doesn't get watered down just so they can sell more toys.
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