20th Century Fox, known for their extraordinary movie promotions, and knack for creating hype- even for movies that really suck (STAR WARS: EPISODE ONE comes to mind), has come up with yet another ordeal that’s bound to raise some eyebrows.
HIDE AND SEEK, the Robert DeNiro/ Dakota Fanning thriller hitting theaters this Friday, is another one of these attempts to create hype over nothing. In a press release, Fox claims that they’ve taken extraordinary measures to safeguard the critical final reel, which is shipping separately. In addition to shipping the reel separately, security guards will hand-deliver the reel to all playdate theaters across the U.S. As a final security measure, Fox has numbered all final reels.
Security Guards? Separate final reel? But wait, it gets better as Fox executive VP and general sales manager Richard Myerson claims “HIDE AND SEEK is a terrific picture with an ending that everyone will be talking about. To ensure everyone’s enjoyment of the film and to prevent ‘spoilers’, we’ve instituted extraordinary measures. We think it’s worth the effort.”
So… does that mean all of us who have tickets to the special pre-screening are going to get the shaft and
not see the ending? Are they going to make movie-goers sign an agreement that they
promise not to tell a living soul about the ending? Whatever the deal is, it’s the first time I’ve ever heard of something this drastic for a movie… a
January release movie at that!
My guess is, the movie’s so bad, and the ending is so frickin’ lame, and Fox knows it… So they’re trying to make as much money as they possibly can in the first weekend… because word of mouth will kill it from making any money beyond that (AVP or WHITE NOISE anyone?). With that said- HIDE AND SEEK hits theaters January 28th.
And if you’re into knowing what the hype-ending is all about, my homeboy Matt posted a little interview with star Elisabeth Shue a few weeks ago where she goofed and let some of it slip. Click
here to check out the article… just know, within it lies a few SPOILERS, but if you’re into that- read on!