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September 02, 2008
Snakes On McCain
So it finally hits me just how much like movie marketing the presidential campaign now is, as the McCain team pretends that pregnancies and in-state investigations and a lack of vetting and the problems of an unknown candidate trying to be bait for disgruntled Hillary "a lifetime of being vetted" Clinton will all just go away by calling those who raise legitimate (and occasionally, illegitimate) concerns "sexists."
And critics who don't praise half-ass, unambitious work are "out of touch."
McCain's situation really does mirror Snakes On A Plane.
A little imagination please...
It's pre-summer and Snakes On McCain is scheduled for late summer. There aren't very high expectations. The genre's kinda played out and the budget was kept tight so that profit is pretty much guaranteed after a modest release.
But then... it turns out that the only movie opening against it is a Denzel Washington movie. Yeah, he's a movie star and everyone seems to love him, but there also seems to be a glass ceiling when it comes to his grosses.
The tracking shows that the race for opening weekend is a lot tighter than some expected... though if you look closely, the bigger movie markets are dominated by Denzel. Maybe people are sick of Denzel... after all, when his last movie opened, it beat the Meryl Streep film and the NYT didn't write about Denzel's hit, but about how movies weren't being made for or by women. (Oddly, when Denzel and Meryl teamed up, it wasn't so successful... that won't happen again.)
They know there is a limit to the number of people who will support Denzel and "the kind of star he is" but the hope from Denzel's camp is that in the way Bill Clinton went from being a Lee Majors candidate to Elvis once in office, Denzel will ascend to the Will Smith level once he is in office... uh, theaters.
So the studio starts to work to excite the McCain On A Plane base. They go and start spending money to re-shoot to add the kind of material that the base really loves. They encourage all kinds of talking points that may be utter bull, but sure get that base excited.
And then they add one more re-shoot... to add both Britney & Jamie Lyn Spears to the cast... because as successful women, they surely could capitalize on the sexism questions about Denzel. And heck, they are young and sexy, like Denzel!
But what they forget is that the base may be excited by the move to the edge and the addition of two popular women to the cast, but the audience that doesn't normally want to go see McCain On A Plane isn't going to be turned by that. In fact, they are likely to be turned off by the additions, which seem to be pandering... especially when the sisters keep ending up in the tabloids, whether for being pregnant as a teen or getting out of the car without the panties on... and how sexist are those paparazzi for taking those shots?!?!?!
But damned if the "studio" doesn't just keep selling the same line, no matter what the movie really is, no matter how tired the audience is getting of the same old stuff... they just keep selling... when bad stuff happens, they just keep moving forward. They have no choice. Once you commit to a strategy in marketing something with a limited window of opportunity, if you change direction with your pitch, you inevitably die. Movies can overcome all kinds of bad buzz... but they can't overcome a bad or inconsistent sales job.
And of course, the industry keeps thinking, "those guys might have something... Denzel might be vulnerable... people are suckers... the media is spending so much time promoting McCain On A Plane... maybe Britney Spears really is the same as Meryl Streep for audiences..."
And that great tag line... "Get those muthafucking liberals out of my muthafucking POW cell!" It's powerful stuff. And the studio doubled the ad budget.
The irony of all of this being that S.O.A.P. is remembered as a commercial disappointment, ticket buyers voting with their money, but the movie was not as bad as the excessive selling and fear of the showing the film suggested. Had they just stuck to what they had, not increased their budget, and rode the web buzz, the film would have been a relative success.
The McCain who actually was a maverick would have been a real possibility this year. But they just kept changing the formula and no matter how hard you try to sell New Coke as "better," people make up their mind for themselves... but that's another column.
Posted by dpoland at September 2, 2008 08:04 PM
Comments
No; this is playing out exactly how the West Wing writers planned it close to four years ago. This is why I always knew it would be Obama. This is why I always knew it would be Biden. This is also why McCain picked a right-leaning grapefruit like Palin. He was in the same place as Vinick, and made the same decision.
So this is already happen. We are just now catching up to it now.
Posted by: IOIOIOI ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at September 2, 2008 08:27 PM
I think this fits the situation a bit better. IT'S ALL HAPPENING, MAN! IT'S ALL HAPPENING!
Oh Untitled... how you broke him so.
Posted by: IOIOIOI at September 2, 2008 08:30 PM
(Beyond the irony of comparing Obama to a movie star), the fatal flaw of your analogy is that Obama is no Denzel. Denzel has a track record, and is a proven commodity. A little imagination please...
Obama is more like that actor who was in a successful movie, billed as "and introducing...". You know, the sarcastic best friend, the member of the strike team who usually sits in the van, the talking animal sidekick. He gets all the good lines, and ends up making a big impression in a "breakout" role.
So the political, I mean studio machine sees fit to groom him for a big-budget, above-the-title starring vehicle. We're talking summer tentpole. They roll out a huge PR campaign, including guest stops on Oprah, Ellen, Tyra, Ellen again. Film Comment Magazine is still awaiting a return phone call.
Regardless, the masses get excited. Here's a fresh, clean, charismatic lead that has the flash bulbs popping and the audiences screaming with glee. Someone mentions Oscar. Surely this guy has the goods! I mean, nobody's seen an Oscar-worthy performance from him (he's only been in the one movie, and a couple TV commericals) but it doesn't mean he's not capable. He sure looks and sounds capable. Push that movie to a November release, for our consideration!
Posted by: mysteryperfecta at September 2, 2008 08:58 PM
Obama = Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman
McCain = Warren Beatty in Dick Tracy
Posted by: mutinyco at September 2, 2008 09:03 PM
Yadda yadda, mystery.
Obama has the Denzel of winning what was thought to be an unwinnable Democratic nomination. Obama has the Denzel of winning a US Senate seat as a 43 year old, following 8 years in the Illinois State senate.
You want to live in your delusion because you don't like his politics... step up and be real. This endless repetition of The Lie is just weak already, right along with Palin's "remarkable" record in her 20 months in a state-level office... her only experience governing more than 9000 people.
When you guys can't fight with facts, you try to win with smears.
I can see how you can keep supporting McCain, on politics. But any reasonable human has to admit that this whole Palin thing is a car wreck caused by simple reckless desperation. Anything less is, sadly, a lie... not a debatable issue... a lie.
I'm sure you're a decent human. We might disagree on politics (and a lot more), but if I can admit the obvious fact that Obama is a politician and not a deity (anyone who believes otherwise is nuts), you should be able to admit some simple truths about your candidate.
Posted by: David Poland at September 2, 2008 09:11 PM
Again David: West Wing season six and seven. It's already been fictionalized. We are just now living out the non-fiction portion of our program.
Posted by: IOIOIOI at September 2, 2008 09:51 PM
Hilarious and brilliant. Bravo Poland.
Posted by: seymourgrant at September 2, 2008 09:56 PM
Looks like Palin was also trying to ban books from the Wasilla library and tried to get the City Librarian fired. Didn't work.
Oh, it's jes gettin' better and better!
Posted by: christian at September 2, 2008 10:12 PM
To be fair, just about any Democrat could have won that Illinois Senate seat in 2004 after Ryan self-destructed.
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 2, 2008 10:19 PM
True; but only one Democrat could have stood out at the DNC. It sure as hell was not Kerry or Edwards. It was Barack Obama.
Posted by: IOIOIOI at September 2, 2008 10:39 PM
Unfortunately (for 2004).
Posted by: jeffmcm at September 2, 2008 10:43 PM
Jeff: indeed, but Hillary should have stepped up. If she stepped up. It may have been a whole new ballgame.
Posted by: IOIOIOI at September 2, 2008 10:48 PM
"Obama has the Denzel of winning what was thought to be an unwinnable Democratic nomination."
You're right; it WAS THOUGHT to be unwinnable. But that's why you play the game. The touting of Hillary as inevitable was premature. You're doing something similiar with Obama.
"Obama has the Denzel of winning a US Senate seat as a 43 year old, following 8 years in the Illinois State senate."
He has very little experience on a national level. It is undeniable. It is a legitimate consideration. I'm not dismissing outright his stint in the minors, but some people are rightly focusing on his numbers playing in the bigs.
As I said, Denzel is a seasoned, proven-to-be-bankable, Oscar-winning actor. THAT'S comparable to Obama? My analogy is more accurate.
"right along with Palin's "remarkable" record in her 20 months in a state-level office"
Compared to Obama's "remarkable" record in his 5 months in the US Senate?
"But any reasonable human has to admit that this whole Palin thing is a car wreck caused by simple reckless desperation. Anything less is, sadly, a lie... not a debatable issue... a lie."
What an intellectually vapid statement. If this isn't an example of trying to win with smears, nothing is. It's like you're ticking down the list of logical fallacies. Unlike you, I wasn't writing "Game Over" ten minutes after I heard McCain's VP pick. I haven't said it was a good pick, either. You may vaguely recognize this as gaining some perspective before making declarative statements.
"but if I can admit the obvious fact that Obama is a politician and not a deity "
I think we can safely say that what you've "conceded" to is the bare, bare minimum. The "deity" claim is and always has been a metaphor.
"you should be able to admit some simple truths about your candidate."
And I'm delusional? I have no problem stating any number of negatives about McCain and Palin. I suspect the first thing I uttered about McCain on this blog was critical. But I'd be hard pressed to name ONE CRITICISM you've leveled against Obama, in all you've written here. Your political comments have been 90% demonization of Obama's opponents, and 10% swoon. At best, you may have copped to a mistake his campaign has made.
Posted by: mysteryperfecta at September 3, 2008 06:24 AM
Mystery . . . just curious where you get 5 months for Obama in the U.S. Senate? He's been a U.S. Senator since 2005.
Posted by: Krazy Eyes at September 3, 2008 06:49 AM
"Mystery . . . just curious where you get 5 months for Obama in the U.S. Senate? He's been a U.S. Senator since 2005."
You're right to be curious. Reading what I wrote again, reveals it to be quite misleading. You're right; Obama has been a Senator since 2005. Five months is the amount of time the Senate was in session from the time Obama was sworn in to the time he announced the formation of his Presidential exploratory committee. So, five months of working days.
Sorry for the confusion.
Posted by: mysteryperfecta at September 3, 2008 10:08 AM
"maybe Britney Spears really is the same as Meryl Streep for audiences..."
You just nailed it to the wall. No self-respecting Hillary supporters are voting for McCain because of Palin.
Posted by: Rob at September 3, 2008 12:38 PM
I concede she has a lot of experience - so much so that her record scares the s*** out of me - book banning - investing in sports facilities instead of schools or libraries - the whole let the polar bears become extinct cause we gotta protect the oil companies right to drill drill drill - advocating teaching creationism in schools ( oh yeah - that will really put us on top of the global competition regarding technology development) cutting funding for teen moms -
McCain has brought the culture wars back again with this nomination - I am hoping this is a sign of his desperation and that while many Americans bought this bull for two terms of George Bush maybe they finally get it and won't fall for it again -
Posted by: cobhome at September 3, 2008 02:21 PM
As usual McCain frothed at the mouth about the Liberal Media. He won't speak to his hometown paper in Phoenix and now he has stopped speaking to CNN.
Posted by: Chucky in Jersey at September 3, 2008 05:35 PM
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