How do I Treat my Trailer Addiction?
It started when I was just a boy. I have an amazing mother who took me to the movies at least 20 times a year for 10 years, not counting Drive-Ins, Beta and VHS. I grew up loving the entire movie theater process, from the long lines to the crappy popcorn, the blurry picture to the weird smell. I especially fell in love with trailers. They signaled the end of waiting in that dark room full of strangers, the start of the feature, and the promise of the next adventure. Now I’m a grown man, and a hopeless movie trailer addict.
Back in the eighties when I was a boy, the only way to keep informed about upcoming features was to catch the coming soon stuff at the movie house. Eventually the preview appeared on TV, but if you saw a new movie back then in the theater, you saw a new trailer. Holy Indiana Jones, Batman, that’s Marty McFly. I didn’t realize that my years of movie enjoyment and theater visits would come at a cost–my health. I wish I could just blame the internet, and later I will, but I know I started young, I maintained my thirst, and the internet only caters to junkies like me. Before there was a worldwide web, I went to movies at the theater with sometimes a higher expectation of the trailers than the movie itself. I haven’t gotten any better since. You’ve never been to a movie and felt pissed that the trailers sucked? I have.
So now I not only overindulge on the web, gobbling every teaser and clip I can prior to the release of a movie, then I go to see the movie, feel disappointed by the trailers (either having already seen them or judging them disconnected from the genre movie I’m attending), and inevitably feel the movie itself spoiled by the online trailers I’d previously binged on . That’s a vicious cycle of addiction and pain. A self-fulfilling prophecy. What do I do? I’ve thought of limiting my own access to pre-theatrical promos and teasers, especially when it comes to a movie I’m really looking forward to, but let’s be honest-I don’t trust myself. Maybe the studios could help a brother out by say,–not showing us so much content!!
Is it too much to ask to save some secrets for the film? Star Wars: The Force Awakens managed to keep secrets, but lately my beloved superhero genre has been spoiling the best parts months before the release. More than ever, we get two teasers, three full length trailers, an international trailer, an Audi commercial, promo clips and what can sometimes add up to 15 minutes of the film’s most memorable moments. Stop!! I love Deadpool, waited most of my life for the movie and felt let down in the theater because I’d seen the best parts. Now Marvel has shown us Spidey in the Cap 3 trailer, and Fox just showed us Wolverine in X-Men: Apocalypse. Is nothing sacred? Can you save us anything worth paying for?
I feel helplessly trapped in my own nightmare creation. I don’t think I can trust any studio to stop the hype, so I may need to go cold turkey. One trailer per movie only, everything in moderation. After my one trailer, I’m waiting for the film. Period. Just until I feel like myself again. Suddenly, I’m craving the next Dr. Strange trailer. There may be no hope for me. Fellow addicts- find me on twitter.
'Well, uh, for Paulie, I really want to get him a snow cone machine. You like snow cones, don'tcha?'- Rocky Balboa
