Less hype this time; good or bad?

[Jedieb]

I found something out today that got me to thinking about AOTC "hype." My local Toys R Us will NOT be having a midnight madness sale for AOTC toys. There was a lot of hype and press coverage for EP1 merchandise. My TRU had a very long line and even a local news van covering the event. The following morning the store opened early and served juice, coffee, and donuts.

AOTC toys have generated less excitement. In fact, the toys have been leaking out early in significant numbers. I've gotten more than half of the figures that will be available on 4/23. The major reason the toys have been leaking out early is that the level of awareness for the line is much lower than the last time. You couldn't turn around without hearing something about the May 3rd merchandising deadline for EP1. Stores were very cognizant of the date because of a combination of memos, customer questions, and press. But this time the media blitz is less intense and the corporate push from Lucasfilm and the headquaters of major retailers is less noticeable. In some instances it's being ignored completely with no fear of retribution. Don't believe any stories of $10,000 fines from LFL, that's nothing but an urban myth. No major retailer will pay a dime in fines. The worst that will happen is some future shipments may be diverted, but only temporarily.

The irony is the toy line for AOTC is significantly better than TPM (IMO). Mind you, I'm not alone in this assessment. This is a common opinion in the collecting community. The figures look better, they're are LESS of them, and later in the year we'll be getting the best looking playset since the vintage Death Star playset.

I for one am glad the hype has fallen down a level or two. It shouldn't be that much of a surprise. We had to wait 16 years last time. You can't create that level of expectation again with TPM so fresh in everyone's mind. There was a newness to the whole EP1 experience. A new SW film was being seen on the big screen by an entirely NEW generation. AOTC doesn't have this going for it. This isn't to say that AOTC is not the most anticipated movie of the year. Just that it isn't matching the level of anticipation of EP1, mainly because of the newness factor.

Some may want to attribute this reduced hype to TPM backlash. Granted, there are SW and casual fans that we're dissapointed with several aspects of TPM (Jar Jar, Jake Lloyd, not enough Maul, toys warming pegs, future figures that were impossible to find, take your pick.) But backlash is too convienient an answer for 'reduced hype.' Many are waiting for any aspect of AOTC to fall short so they can say; "I told you TPM sucked! I told you it would ruin Star Wars! This is all Jar Jar's fault!" I disagree with them. Despite TPM being my least favorite SW film, it is not a film that I think has 'ruined' the franchise. Lots of bad movies can make $100M, but how does something horrible make over $400M? (We could discuss this one point for days so let's stay on the hype topic; PLEASE!) Again, it's not backlash, it's a combination of several factors.

Any other thoughts on AOTC hype?

[Admiral Lebron]

Lot less trailers on TV then last time. But that could just be time. I can't remember when they put the trailers on TV. I'm sure if we wait a couple of weeks, hype will be built?

[Jedieb]

Oh, the hype will naturally start to increase as we get closer to AOTC. It will be a fever pitch by the time the movie opens. What I'm saying is that it's already proven itself to be lower than that of EP1 hype. As for the trailers, we've actually had more of them than last time, and they were released in a shorter amount of time.

[Admiral Lebron]

I really can't compare to last time, since last time 'round I wasn't as into SW as I am now. Infact before I saw Episode I, I thought Shadows of the Empire was some gay thing hasbro made up to sell toys and I thought Maul was named Sith. Gosh.. I was dumb.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think part of this is done on the part of Lucas he doesn't want the hype TPM had and I don't want it either. Still there will be some hype once the magazines coming out actually it will probably begin Tuesday with the release of the music video on TRL that is the first big date. Still, Spiderman is getting more hype and I think that is a bad thing because it will IMO hurt the film, people will probably disapointed, though I won't I never put unrealistic expectations on a film, I usually can spot a bad film without having to see it (Scorpion King, Freddy Got Fingered, etc) sure there has been exceptions, Batman and Robin and Godzilla both let me down (I still to this day have no idea why I went to see Godzillla I could tell it wasn't going to be any good but I went along with some people).

One thing in regards to Toys R Us they are still doing the Midnight thing at some stores but I think its up to each store, I am guessing the ones that don't do it could be for various reasons (lack of help, the store in fiancial trouble or the reasons you mentioned) still your lucky I haven't found a single action figure around here, the Walmarts around me haven't put them out, Toys R Us didn't have them out last week maybe I don't go enough or at the right times I don't know or maybe they just are obeying the instructions. But I have found the Lays SW chips and Cereal :p

[Admiral Lebron]

What music video?

[Jedi Master Carr]

Its promoting the new soundtract its a video of Across the Stars, it will include some new footage and dialogue, though I supect a lot of it will be from the trailers, it will be similar to the one that was made for Duel of the Fates.

[Admiral Lebron]

Ahh. Okay. I'll have to record TRL to see it.

[Jedieb]

Much of the TPM hype was free publicity. The press was tripping over itself to get ANY kind of EP1 coverage they could get their hands on. They were giving LFL tons of FREE publicity.

My local TRU isn't doing midnight madness because they're just not interested in it. I've heard that there are ENTIRE states that won't have a single TRU midnight madness sale. That's kind of surprising. I still expect major stores like the NYC Times Square store to have MM. That would be something I'd love to see.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think I read on theforce.net they were. There is also something else to consider Toys R Us is bankrupt or close to it, I know they have been talking about closing some stores in some states I even heard rumors about the one closest to me. Not sure how much of that is a factor. I really don't have any problem with less of the hype, but I am worried there will be less figures and it will be harder to find some of them, but of course that will make them more collectable ;)

[Jedieb]

They'll be plently of figures. Sure, less will be made than last time, but that's a GOOD thing. Less figures on opening day means less figures warming pegs in June. Less figures warming pegs means stores will order newer product. People got burned out because theynever had the chance to get a Hologram Sidious. Why couldn't they find him? Stores weren't ordering new product because they still had unsold fugres from May 3rd. That shouldn't happen quite so badly this time around. As for TRU's financial situation, I didn't think it was in sure dire straights. I know they closed a few stores last year, but I thought they were otherwise healthy. WalMart, Target, even Sears, they'll be TONS of places to find AOTC merchandise. There just won't be as much merchandise as we had for TPM. Take the restaurant premiums, of which I collected ALL of them and went nearly insane in the process. There were around 30 of them spread out over 3 different food chains. This summer? ZERO! Quite a drop off huh?

[Jedi Master Carr]

Tricon dropped them, they were suppose to be doing spiderman but I haven't seen anything yet from them, maybe they changed their minds again and realized that stuff just doesn't make money unless you do just kid toys (they might be doing that I don't know) GM seems to be doing a lot I really want to get that race car they will be selling, and they are also selling cereal bowls and cups thats sounds neat though that doesn't really interest me, unless I give it to my nephew. I haven't seen what Lays is up to yet I think they are suppose to be doing a big add campaign starting next week.

[Figrin D'an]

That's interesting about your TRU not doing a midnight opening... there are two within 15-20 miles of my home, and both of them are doing a midnight opening... although, I do agree, the hype is not nearly as big as a it was last time. Last time, there were a lot of "closet collectors" that showed up for the toy opening... this time, I tend to think it will be only the really hardcore fans. That's fine with me... it means I'll have a better chance of getting exactly what I want. :D

[Alec Lafeyette]

I don't know if this was mentioned or not, I just skimmed through the thread. But I think it has a lot to do with Ep1 being the first of the prequels and it being the next Star Wars movie after a 30 year wait. Anyways, less hype is better in my opinion. When I went to see TPM, it wasn't that exciting because I had seen so much from the music video, action figures, and all those faces on the pepsi cans, lol.

[JonathanLB]

"Lot less trailers on TV then last time. But that could just be time. "

I totally disagree with that. There were hardly any at all for TPM. I thought the advertising for TPM from Fox and Lucasfilm left a lot to be desired; they let the media do their work for them and that didn't pay off at all. It was a mistake.

This time around, there is a lot less media hype and a lot less of that general insanity, but there seems to be a lot more actual marketing. FOUR trailers/teasers instead of two, for instance. That is a big increase. Two is pretty silly for a major blockbuster so for TPM to have only Trailer A and Trailer B I was a bit surprised, although it obviously didn't need more.

I think the decreased hype this time is mostly good, but it's also bad. Bad because it was so much fun to hear Star Wars all over even 6 months before the movie came out. It was just great, walking everywhere and seeing Star Wars stuff, it was like Star Wars owned the world pretty much for that entire year. Then again, not everyone is an actual Star Wars fan. The people who are just casual fans or moviegoers probably got a bit annoyed at seeing it all over, or were indifferent at best, so it is best to err on the side of caution this time and cut back on the massive merchandising and hype.

I don't think AOTC merchandise will do as well as TPM merchandise, but I think the profits will be higher. It's like if you make 100 of something and sell 65 versus if you make 70 and sell 60. Sure, you sold less, but you also made less of them so you didn't overproduce by so much.

TPM did insanely well in merchandising, although the companies made such vast quantities of everything that by the time the next shipments of merchandise came in, the old toys were like $3 or something. It wasn't the fault of Star Wars or Lucasfilm, it was just the companies who wanted to get their money back very quickly and thought that TPM toys would make like $5 billion instead of "just" about a billion, haha.

I am thinking this decreased hype is going to help the film a lot in its critical appraisal and also with some of the other moviegoers. TPM was very well received but the hype clouded the minds of some of the critics and this time, they'll either be anxious to say "AOTC just proves Lucas has really lost his touch" OR they'll be anxious to diss TPM again by saying, "AOTC is such a vastly improved film, it makes you wonder how Lucas could have gone so wrong with TPM" or whatever. LOL.

I just enjoy the release frame of a Star Wars movie, no matter whether there is lots of hype or not. TPM was super fun, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I mean that literally.

I do not believe any film in my lifetime will be as anticipated as TPM. No film before it ever came to theaters with such amazing anticipation. When people cite Gone With the Wind, they are quite mistaken. There was no Internet then, nor was there the video games, the massive merchandising campaign, I mean, jesus, you'd have to be utterly stupid to think that GWTW had anywhere close to the level of hype. In THOSE DAYS it had a lot of hype, but TPM makes that film's hype look like the hype for Murder By Numbers.

We'll never see an event to rival TPM's opening, but AOTC is still a hugely anticipated film and I cannot wait... At least for me, I'm actually doing more with AOTC than with TPM slightly. I'm waiting in line a few days this time, something I wanted to do before, and I'm going to opening day of the Star Wars Celebration (II), which I couldn't do with the first either because of school. Not to mention this time I can drive.

Last time, I saw TPM 50 times despite not having my own car. So with a car that I can drive whenever I want (we have so many), 50 shouldn't be *that* hard! ;)

My dad just got an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, uhhhh *drools*, that's the coolest thing ever. We have 6 cars now. He's planning to get two more, though, he wants a 2002 Mercedez (not sure which model) and a Ferarri.

[JMK]

I think that less hype is a good thing. Of course, we haven't seen anything yet, but regardless, I believe that it leaves more opportunity for AotC to score big with the critics. For TPM, I didn't mind seeing SW everywhere, because it was the first SW movie in 16 years, so technically it was the first huge SW experience for me. This time though, I'm enjoying the low-keyness of AotC.

[sirdizzy]

honestly i was thinking on the same lines


it seems to me they are pushing spiderman really really really hard (they have spiderman combos at my theatre this time in 1999 it was Ep1 combos) plus tons of other merchandise


i feel the excitement isn't there as much for ep1 in 1999 it was almost a frenzy now its us die hards that are frenzied by ourselves

[CMJ]

Yeah...three years ago the anticipation was palpable. I really don't feel that this time..which is good. It even got to be too much for me...and I'm a pretty big SW fan. :)

[Figrin D'an]

Originally posted by CMJ
Yeah...three years ago the anticipation was plapable. I really don't feel that this time..which is good. It even got to be too much for me...and I'm a pretty big SW fan. :)


Yeah, I have to agree... I felt the same way in some cases. I mean, I loved things like the ticket line and midnight show line, because it gave me a chance to meet some other hardcore Star Wars fans. But, I think the big thing that got to me about the TPM hype (and post-film fallout) were all of the bandwagon fans that jumped ship. Before the film debuted, there was, like Diz said, a frenzy. So many people were into Star Wars, claiming to be "life-long" and "die-hard" fans... then, once TPM came out, a lot of them just disappeared, or even said that the film "ruined their fandom." That just bugged me, because a real fan wouldn't say that. Sure, TPM wasn't perfect, and there were people that were disappointed with it, but to completely give up on Star Wars because the film "didn't live up to 17 years of hype" is ridiculous. Just by looking around our site, you'll find people that had issues with TPM... but despite that, they are still here, are still fans, and are ready for AOTC.

That's something that I can appreciate and respect.

[CMJ]

Yeah, I mean TPM wasn't exactly the perfect film for me either(don't kill me Jon) but I'm really excited about AOTC.

I do admit though even though I'm a huge fan and all the "frenzy" was a bit much. There was SW stuff everywhere and I mean everywhere. I could sense a backlash was gonna come before the film even opened just because everyone was jumping on the bandwagon so hard. I mean they were selling TPM merchandise everywhere from grocery stores...to toy stores..to book stores...to higher end department stores. It was a bit much IMHO.

[Jedieb]

A SW fan that was so disapoointed by TPM that he hates it doesn't bug me much. If he says that he hates it so much that it's ruined the OT for him then I just have to scratch my head and wonder where he's getting his crack from. If you don't like the prequels and just treasure the OT then fine, I can understand that. But if you hate TPM and transfer those feelings to the OT you say you once loved, or make it your mission to constantly rag on everything that's new to SW then you're just annoying. Don't like it? Then don't watch it. Get your initial disgust out of your system but don't keep harping on it day in day out. The prequels aren't changing any of the dialogue or shots from the OT. Just block out the prequels and be on your merry way.

[JonathanLB]

No film is perfect, not even TPM. The SW films are close to possible as perfect, but certainly not perfect...

Can't wait until AOTC, not long now... :)

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
No film is perfect

True. I think American Beauty comes closest to being the perfect movie.

[Jedieb]

But there are no CGI enhanced dueling martial artists in AB Dutchy, HOW CAN IT BE CLOSE TO PERFECT!:rollin

As much as I liked AB, I wouldn't give it as much praise as have you have Dutchy. I think labeling a film with perfection is a misleading term. What kind of perfection are you looking for? Technical, writing, performance, etc. How can you say a scene was "perfectly" acted? Sure you can spot a bad matte painting or poor CGI in many pictures, but many films have neither of those elements. I just think "perfect" is a strange term for films. When I think of perfect I think of 27 batters faced and retired or a 300 bowlings score. Know what I mean?

[CMJ]

Yeah...the perfect film is kinda hard to categorize...mainly because it's subjective. Like you said Jedieb, with Baseball perfection is easy to see....but anything that involves judging can't be called perfect. I mean a film could be "perfect" for me...and not for someone else.

[Jedieb]

This reminds me of one of my favorite examples of irony!
Perfect starring John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis; It's ironic that a film entitled "Perfect" could be so, so, soooooooo, far from it.:smokin

[JonathanLB]

Ouch, are you serious?! You are just asking for criticism naming a film "Perfect," no matter what the title word refers to in the movie, lol.

Yes, well perfect to me is just a 100/100 rating, and that doesn't mean the film is actually perfect. It means I gave it the highest rating possible on my scale, and that scale takes into consideration that no movie is ever going to be perfect. Actually, perhaps if you gave me $150 million and I was a very experienced filmmaker, I could make a movie that would be perfect *to me*. Perhaps. I don't think so, but it may be doable. But any other movie made by anyone else, there is always going to be something I would have done differently (not necessarily "better") and therefore it would be kind of... odd... saying it was perfect.

I have given about 10 to 15 100/100 ratings. The SW films, The Game, The Truman Show, The Matrix, Blade Runner, and Alien come to mind. I actually think that this year's The Count of Monte Cristo may be a perfect 100 for me. It was done perfectly in every way I can imagine, at least for me, and I may decide it is a 100, but I never do that until I've seen a film a few times over a period of time (I've seen Monte Cristo 3 times, but in theaters only).

I think Mr. Show Biz never gave a 100 rating because they thought that meant perfect, so Godfather, Star Wars, Citizen Kane, etc. got 99 ratings... I think. Don't quote me on that, though.

[Jedieb]

Back to the original point of the thread, I observed fewer fans out last night than on 5.3.99. I actually thought it was a good thing. Most of the people out last night were die hard collectors, not speculators. I also imagine that many who got burned out by the TPM glut stayed home as well. Definitely less SW toy hype this time around, but still a solid turnout. No other toy line could spur dozens of 20 and 30 somethings to stand around a WalMart and talk about action figures. I met some pretty cool people last night and it was fun trading collecting stories. Can't believe they'll only be one more of these.:(

[ReaperFett]

Unless they make rereleases:)

[Jedieb]

Nah, that won't be the same. It'll be fun, but not the same as a brand NEW movie. :(