Film Marketing Academy Podcast

Wrongly dismissed by the media as a 'Jaws' rip-off, this is a completely different kind of shark movie. 'The Shallows' is an exciting, tense and edge of seat scary tale with some incredible cinematography and landscapes.  Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards examine the marketing campaign from the tense trailers, gorgeous colourful posters and clever TV spots. We look at the tongue in cheek socia...

"It’s Always Someone You Know!" After a 10 year gap the Scream franchise returns with another Ghost Face killer on the loose. Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards look at the posters, trailers, featurettes and go for a deep dive into the remarkable social media marketing campaign which included an official Woodsboro Horror Film Club account. But did the Facebook and Tik Tok algorithms get it right? An...

In this extract from 'Two Geeks And A Marketing Podcast' we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of one of the best werewolf movies of all time. Whilst there is little material available online about the marketing that supported the 2002 launch of 'Dog Soldiers', the stories about how the team brought the production to the screen are just as fascinating. There’s also real drama in the hunt for the lost...

In this extract from 'Two Geeks And A Marketing Podcast' Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards reflect on the making and marketing of the most successful foreign TV series of the decade. Squid Game was originally conceived as a film and it took writer director Hwang Dong-hyuk over a decade to bring it to our screens.  We look at the design and imagery and how this violent, dark drama about a deadl...

This gothic horror masterpiece by Neil Jordan re-defined the vampire genre and features great performances from Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, Antonio Banderas, along with copious amounts of gore.  Released in 1994, just before the Internet era, we have little information about the marketing of the film apart from the trailer and posters and the publicity. One major highlight is writer...

"I'm your number one fan!" This 1990 horror movie adaptation of the Stephen King novel by Rob Reiner will need no introduction, suffice to say 'Misery' takes tension to almost unbearable levels! Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards have fun reminiscing about seeing the movie for the first time on the big screen, that scene with the sledgehammer and how the marketing focused the promotion on the direc...

“Monsters come in many forms.”  An unexpected sequel to the 2008 film Cloverfield, some would argue that the Cloverfield elements were tagged onto a generic “kidnapped girl in cellar” story. However, John Goodman playing survivalist Howard is terrifying as the captor in this extremely tense movie.  The marketing was also remarkable. In addition to the usual posters and trailer, the produ...

An incredible tour-de-force by Elisabeth Moss in this intriguing and tense take on an old classic, with a few proper jump out of your seats moments! Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards go for a deep-dive on the marketing campaign in particular the visually impressive social media content with a never-ending list of taglines and teasers. Our favourite? What you can’t see, can hurt you. -- About the Fi...

“Belief divides them, mystery surrounds them, but fear changes everything.” In this extract from 'Two Geeks And A Marketing Podcast', Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards talk about the making and marketing of 'The Mist' the 2007 horror movie directed by Frank Darabont and based on the short novella written by Stephen King. This clever horror film was promoted with the innovative use of “webisodes” to...

“The most chilling ghost story of our time.”   A rather bold claim for this 2012 horror movie directed by James Watkins (Eden Lake 2008) and starring Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Liz White and many others. Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards ask whether this return to old-school chills and thrills, produced by Hammer Film Productions and the UK Film Council, has really paid...

'The Triangle' starring Mellisa George, Liam Hemsworth, Michael Dorman and many others is a great horror film with several mind-scrambling twists and genre-shifts. Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards discuss how the marketing may have let it down as the posters and trailer suggest it’s a slasher film on a cruise liner. Whilst that’s what you might think at first, director Christopher Smith soon takes...

This scary identity and body horror movie 'Us' directed by Jordan Peele can be a disturbing watch indeed! But it is the use of sound, visual motifs and clever storytelling that makes it a powerful movie that bears re-watching.   Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards share their views and reactions to the film and its multi-faceted marketing campaign about mysterious doppelgängers invading a f...

Lost footage film 'The Blair Witch Project' released in 1999 was the most successful independent film of all time. And it’s pretty scary too! Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards explore how that independent and entrepreneurial spirit was also used in the marketing campaign to attract the attention of audiences and the media. It started with an intriguing hook: In October of 1994, three student filmma...

"If The Hear, They Hunt You" We look back at the making and marketing of a really thrilling and frightening movie with almost no dialogue directed by John Krasinski who also starred alongside Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe. 'A Quiet Place' is a tale of blind extraterrestrial monsters tracking humans using their acute hearing which has audiences on the edge of their seats. Pascal Fin...

"Beyond the horizon lies the secret to a new beginning." Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards look at the production and marketing of 'Waterworld' the Kevin Costner epic which quickly inherited the unfair reputation of being a flop even though that is not the case at all. We discuss why this happened and whether the studio made a mistake by editing so much out of the theatrical release?  This con...

There Are No Clean Getaways. Get In – Get Out – Get Away In this extract from 'Two Geeks And A Marketing Podcast', Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards look back at the 2011 neo-noir thriller starring Ryan Gosling, Carrey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks.  We look at the marketing for this stylish film about a Hollywood stunt driver who moo...

Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards return to the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise with an extensive study of the decisions and choices behind the marketing campaign launch. The initial promotional assets for the 7th 'Mission: Impossible' include a first trailer, a CinemaCon video message, plus a 10-minute video featuring one of the most dangerous stunts in movie history and the best SEO campaign ever...

Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards have fun exploring the launch of the marketing campaign for the most anticipated summer movie of 2023. What will it take to get the audience to go and see the 5th Indiana Jones movie after a 15-year gap? We look at the teaser posters, trailers, magazines exclusives, the social media posts and share our wish list of promotional activities for the rest of the campaig...

In this extract from 'Two Geeks And A Marketing Podcast', Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards take a close look at the hard-hitting 'Red Sparrow' directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Jennifer Lawrence alongside Joel Edgerton and others. We look at the marketing campaign that treads carefully around the subjects of exploitation and international relations and gives this cinematically breathtaking...

The sands will rise. The heavens will part. The power will be unleashed.  We look back at the making and marketing of 'The Mummy' released in 1999 and directed by Stephen Sommers. Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards go hunting for marketing gems in this fun action movie that mixes Egyptian legend with comedy, horror and Indiana Jones style adventure.  -- About the Film Marketing Academy It...

Is this the best 'Predator' film since the 1987 original? This is the question Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards ask themselves in this extract from 'Two Geeks And A Marketing Podcast'. You could say it is back to basics for this new addition to the franchise – effectively warrior against warrior, or hunter against hunted. We loved the historical setting and the authentic Comanche cultural referenc...

Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards study the initial marketing campaign  – a very tight and controlled promotional activities with no danger of message fatigue for what has been a 3-year wait. We look at the three key elements of the 'Top Gun: Maverick' marketing experience: the aircraft, the training, the nostalgia. This conversation was recorded for episode 75 of 'Two Geeks And A Marketing Po...

Based on the famous video game series, Unchartered is and looks like an exciting combination of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider and other treasure seeking action movies. Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards review the extensive marketing campaign across traditional and social media channels and search for the answers to the following question: How do you keep the gamers and non-gamers equally engaged and i...

In this extract from 'Two Geeks And A Marketing Podcast', Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards immerse themselves into the world of Judge Dredd, a character from UK sci-fi magazine 2000AD. This film released in 2012 is more faithful to the style of the magazine, than the first movie released in 1995 and starring Sylvester Stallone, and whilst 'Dredd' is a great film, it wasn’t a box-office success. We...

After reviewing the teaser campaign for 'No Time To Die', Pascal Fintoni and Roger Edwards go for a deep dive into the multi-faceted promotional activities of the most anticipated last story with Daniel Craig as Bond. We’ve waited so long for Bond 25. Delayed three times by the pandemic, No Time to Die was worth the wait. It’s a great film in all respects. We celebrate the film making and the mark...