NYT:The Posters of ‘La La Land’
The Posters of ‘La La Land’
The movie musical “La La Land†has been dealing in multiples since its premiere last year. It has collected multiple critics’ awards, Golden Globe wins and Oscar nominations (a record-tying 14). And its advertising campaign has made use of multiple posters.
Lionsgate, the movie’s distributor, prides itself on creative marketing (like a much-talked-about campaign for its “Hunger Games†franchise) and mapped out at least a half-dozen ways to visually tease this Damien Chazelle musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. The posters range from the subtle (styles influenced by the classic covers of jazz albums) to the painterly.
Here is a closer look at some of them, including commentary from Douglas Lloyd, Lionsgate’s senior vice president for creative advertising.
‘City of Stars’
The first poster to be released (along with a teaser trailer for the dreamy tune “City of Starsâ€), it set the lead actors amid blue-shaded piano keys. “We wanted to stay true to the jazz roots and the Blue Note Records references in the film,†Mr. Lloyd said. The online version took a square, album-cover shape. And the bottom right of this theatrical poster includes the oval and rectangle from the Blue Note logo.
ADVERTISEMENT
‘Audition’
The album motif continues with the second poster (released with the teaser for Emma Stone’s number “Auditionâ€) and features a filtered film still and bold lettering in a simple font reminiscent again of Blue Note. That still, Mr. Lloyd said, provided “a really striking image of her walking out onto the stage, and it really complemented the themes of the trailer and the song.â€
‘Start a Fire’
This poster departs from the blue-green palette and the usual practice of highlighting the leads. Instead, it focuses on the co-star John Legend and was released with the teaser for “Start a Fire,†his jazz-pop hybrid from the movie. The long vertical strips create a feeling of accordion-like movement. And the orange evokes the punch of the song title, while also referencing the lettering in the “Audition†poster and the vertical lines of the “City of Stars†poster.
Venice Film Festival
This central component of the campaign was released when “La La Land†opened the Venice Film Festival in August. It features Mr. Gosling and Ms. Stone’s big tap-dance number. The marketing team worked closely with the director to match the movie’s look. “We wanted to capture the magic-hour sky,†Mr. Lloyd said, adding that it had to feel real and reflect the film as well. “We had to boil the scene down to a single image.â€
Imax Version
Many films issue a special poster for Imax. Lionsgate aimed for fanciful artistry with a golden age of Hollywood sensibility. The characters are drawn in a simple watercolor style, with vibrant strokes for their clothing. Look closely, and Ms. Stone’s outfit itself seems to dance. “We wanted to do something out of the box,†Mr. Lloyd said of the Imax version.
Chinese Release
This poster was conceived by Joy Pictures, which distributed “La La Land†in China. Like the festival poster, it shows the leads in their signature dance moment, but here, they’re dancing atop a giant record-player needle that seems connected to the stars. The film has crossed over well in China so far. It opened there on Feb. 14 and made $12.5 million on its first day, propelling the movie’s worldwide box office past $300 million.Get In Touch
Comments
Talk about spooky...
But perhaps you can commit a sin and buy
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/La-La-Land-2016-Australian-One-Sheet-RYAN-GOSLING-EMMA-STONE/362115440130
However, I (like quite a few Daybillers here) probably own as many 1SHs as you, I own more French & Italian big-ass posters but I can get more Daybills on my wall than the others...in my (home) office I have 14 framed Daybills on two walls, all in one, ordered, evenly spaced, single line (OCD). Basically you could get 2 Daybills for every 1SH on the wall, probably 2.5 for every space dedicated to a 1SH - thus you can cover cover more films, more design styles, more genres and...and, well just more.
Rare pieces are, as a rule, cheaper than their 1SH cousins. Daybill frames are also considerably cheaper, lighter and easier to handle (and available in the USA).
I challenge you to give it a try...
This one:
More from China: