Envelope Directors Roundtable: The challenges of marketing a film
Marketing campaigns may not be the first thing one thinks of when imagining the creative lives of some of the country's most well-known auteurs. But directors behind this season's biggest movies wrestle to a surprising degree with the issues of selling a movie -- whether it's Quentin Tarantino finding parts of the process "inspirational" or directors like Lee Daniels, Jason Reitman or James Cameron understanding that these Faustian bargains can help expose their film to a wider audience. Hear how these directors feel about one of moviedom's trickiest balances.
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Envelope Directors Roundtable: Sequels and board games vs. original work
Hollywood may be bombarded by sequels, franchises and toy adaptations -- yet many of the year's most acclaimed films derive from little else besides their makers' imaginations. Five of the directors who've succeeded in creating something wholly original this season contemplate why Hollywood continues to be enamored by decades-old properties, with James Cameron taking the sternest tone. "You can make money on a movie that's not based on something else," he said. The drive for profits "is not an excuse for people to constantly be whining about how the business is failing and we have to do all this commercial stuff in order to pay the payments on our corporate jets."
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Envelope Directors Roundtable: The challenges of marketing a film
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Envelope Directors Roundtable: 'The scene I had to cut'
Film fans like to watch movies and opine on what should or shouldn't have made the final cut. But sometimes a movie's harshest critic is the person who made it. In this clip from our Envelope Directors Roundtable, filmmakers reveal the scenes they loved but had to let go. Whether it's a startling group-therapy moment in "Precious" or a Hans Landa bon mot in "Inglourious Basterds," these scenes are often strikingly good -- and yet they'll never see the light of day.
RELATED VIDEOS:
Envelope Directors Roundtable: The challenges of marketing a film
Envelope Directors Roundtable: Sequels and board games vs. original work
Envelope Roundtable: 'The moment I became a director'
James Cameron (and friends) on 'Avatar's' box office domination
Envelope Roundtable: 'The moment I became a director'
Nearly every director who's ever worked anywhere near Hollywood makes compromises. But many directors also have a defining moment when they drew the line and clung tightly to their principles. For Quentin Tarantino it was declining to cut a potentially graphic scene over Harvey Weinstein's protestations. For Jason Reitman it was insisting on shooting in multiple locations when a studio was asking he shoot only in one. Hear what they and others on our roundtable did to elevate themselves from hired hands to artists.
RELATED VIDEOS:
Envelope Directors Roundtable: The challenges of marketing a film
Envelope Directors Roundtable: Sequels and board games vs. original work
Envelope Directors Roundtable: 'The scene I had to cut'
James Cameron (and friends) on 'Avatar's' box office domination







