My thoughts on…the Snakes on a Plane hype
August 10th 2006 -
What do you get when you pit one bad motherlover against thousands of earth’s deadliest reptiles aboard commercial aircraft? One hell of a movie, fans hope. Snakes on a Plane will slither into theatres in 8 days, and it looks like it may be the last great movie of the summer. The hype has been building dramatically, mainly due to Internet parodies and fansites, a testament to the power of geek culture. At first the hype began, where else, the geek underground, where fans of the man who played Mace began salivating over his next flick. Shows like Attack of the Show fueled the hype, with interviews and behind the scenes info. In fact, they’ve dedicated this week to the movie, even having their own tribute to the movie called “Snakes on a Set.”
Fans got busy creating parodies, which can be found, where else, but YouTube. Fansites like BlanksonaBlank, where people can show off their own movies about animals on a mode of transport (featuring Sam’s trademark line from the movie, of course), began to pop up. And of course the obligatory ads, for those strangely oblivious to the hype. A bit of hype is good for any movie. It builds anticipation, and the greater the anticipation, the greater the profit. But more often than not, a movie gets crushed under the weight of its own hype. Case in point, Superman Returns. But it’s unlikely that Snakes will suffer a similar fate. After all, the premise is simple, snakes on a plane. But even with all this hype behind it, is there enough money left in moviegoers’ pockets after Pirates’ box office plunder for Snakes to be a success? We’ll if it doesn’t, it’s sure to be a cult favourite anyway.
Related Posts:
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- My thoughts on…Snakes on a Plane’s opening weekend
- Snakes on a meme
- My thoughts on…the Spiderman 3 hype
Reel Fanatic Says:
August 10th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
I don’t think it will be a runaway hit, but I do think it will make enough money to justify the hype … My cubicle mate played a cellphone message someone sent him from Samuel L. Jackson .. you can tailor it and download it … any movie that goes that far for the fans will have to be good
Dirty Butter Says:
August 10th, 2006 at 6:57 pm
Blogs have become such an important source of buzz that some companies are starting their own hype through stealth blogs. The entertainment industry, I would suspect, is probably guilty of this more than other industries.
OK, Leon. I’m going to remind you that you said you would consider joining our BLOG VILLAGE TopList when it got bigger. Would 153 blogs in less than 3 months be big enough to interest you?
Maritza Says:
August 10th, 2006 at 9:41 pm
It is fascinating to see how “word of blog” has made this movie popular even though it’s not in the theaters yet.
Stunner Says:
August 11th, 2006 at 1:16 am
Just another movie with people being killed by some animal or thing. I know i won’t be spending my money to watch that at the cinema, just wait till it comes out on cable.
Dr. D. Says:
August 12th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
As one who has a snake phobia….I certainly won’t be seeing that!