This is exactly how to cut a full-length trailer. You establish the core plot of the story, you establish the main character and why we should be invested in their fate, you offer a few details of the mythology, and then you fade to black. Obviously, having not read the books, I can't say for certain, but this 2.5 minute trailer seems entirely made up of first and second act material (if not even less than that, depending on when the main competition begins). And while there has been fun 'fear' from fans of the series that it would be sold as a Twilight clone, this Lionsgate trailer is explicitly about the circumstances in which Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself hunting other kids in the woods. Yes we get a few dialogue patches from one would-be male love interest (at this point purely platonic) and a long close-up of the other, but whatever romantic inclinations exist in the narrative is being saved for the next trailer. What you do get is a sense of scale and some truly gorgeous 2.35:1 cinematography, a realistic and atmospheric dystopian future that feels right at home in classic 1970s sci-fi parables , brief but important appearances by Elizabeth Banks and Donald Sutherland, and a showing of pure confidence in both the product being sold and the manner in which to sell it. This one drops on March 23rd, 2012. As always we'll see, but I'm highly impressed.
Scott Mendelson
Scott Mendelson
