Movie Trailer Cliches

[Zorak Masaki]

What are those phrases which seem to be in EVERY trailer nowadays? Heres some to start with:
"In a world where _____ is _____, one man (or one group) stands alone"
"______ was leading an ordinary life, then HE (or She) showed up"
"Sometimes, you've got to break the rules, to fall in love" (ok, i stole that last one from the simpsons
Any others?

[AnimatedSnow47]

*Based on a true story!
*From the people that brought you ____________ and ___________!

And aside from phrases....

* you have those whoosing sounds made for surround sound systems
* words popping up as spoken by the narrator

[Eddie G.]

"Oh this is bull..."cut to random explosion.

[Lord Dalek]

Originally Posted by Blue Wolf

"Oh this is bull..."cut to random explosion.

An extension of that.

"Yippie Kay-Yae Mother-" *BOOM*!

[Behonkiss]

DUHDUHDUHDUHDUHUHDUHDUHDUHDUHDUHDUHDUH*random montage of images, two of which are two people making out and at least one explosion*

Brief pause, with someone saying something, then BOOM! and the title.

We need more trailers like Lilo and Stitch.

[DarkAngel]

Originally Posted by AnimatedSnow47

* words popping up as spoken by the narrator

Sometimes, just the voice of the narrator gets to me, that typical deep-voiced "trailer voice". For whatever reason, that stood out to me on the Punisher trailer, for instance.

[Russkafin]

Trailer builds up to a climax.... Then the name of the movie... and then ending with some kind of funny joke line.

Examples: Spider-Man... builds up to a climax (pretty much like what Behonkiss said), followed by the Spider-Man logo... and then end on Aunt May: "You do too much, you're not Superman you know..."

Daredevil, same thing... builds up to a climax, followed by the Daredevil logo, and then, Matt and Foggy... "How can you be a skeptic?" "There are no eyewitnesses. Bigfoot has eyewitnesses."

The new Punisher trailer ends with him saying "Don't play with knives" or something to that effect.

Insert about a dozen other examples.

[Speedy Boris]

I don't like it when trailers show a completely different tone than the actual movie. Like the "Falling Down" trailer basically took the most comedic elements of the film; I didn't find the film to be a comedy, though. It had MOMENTS of dark comedy, but it was more a character study/drama + tragedy than anything. Along the same lines, it's confusing when a trailer has two distinct moods- Fargo is a classic example. The first half is sort of humorous, with dark comedy, and the second half is serious and dramatic. I guess you could say the actual film is like that, too, but still... it can be confusing to the viewer.

For a movie trailer cliche, I'd have to say the random explosions that occur. Just stop with the random explosions. And like Behonkiss mentioned, the random scene of two characters making out. It literally makes me roll my eyes now. Like this: "Oh, we're gonna lose the audience if we don't place some sexual content in there!" "Aw, just throw in a make-out scene that covers about 30 seconds of the actual film."

[Mario500]

Music stops for a humorous line or moment.

[GL2k2]

Most film trailers are beginning to suck because they use the same stuff. And usually the good movies are not the trailers that stand out. i.e. the Matrix.

[Chris Wood]

I think Jerry Seinfeld's movie Comedian did a good job of summing up trailer cliches:

[A neatly dressed bearded man (JACK) comes into a recording studio, sits down, preparing to do a voiceover. His seat faces the technicians and director (Seinfeld), who also face him. Glass separates them. Mainly the camera focuses on JACK. Everything JACK says has a dramatic majesty about it, he uses his very resonate voice.]


DIRECTOR
All right, let's try this. It's the voice-over for Comedian movie trailer: take one.

JACK
In a World, where Laughter was King..

DIRECTOR
[hits button] Uh, no "In a world," Jack..

JACK
What do you mean, "No 'In a World'"..

DIRECTOR
It's not that kind of movie..

JACK
Oh? Okay. In a Land that—

DIRECTOR
[hits button] No 'In a land' either.

JACK
In a Time—

DIRECTOR
Nah, I don't think so.

JACK
In a Land Before Time—

DIRECTOR
[hits button] It's about a comedian, Jack.

JACK
One Man—

DIRECTOR
No..

JACK
When your Life is no longer your Own—

DIRECTOR
Wha—What does that mean—

JACK
When everything you Know is Wrong—

DIRECTOR
That's wrong—

JACK
In an Outpost—

DIRECTOR
No—

JACK
On the Edge of Space—

DIRECTOR
There's no Space—

JACK
A Girl—

DIRECTOR
No.—

JACK
Two Girls—

DIRECTOR
No.

JACK
Now—

DIRECTOR
—no—

JACK
—More than Ever—

DIRECTOR
Stop it—

JACK
A Renegade Cop—

DIRECTOR
—I hate you—

JACK
A Robot Renegade Cop—

DIRECTOR
You're Fired.

JACK
You're Fired.

DIRECTOR
No, you're actually Fired.

JACK
I'm Fired.

DIRECTOR
Get out of the booth, Jack.
JACK
No. I Like it in here.

90% of trailers sound just like that.

[Neo-Era]

Originally Posted by Desslar

I think Jerry Seinfeld's movie Comedian did a good job of summing up trailer cliches:

I heard about this before but that is hilarious. Just found the trailer on Apple.com

http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/comedian.html

To add my own, I can't stand trailers for romantic comedies because they always use a sappy song with a wispy, whiney female singer backed by acoustic guitars like "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None The Richer.

[WillemJoker]

The Jerry Bruckheimer Action Film

("Armageddon," "Con Air," "The Rock")

Start with 30 seconds of slow shots, mostly in shadow

Pour in at least 1 fireball explosion

Slice up a series of action shots and blend rapid-fire style

Mix with close-up shots of unlikely hero (usually the main star) wincing in slow-motion

Add a dash of sarcastic dialogue from Steve Buscemi

Sprinkle with wide shot of cast walking in horizontal line

Coat with "heroic" music

Garnish with voice-over: "From Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of "(blockbuster )"

Pound title of film onto screen with thud

The Girl Power Chick Flick Comedy

("Boys on the Side," "Waiting to Exhale," "Practical Magic")

Start with 1 responsible girl

Pour in 1 wild girl

Add 1 wisecracking girl (optional)

Insert voice-over: "(Studio) presents"

Stir in scene where women dance around a table/kitchen, laughing

Insert voice-over: "A story about (fill in the blank)"

Blend with crying/hugging scene

Insert voice-over: "And the friends that pull us through."

Serve over popular song (if it's a roadie chick flick, use "Dreams" by The Cranberries)

The Compelling Courtroom Drama

("A Time to Kill," "A Civil Action," "Amistad")

Start with docile scene introducing crime

Spray with slow, ominous thumping sound

Unwrap hero lawyer arguing why defendant has a case

Fold in protesters, frowning jury, skeptical judge

Add 1 self-reflecting revelation lawyer has about himself

Beat in nay-sayers, arguing lawyer can't win because he has no evidence/money/experience

Slice into courtroom chaos, complete with gavel-pounding ("You are out of order!") judge

Bake into impassioned closing speech by lawyer

The Next Installment of a Lucrative Franchise

("Die Hard With a Vengeance," "Alien Resurrection," "Lethal Weapon 4")

Start with new villain wreaking havoc

Insert villain's lofty statement along the lines of: "There is no one to stop me/I am the winner/Everyone will die."

Cut in quick shot of hero storming in, eliciting cheers from audience

Begin mixing in action stunts

Insert voice-over: "On (release date), the (fear/action) is back."

Chop up best action sequences in rapid fire

Squeeze in "money shot" to show the franchise is still alive and kicking

Insert sarcastic line from hero

Season with blasted title sequence with sequel number and subtitle

Originally Posted by WillemJoker

The Jerry Bruckheimer Action Film

("Armageddon," "Con Air," "The Rock")

Start with 30 seconds of slow shots, mostly in shadow

Pour in at least 1 fireball explosion

Slice up a series of action shots and blend rapid-fire style

Mix with close-up shots of unlikely hero (usually the main star) wincing in slow-motion

Add a dash of sarcastic dialogue from Steve Buscemi

Sprinkle with wide shot of cast walking in horizontal line

Coat with "heroic" music

Garnish with voice-over: "From Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of "(blockbuster )"

Pound title of film onto screen with thud

The Girl Power Chick Flick Comedy

("Boys on the Side," "Waiting to Exhale," "Practical Magic")

Start with 1 responsible girl

Pour in 1 wild girl

Add 1 wisecracking girl (optional)

Insert voice-over: "(Studio) presents"

Stir in scene where women dance around a table/kitchen, laughing

Insert voice-over: "A story about (fill in the blank)"

Blend with crying/hugging scene

Insert voice-over: "And the friends that pull us through."

Serve over popular song (if it's a roadie chick flick, use "Dreams" by The Cranberries)

The Compelling Courtroom Drama

("A Time to Kill," "A Civil Action," "Amistad")

Start with docile scene introducing crime

Spray with slow, ominous thumping sound

Unwrap hero lawyer arguing why defendant has a case

Fold in protesters, frowning jury, skeptical judge

Add 1 self-reflecting revelation lawyer has about himself

Beat in nay-sayers, arguing lawyer can't win because he has no evidence/money/experience

Slice into courtroom chaos, complete with gavel-pounding ("You are out of order!") judge

Bake into impassioned closing speech by lawyer

The Next Installment of a Lucrative Franchise

("Die Hard With a Vengeance," "Alien Resurrection," "Lethal Weapon 4")

Start with new villain wreaking havoc

Insert villain's lofty statement along the lines of: "There is no one to stop me/I am the winner/Everyone will die."

Cut in quick shot of hero storming in, eliciting cheers from audience

Begin mixing in action stunts

Insert voice-over: "On (release date), the (fear/action) is back."

Chop up best action sequences in rapid fire

Squeeze in "money shot" to show the franchise is still alive and kicking

Insert sarcastic line from hero

Season with blasted title sequence with sequel number and subtitle

LOL!!!! Its sad that they cant be more creative these days.

[Duke]

One of the things I hate is when the trailer gives away the whole friggin plot in 2 minutes. They should cut down trailers to about a minute or so. I'll be watching a trailer and get pumped up about it, then here comes the last half or so in which the entire ending is given away and I lose any and all anticipation for the film whatsoever.

[The Penguin]

Originally Posted by Neo-Era

I heard about this before but that is hilarious. Just found the trailer on Apple.com

http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/comedian.html

I haven't laughed that hard since I was a little girl thank you.

That really did give every cliche there is. Plus I love that voice over guy.

[Duke]

I remember seeing that trailer when I went to go see Spirited Away. Never saw it again until now.

[Zorak Masaki]

You forgot the teen grossout sex comedy trailer (American pie, old school, road trip)
Start with one normal kid
Mix in a crazy scheme
Cue blink 182/andrew wk/good charlotte song
Random sequence of crazy antics (including at least one sexual scene)
Pause music to throw in a really absurd line (usually starting with "dude.."
Cue movie title

[staticblue]

I liked the one for Bad Boys 2. Its similar to other Trailers lately. No talking. just a montage of action or sex shots all combined into like 3 minutes. and the at the end..."bad boys bad boys watcha gonna do......" great stuff!!!

[donovan]

All of these cliches has made me love the trailer for Casshern even more.